Raised Garden Beds

As part of my learning to garden I decided to make some raised beds out of cedar lumber. I did this for several reasons. First, our soil is quite sandy (we practically live on a sand dune!) Second, I wanted to be able to easily cover the gardens. Finally, I like the look of raised garden beds.

If you are looking for larger beds, check out my more recent raised garden beds!

For the design I settled on simple 4′ x 4′ cedar beds. I used 2″ x 6″ cedar boards stacked two boards high with 4″ x 4″ cedar posts in the corners.

Building the Raised Garden Beds

The process I used to build the raised garden beds was as follows:

1. Saw 2″ x 6″ cedar boards to 4′ long (8 boards per garden bed)
2. Saw 4″ x 4″ cedar boards to 1′ 8″ lengths (4 posts per garden bed)
3. Saw lengths of 1″ diameter PVC for hoop holders (4 holders per garden bed)
4. Attach 2″ x 6″ boards to 4″ x 4″ posts to form a square. I used deck screws so I could easily take these apart or replace boards as needed.
5. Attach 1″ diameter PVC to posts using 2 U-shaped PVC straps (8 per garden bed)

Setting the Raised Garden Beds in Place

I wanted the garden beds to be protected from both weeds and animals who might be digging from underneath the beds. Here is how I installed the beds into my yard.

1. Remove grass from 4′ x 4′ area for each bed and dig holes deep enough for posts (call diggers hotline before digging!)
2. Lay down landscape cloth over area cutting a slit to accommodate posts and leave a bit extra on each side (optional)
3. Lay down hardware cloth over area in the same manner as the landscape cloth making sure to leave extra (optional)
4. Drop raised bed posts into holes and level the garden bed if needed

Filling Raised Garden Beds and Finishing

To fill the garden beds I chose a mixture of peat moss, vermiculite, and compost very similar to the Mel’s Mix made popular in the square foot gardening method. I used a bit less vermiculite myself. I made up the mixture as I went making sure it was nice and wet. Once the beds were filled I bent the hardware cloth up around the edges. I then cut off the excess landscape fabric to tidy things up. For some of the beds I made vertical trellis out of electrical conduit. I also experimented with some cages made of 1″ x 2″ and chicken wire.

If you are looking for larger beds, check out my more recent raised garden beds!

Materials Used

Here are the materials I used for each raised garden bed.

• 2″ x 6″ cedar boards – 32′ total
• 4″ x 4″ cedar posts – 8′ total
• 1″ diameter PVC – about 4′
• 3/4″ diameter PVC for hoops – 2 10′ pipes
• 1″ PVC straps – 8
• Landscape fabric
• Hardware cloth
• 3″ deck screws – for attaching lumber
• 1″ deck screws – for attaching PVC straps
• About 16 cubic feet of soil mixture