Raised Bed Garden DIY
In just a few hours, we ripped up the old frame and built a new raised bed garden. It’s actually more of a built-in and raised bed hybrid. But it gives the vegetables plenty of space for the roots to be happy and flourish. If you ever wondered how to build a raised bed garden, this is your DIY!
Hubby Carter and I call our veggie garden a Victory Garden because we love the WWII reference. When we first moved to the Homestead, there was a Bocce Ball court in the back yard. We’re not exactly the Bocce Ball kinda family, so one of the first things we did was rip it up and plant a garden in its space.
We are old souls and I feel like gardening is making a comeback. It's part of a Frugal Lifestyle that gets us back to the basics in life.
The current garden had a 4″ wood frame, which meant 2-3 inches of loose soil before the ground. It “worked”… kinda… but definitely wasn’t ideal. After much research, the experts recommend 8-12 inches of loose soil for any raised bed garden. This gives the roots plenty of space to grow and thrive. Six inches is the absolute minimum.
I decided on 10″ because that was the size of the wood available. I debated on using two 6” pieces and having Carter screw them together to make 12 inches, but with 10 inches, I knew we would have plenty of space.
I thought this project would take an entire weekend. It literally took Carter and Stepson just a few hours.
They pulled up the existing wood base pieces and kept them for another project.
They used the 4x4s to brace the 10″ pieces at the corners.
Since our garden is so big, they also used the 4x4s in 3 other places on both sides to help brace.
And since it created one large rectangle, we didn’t have to worry about digging a hole for it to sit in. There was an existing divot that we used to place it in, but with the stability of the braces, it’s not going anywhere.
Some people use a liner in their raised bed gardens to help prevent weeds. In the past, we’ve purchased good quality liners for other garden areas and found them to be helpful in the first year, but then the weeds still come through. And we also have decent soil underneath. So no liner for us.
I did mix in a layer of our own compost in with the soil.
I'm sure you are like me and love gardening projects! Be sure to CLICK HERE to head over to the blog for more gardening articles, projects, and DIYs! I look forward to seeing you there! Hugs, Holly
Frequently asked questions
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Did you leave the boards under the frame (picture 3) or was that just the temporary bracing?? Thanks so much for your post, Holly.