A Beginner's Garden: Make a Raised Garden Bed the Easy Way

Anyone can make this easy and inexpensive raised bed frame for the garden. It is small enough to fit into any yard, yet big enough to grow some real plants. The finished size is 2 feet X 4 feet. Change the size to fit the space you have. I find that I can move a bed this size very easily if I need to. Some designs recommend a 3 to 4 foot wide bed that is up to 8 feet long, but I like to keep the size smaller so I don't have to stretch so far to reach the center. A larger frame can be knocked out of square more easily by a careless lawn mower...accidents do happen! And a larger size is also harder to move, if you should need to. I prefer using a number of smaller raised bed frames so I can reconfigure them whenever I feel like it. These can be stacked to make a deeper bed.

We made several of these small raised bed frames this spring to fit between some young fruit trees. The trees are dwarf, and these small beds fit between them nicely. As the trees grow, we'll remove the beds and use them elsewhere. For now, while there is plenty of sun space, we'll use the space for extra vegetables.

MAKE A VERY SIMPLE RAISED BED
To make a simple raised bed, you will need:

• 2" x 8" x 12ft UNTREATED lumber, one board for each frame.
Home Depot has this in southern yellow pine for $7.42 each. (April, 2010) Choose a smooth board that isn't warped and doesn't have big knot holes. We always sort through the lumber until we find nice pieces. If you can't get a 12ft piece home, ask the folks at the lumberyard to cut your boards in half to make two 2" x 8" x 6ft sections to fit your car. Some stores charge a fee per cut, so it might cost an additional dollar or so. Some stores might carry 6 foot lengths already cut.

If you don't want to do any cutting yourself, have the board cut into two 2 foot and two 4 foot sections. That's only 3 cuts, times the fee per cut.

• 12 deck screws, 3 or 4 inches long
• Carpenter's Square
• Saw, optional
• Power drill with screw driver head

Saw each 6 ft. board into one 2 foot long and one 4 foot long section. Use the square to mark an accurate cut.
Assemble the frame, using three deck screws on each corner. Lap the long board edges over the short board edges. Drill/screw through the long board into the end of the short board at each corner.

That's all there is to it. Your raised bed frame is ready to fill and plant.

See related article: "A Beginner's Garden: Soil Layers and Planting Your Raised Bed"
See related slideshow: "Use Your Raised Bed as a Greenhouse or Coldframe"
See related article: "A Beginner's Garden: How to Turn Your Raised Bed into a Greenhouse or Coldframe"

Since this is untreated lumber, you may want to use a non-toxic stain or sealer. Use only untreated and non-toxic materials so the food you grow in your raised bed won't be contaminated. CCA treated lumber is treated with chromium, copper and arsenic to control bacteria, fungi, and insects. Warnings tell you not to use it where it might come in contact with food or drink. They also issue cautions about direct skin contact, as in barefoot. Read more about using, or NOT using, treated wood in your garden here.

Sources:
Personal Experience
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