You know how once in awhile your spouse will do something for you that makes you ridiculous happy? That’s the case with these garden beds. The HH built these planter boxes for me and it literally saved my life. If there’s one thing I need, it’s dirt {Well, and a fence}. And I was starting to have serious dirt withdrawals until he swooped in, built these and made my life complete.
These are a great depth for planting root crops, and just what I wanted. But you could always add a few more timbers if you wanted to make the garden bed deeper. I also choose to stain the outside of the garden beds for the sake of prettiness. But they look just fine and are just as functional without the stain.
Supplies You’ll Need
(12) 4″x 4″x 10′ wood posts
Variable speed reversing drill with grip
7/8″ drill bit
(4) 3/4″x 48″ wooden dowels
Tape measure
Hammer
Extension cord
Skill saw
Pencil
Vacuum
Miter saw
Directions
Depending on your budget and the wood available in your area, you’ll need to select the wood you will use for this project. While cedar is ideal, Douglass fir is a great alternative and about half the price of cedar. Using a skill saw, measure and cut the following pieces to length:
(8) 4″x4″x10′ wood posts
(8) 4″x4″x5′ wood posts
Starting in the corner of your garden box, use a 7/8″ drill bit to drill through all four pieces of wood. Be sure and keep your drill bit nice and straight as you drill through the wood.
Once your garden box is finished, find the perfect place in your yard for it.
Then give yourself a big fat thumbs up for a job well done.
I filled with lots of compost and I was on my way to growing some tasty little veggies in my fancy schmancy boxes! 
Julie says
Thank you so much!! I was waiting on your article for so long and the hubby was starting to put pressure on me to start building ours but I wanted to wait on your article!! Thanks Thanks! 🙂 I will send pictures when we’re done building ours 🙂
Mrs. M. says
Beautiful raised beds!
Are there three dowel rods securing each corner?
Mavis Butterfield says
Yes!
Heather says
How’d you take care of the grass before you filled it?
Mavis Butterfield says
Laid down cardboard to snuff it out.
Emily says
Thanks for the great tutorial! How do you keep all of the pieces lined up while you are drilling the holes?
Barbara says
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
oldalaskan says
I have found that I have a 2′ reach so instead of a 5’wide box I build a 4′ wide box. It makes it easier for weeding and harvesting
Jonathan says
I did the same, but for a different reason. My local Home Depot had untreated 4x4s in 8′ length only. So I did a 4′ x 8′ raised garden bed. It’s a great size.
MrApple says
Nicely done.
Janice says
We had a difficult time getting the 1 inch dowel into. 7/8 inch hole. The4x 4s split. Just not as simple as depicted. We’ll adjust for the second bed.
Jonathan says
I think the issue is that you purchased the wrong size dowels. You use a 3/4 inch dowel for the 7/8 inch hole. Mine slid in perfectly with little hammering needed. I think the idea is that it has a little bit of play, since when the wood is wet it will swell. By using a slightly smaller dowel than the drilled hole size, you mitigate the risk of splitting the 4x4s when the wood is wet.
Sharon says
Beautiful! What did you use to stain and/or seal the wood?
HG says
Hi Mavis,
I love your garden. I’m planning to make a raised bed and was wondering how much it cost you to build it.
Thanks
HG.
Mavis Butterfield says
We used very expensive timbers for this project becuase I wanted a certain look and we had to buy a special drill bit. I want to say the cost was $280 for the supplies to build both garden boxes and the soil to fill them.
Jonathan says
This estimate is on par with what it cost me. Since my local Home Depot had untreated 4x4s in only 8′ length, I ended up building a 4′ x 8′ raised garden bed. The 4x4x8s go for $15.59 each, so 12 of them is $187.08. The dowels are $2.88, so 4 of them is $11.52. A 7/8″ x 17″ Auger drill bit is ~$30. And I filled my raised garden bed with compost. I purchased 1.5 cubic yards of compost at $35/yard, so that was around $55 + $25 delivery.
Total was about $300 all in. You can take $30 off that cost for any subsequent builds, since you already have the bit.
Ken says
To facilitate the insertion of the dowels, coat them with a beeswax mineral oil emulsion preparation. This is made by combining 1 cup mineral oil with 1 cup of beeswax shavings and then gently heat the slurry until it turns into an emulsion.
Janelle says
I’m thrilled to have found this! Thank you! Since these were built a number of years ago, are there any updated pictures to see? I’m curios how it has held up. I’m debating metal spikes or rebar versus the wooden dowels and also wonder if I should secure the bottom timber with a rod into the ground a foot. Thank you!
Devon Mulcahy says
I’m not sure what drill another set of holes 4″ away from the center means. What is the center you are referring to?
Mavis Butterfield says
Look at the 7th picture. You will see that each “corner” has 3 sets of holes to secure the garden boxes together.
Devon Mulcahy says
Also there are no dowels inserted along the 10″ piece of wood in the center?
Mavis Butterfield says
Do you mean the 10 foot long pieces? No. We did not insert dowels along the center.
Brian O says
How much soil did you use to fill up the bed? Thanks in advance.