Many of you have seen our updates on facebook. We have expanded our growing area over the last week. This place is HUGE!
We wanted to get growing fast but with the rocky ground at our new
homestead, we decided to build raised beds. Here's how we built...
Building a Raised Bed Garden
Tools:
Drill (required)
Circular saw (optional)
Staple Gun (optional)
Lumber:
We
purchased 2"x12"x16' untreated boards, untreated 4"x4" posts, 48"
landscaping cloth and 3" deck screws from a local hardware shop.
It takes 1 and a 1/2 boards to make these 4X8 beds. That means 12 boards will make 8 beds.
If you prefer to make smaller beds then you will need to re-adjust length/quantity of boards.
Screws: 32
3 inch "Star Drive" deck screws
*These include a drill bit*
The 2"x12" board were cut in 4' and 8' pieces.
The 4"x4" posts were cut in 11.25" pieces.
If
you don't have a circular saw (or want to make the boards easier to
handle) I suggest having the people at the shop cut your boards.
The 11.25" pieces of 4x4 post were attached
to the ends of the 2x12x8 pieces with the
3" deck screws. *4 screws per board per corner* 32 screws total
3 Sides up and ready for the 4th
After
taking the 4' and 8' boards to the garden the 4' and 8' boards were
assembled so that the 4' boards covered the ends of the 8' boards with
their attached posts.
This gave the assembled bed a 4'x8' OUTSIDE dimension so the landscaping cloth could be attached to one side with staples.
Raised Bed with weed blocker on the bottom
If
you have gofers, you might consider laying down fine mesh wire below
your beds. We used landscaping cloth or "weed blocker" since we laid
the beds down on vegetation.
The assembled bed was then placed cloth down and filled with good, organic soil with plenty of Organic Nutrients added to the beds.
For 4 beds @ 4ft X 8ft we used about
5 cubic yards of soil.
Water the bed once it's filled with dirt and organic plant food. We added more
dirt once the soil compacted a bit.
We love our raised beds! http://losingmypuppy.blogspot.com/2014/05/garden-intro.html This time of year I can't wait for spring to come and to get planting our garden.
we rent a house, but I think we can do this, I so want to try. I did some pots, but it didn't really work for the tomatoes and lettuce. Stopping by from Let's Get Real Party http://dinoheromommy.com/
Great instructions on how to make your own raised garden beds! I did ours 3ft square, using the square foot method, but wish I had done the more traditional long beds. Thanks for sharing with Snickerdoodle Sunday!
What fantastic raised beds that you have as well as an exciting ongoing gardening project! We recently redeveloped our garden in order to grow our own produce. To help us do so we hired a local corrugated iron company who specialise in making water containers that collect rain water. The perfect way to water your garden. Well worth the money.
We love our raised beds! http://losingmypuppy.blogspot.com/2014/05/garden-intro.html This time of year I can't wait for spring to come and to get planting our garden.
ReplyDeletewe rent a house, but I think we can do this, I so want to try. I did some pots, but it didn't really work for the tomatoes and lettuce. Stopping by from Let's Get Real Party
ReplyDeletehttp://dinoheromommy.com/
I'm so glad that you joined us for this week's Bloggers Brags Pinterest Party! I've pinned your post to the BBPP Pinterest Board. See you next week!
ReplyDeleteGreat instructions on how to make your own raised garden beds! I did ours 3ft square, using the square foot method, but wish I had done the more traditional long beds. Thanks for sharing with Snickerdoodle Sunday!
ReplyDeleteWhat fantastic raised beds that you have as well as an exciting ongoing gardening project! We recently redeveloped our garden in order to grow our own produce. To help us do so we hired a local corrugated iron company who specialise in making water containers that collect rain water. The perfect way to water your garden. Well worth the money.
ReplyDeleteBert Aguilar @ Rainfill Tanks and Curved Roofing Supplies