How to Build a Raised Garden Bed

As mentioned in an earlier post, a raised garden bed is a bed that is made by (a) piling up dirt into a plateau shape, or (b) by constructing a frame and filling it with soil and other materials.  
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Raised beds have several benefits: they require less bending over when tending to plants, which is easier on your back; they don’t require as much digging; they prevent soil compaction; and they allow you to customize the materials that go into filling them, which means that you have more control over the composition of your soil.  

Unlike in-ground beds, however, there are some expenses associated with constructing and filling raised beds. You can pay to have one installed by a non-profit organization, which often have sliding scale fees, or by a local business (see Resources). If possible, you want to position the bed in the sunniest spot in your yard. You should be able to walk all the way around it. 
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Alternatively, if you have access to power tools, you can build and fill a raised bed yourself! The following video shows how to construct a simple raised bed frame out of wood:

As stated in the video, you want to use untreated wood for your raised bed. Though the beds in the video are short, I recommend making the sides of your beds at least 2 feet tall if you can afford the materials. The taller your bed is, the less bending over your will need to do when tending to your plants (there are even elevated raised beds which are wheelchair accessible!) 

You also want your bed to be no more than 4 feet wide so that you can reach the center of the bed without bending too much. To cut down on the cost of the bed frame, you can reuse wood from over projects, search Craigslist for cheap wood in your area, or purchase wood with minor defects at a discount.  

The next step is to fill the raised bed. As previously discussed, soil and soil amendments can be expensive. One way to save money and get great soil is to use the lasagna method to fill your bed. This method is typically less expensive than filling the bed with only soil.  

First, place a sheet of thick plastic or several layers of cardboard at the bottom of the bed. This will help to suppress the grass and weeds underneath the bed. Then fill the bed by interspersing layers of garden soil with other organic materials like straw, grass clippings, pine needles, chopped up leaves, and mulch – whatever you can get your hands on! Your local yard waste facility is a great place to obtain these types of materials in bulk. Water the bed well and then top it off with several inches of soil or compost, mixing in any slow-release fertilizer you are using.  

As time goes on, the materials in the bed will “sink” as they decompose. The great thing is that you can just keep adding layers to the top of the bed!  

Next we’ll go over how to plan your garden layout.  
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As always, if you have any questions or tips to share, please comment below! ​