Starting a garden is a wonderful thing. Raised beds help you control the quality of the soil and, depending how high, can help alleviate the strain on your back.
So, how do you build a raised bed?
- Determine the size of your bed. When I first started with raised beds, I made 3′ x 5′ beds. However, as my garden has grown, I’ve turned to 4′ x 8′ sized beds. I do not suggest making a bed wider than 4′ – any larger and it’ll be difficult to reach into the center of the bed. You’ll also need to decide how tall you want to make it – I prefer to make them 12 inches tall. I find that helps control the weeds and still allows for me to reach tall crops.
- Get your wood.
- You want HEAT TREATED wood – this wood is heated in order to kill pests. Pressure treated wood is treated with pesticides and these pesticides can leak into the soil and into the food you grow. Home Depot and Lowes both carry heat treated wood (just look for the symbols below) and they’ll even cut the wood to size for you!
- When choosing the wood, find pieces that are straight, and do not have splits.
- You want HEAT TREATED wood – this wood is heated in order to kill pests. Pressure treated wood is treated with pesticides and these pesticides can leak into the soil and into the food you grow. Home Depot and Lowes both carry heat treated wood (just look for the symbols below) and they’ll even cut the wood to size for you!
- Use the proper tools/screws. We use a drill bit to predrill holes. We also use exterior screws – they’re going to stand up to the elements the best. Make sure you get ones that are about 3 inches long so you can go through one and into the other piece of wood. You could also use brackets instead of longer screws.
- Figure out how much soil you need. You’ll need to measure this in cubic feet. To get the amount of cubic feet you need, multiply the length (inches), width (inches), and height (inches) of the raised bed together. This total gives you a total in cubic inches (in3). Then divide the total by 1728. A 4′ x 8′ raised bed, made with a 2×12, takes about 26.67 cubic feet of soil.
- Use right type of soil. There are plenty of places that make raised bed mix. I love using Frey Group’s top soil, which actually isn’t really 100% top soil. It’s mixed with mushroom compost and silt to help with drainage. Don’t use anything that says in-ground use only unless you have the means to amend it for drainage. Check with your local garden center or feed store to see if they have mixes they sell bagged or in bulk.
The post How to Build a Raised Bed appeared first on Sow, How's It Going.
