Planning the Plot: Building a Raised Bed

I'm helping a few friends learn the ins and outs of vegetable gardening this year, and it's been a great experience. Nearly all of the questions they've asked are the same questions I had when I started and I think all levels of gardeners share these same questions.

First things first: you need a place for your plants. It's the first stop in the sometimes overwhelming growing adventure. The first step can feel like a blind leap, but if I've learned anything from gardening it's that there is no right or wrong way as long as you're providing your plants with adequate nutrients, proper soil, light, and water.

I've tried a handful of techniques in our yard and of those, most people are curious about 3 approaches: tilling, raised beds, and no-till/compost-in-place beds. No-Till Beds are my favorite method to prepare a large area quickly. I could go on and on about them, but I talked a little about the no-till garden last year, so I won't go into further detail. Tilling involves heavy, gas-powered machinery and aching muscles.That's not really my thing, but I bet the tiller's manual has lots of info if you want to take this route.

Raised Beds: Our second year gardening we built raised beds. There are kits at a lot of the hardware stores this year that include all the hardware (ie. corner brackets and screws, and maybe some pre-drilled holes) but really raised beds are 4 rot-resistant boards (we used cedar, but stay away from pressure treated wood), 4 corner brackets and some screws. Maybe even a few posts to go in the ground for extra side support if you're feeling fancy. The pros? You're starting off with a fluffy bed that's weed free! The cons? Filling a raised bed with soil can be expensive and the soil is easily depleted of nutrients.Often you can avoid the expense of soil if you buy it by the truckload from a landscape supply company. We have one called BlueMax around here, and they sell a compost soil mixture that cost about $28 to fill each of our 24-foot long raised beds.

These garden beds are the ones I see most often around town and a great percentage of the ones I see are plastic "logs" made to look like wood.  I'm amazed at the expense and availability of boxed up, off-the-shelf versions when they're are really just a few basic items built into a rectangle and filled with dirt. Homegrown food should not cost you hundreds of dollars just to get started. I've got the what for and a few tips for ya right here, don't you feel lucky?

Want to download the directions to take with you? Click here to find the PDF version, download, and share!

What sort of bed do you have? If you have questions or comments feel free to add them to the comments section!

Renee Garner has a passion to make things grow, although her brownish thumb wants her to believe otherwise. When mud pies aren't on the menu, you can find her doodling the days away at Wolfie and the Sneak.

Comments

[Claire]

We used pressure treated wood for our beds about 3 years ago. The trick is to line the wood with plastic so that the soil never actually touches the wood. The toxic chemicals disappear within a few years (so I have read) at which point it would be safe to remove the plastic. In theory. Cedar would have been my first choice, but PT is so much cheaper I decided the extra work lining the beds was worth it. And like I said - 3 years, no arsenic poison.
Raised beds are definitely the way to go - I don't think you mentioned how much easier it is on your knees and back when you're mucking around.

[Renee Garner]

Claire-I've read arguments for and against pressure treated wood, and also about the trick to use plastic.
I still wouldn't recommend it {my personal opinion} because the chemicals don't actually disappear, just seep into the ground and, subsequently, the groundwater while the plastic is off-gassing straight to the roots of your plants.

[boys bedroom ideas]

We are aiming at people buying gifts for little boys - parents, grandparents, other family members and friends. We are aiming at someone who wants to buy something different that cannot be purchased on the high street.

boys bedroom ideas

[Beth]

Folks, didn't the EPA ban the kind of pressure-treated lumber that contains arsenic several years ago, at least for home use? I think this worry is out of date.

[Renee]

Beth, my worry is about the chemicals in general, not necessarily arsenic. However, from what I understand, the EPA only suggested manufacturers move from CCA (arsenic) treated wood to other options. The wood is still treated with pesticides and fungicides.