How to Build Raised Beds
There are many methods of gardening used today, but one of the most popular ways is using raised beds. On my parents farm, they use raised beds for their kitchen garden and grow a variety of vegetables and herbs that are perfect for everyday harvesting.
Raised beds are great for smaller spaces and work so well for hobby gardeners. Some of the benefits of raised beds include being able to garden even if your soil is poor and easy access to garden beds because they are lifted off the ground. Purchasing raised beds can be a great option, but for some, it’s a bit out of budget. They tend to be super pricey, which can hold some people back.
Why Choose Raised Beds?
These raised beds are budget friendly and super easy to throw together. This is a plus because it’s super easy to keep expanding your garden year after year for very little money, if you feel like you need more space.
Because we are using cedar fence pickets, there is no need to treat our boards. Cedar has natural resins, which makes it resistant to rot and insect damage. That’s what makes it perfect for outdoor projects like these raised beds. You actually want to stay away from chemically treated wood as it will leach into your soil and is just an overall bad idea for your beds. Home Depot does sell treated cedar pickets, so be careful not to buy these.
What You’ll Need
This project will be easiest with an electric saw like a miter saw, and a drill plus screws, but if you don’t have access to power tools, you can use a hammer and nail and a hand saw. You can also get your pieces of wood cut at Home Depot when you buy your cedar pickets. Usually they will do a couple cuts for free. Past five cuts, they cost around 25 cents each. You can also rent power tools from Home Depot for as long as you need them. Ok, Let’s get started!
You’ll need six cedar dog-eared fence pickets per box. If you prefer to make 4×2 ft boxes you can just use four pickets, the principle is still the same.
Materials:
- 40, 1 1/4 in. stainless steel screws or nails per raised bed
- 6 6ft cedar dog eared fence pickets (the thickest they offer)
- 1 1”x2”x8’ pieces of whitewood board
- Hammer or Drill
- Electric or normal saw (unless you got them pre cut.)
Instructions:
Cut the little ears off each picket to make both ends the same. Now Cut two of the pickets in half to get four, 3ft. pieces. You should now have four 6ft. pieces, and four 3ft. pieces.
Cut your whitewood board into six 1.25. ft stakes
Cut one end of each into an arrow shape. This is so that you can pound the box into the ground to anchor it. Now that you have all your pieces cut, you’re ready to assemble.
Take three of your 1.25 ft. stakes and two of your 6 ft. cedar boards. Place the cedar boards on top of your stakes. The stakes should be placed one on each end and one in the middle.
Screw your cedar boards into your stakes. Repeat for the other side.
Align both sides.
Once you have both sides complete and aligned, screw your 3 foot cedar board onto each end in the same way.
Now you have an awesome budget friendly raised box!
Tips:
- If using a drill, you can avoid your boards cracking by pre-drilling a hole into the boards for your screws.
- Measure twice, cut once! We’re aiming for cheap raised beds, so we don’t want to have to buy any extra materials.
