A DIY Raised Garden Bed

Hi there! Last Sunday was so so nice that we decided to DIY a raised garden bed. It went the way almost all of my DIYs do. I looked on Pinterest, found a tutorial that looked semi-easy and then passed it along to my husband. I did get out there and “help” here and there. (And I also did sand and re-stain several pieces of patio furniture, so I wasn’t sitting around- haha!) Anyway, even with the tutorial, we made adjustments and made it our own. We are very proud of ourselves and happy with how it turned out. Clearly, we are not experts, this is just a play-by-play of what we did. Also, always use the proper safety precautions.

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What We Used: Materials

TWO USP 7-in 16 Gauge High Wind and Seismic Triple Zinc Foundation Strap

EIGHT USP 2-in 12-Gauge Wood to Wood Triple Zinc Angle

Grip-Rite 1-15/16-in T20 Torx Steel Hex Shank Screwdriver Bit

Power Pro One #8 x 1-1/4-in Bronze Epoxy Flat Exterior Multi-Material Screws (1-lb)

TWO 2-in x 4-in x 8-ft Whitewood Stud (Common); 1.5-in x 3.5-in x 96-in (Actual)

NINE Top Choice 1-in x 6-in x 10-ft Cedar Lumber (Common); 1-in x 6-in x 10-ft (Actual)

 

What We Used: Tools

Safety goggles

Saw- We used this one– the cuts weren’t perfect but it was fine. It was what we had on hand. A miter saw would probably work better.

Drill- We used this one– again, it was what we had in the garage.

Level

The Steps We Took

1- We determined the height of the box. We went with the super scientific and well-thought out plan to just cut the two 8 ft Whitewood Stud boards in half, making four. Our height of the entire box ended up being about 4 feet.

2- We then determined the length with the same plan of eyeballing it and saying, “Yep- that looks good!” The lengthwise boards ended up being about 5 feet. R screwed in the length boards by starting at the top of the 4 posts while I held them in place. We used  2-3 screws per board/post combo and also constantly checked the level to make sure we were on track. R also used foundation straps to really secure the boards together. (We both agreed that we weren’t sure that this step was all the way necessary.)

 

3- You can guess the pattern now… same with the width. Our width ended up being about 30 inches. We again used 2-3 screws to secure the boards to the posts.

 

4- For the bottom, we flipped the box over to help with the ease of installing the last boards. They ended up being about 28 inches. These were mostly screwed into the bottom boards of the bottom lengthwise board. That sounds confusing. Here is a photo to hopefully clear it up. (Clearly, this was also used as a temporary fort by a certain 7 year old!)

5- Toward the beginning, I took the metal corner brackets and spray painted them black. (Ideally, I should have also spray painted the screws- oh well!) Once they had dried, we installed two at the end caps as can be seen in the photo.

Things We Might Change

At the highest height, our DIY raised garden bed is 4 feet tall. Rabbits will definitely not be helping themselves to the salad mix we have going on in there- ha! But, our kids also need to drag a chair or stool over to help plant and water. Ideally, I think I’d maybe have it about a foot or so lower. 

I might also consider making it a little bit more shallow. I ended up buying 4 40 pound bags of top soil (which we put in first) and then 2 40 pound bags of a vegetable mix soil. (And the soil still isn’t very high.) Hopefully, the raised garden is in the correct spot for sunlight because it won’t be moving anytime soon- lol! 

I also wonder about whether or not we should have added some drainage holes in the bottom. We slightly spaced out the bottom boards (you can barely tell) but I don’t think extra drainage would have hurt either. 

What we are going to Plant

So far, we have kale, butter/Boston lettuce, yellow pear tomatoes, and sweet bell pepper. We hope to add cucumber, zucchini, peas, and strawberries. Oh, and I’d love to add some potatoes and sweet potatoes… maybe if our kids help grow them, they’ll eat them? That’s the word on the street anyway.

DIY Raised Garden Bed Conclusion

Easy Peasy… Sort of… It did take the majority of the day, but I’m so happy with the result and am excited to start planting more vegetables! The idea of a raised vegetable garden has been floating around in my head for a couple of years. It seems like my best bet because it is small (our yard couldn’t handle a full-on real garden) and I can keep animals out. I’ve been looking up more information on the planting season and will likely loosely follow those guidelines. I’ve also talked with friends who have had gardens and are beginning gardens to confer about what to plant and where to plant them in the garden bed. Wish us luck! 

Alternatives

Because I’m also always up for just buying things, here are some alternatives that come mostly done (or at least with all of the materials you may need). I do have to say, however, that usually after DIY projects, I feel as though we should’ve just splurged and bought the already made/created thing. But, with this one, we both felt like we’d be game for doing this project again. Or, maybe our DIY stamina has just increased over the past few months! Anyway, here they are. Be sure to pay attention to the dimensions, some are bigger/smaller than others. I love this cedar raised garden– the end caps add a nice look. Speaking of beautiful planters, this resin raised garden sounds ah-mazing! There are six different color options– olive is my favorite– and it is self-watering- yay! It can either be an indoor or outdoor planter. Okay, I’d better move on before I talk myself into a purchase. Finally, this redwood raised garden would be perfect for herbs– it even says it has a tool free assembly!

Happy Planting Season!