When I first built our garden boxes back in 2009 I was totally new to raised bed gardening.
I was going for maximum space and didn’t put to much thought into how deep my garden boxes needed top be. So I purchased the most inexpensive untreated wood I could find, 8′ x 8″ x 2 ” inch boards.
I can’t even remember what kind of wood the boards were made of, but the total cost for each bed was somewhere around $20 – $25.
And they worked great. 8 inches of soil was plenty for crops like lettuce, zucchini and beans.
But when it came to room crops like carrots, beets, turnips and even potatoes, 8 inches just wasn’t going to cut it unless I wanted to grow the smaller varieties of the vegetables. Having nice long 12 inch carrots just wasn’t going to happen.
Unless I upgraded to larger beds.
Which brings me to one of my fall/winter garden projects. Replacing all 16 of my raised garden boxes with deeper ones. The plan is to replace all the boxes in the main garden as the crops are harvested. Then, re-purpose the wood elsewhere in garden.
If you were planing on building a garden box, ideally you’d want to use cedar boards. But they can be expensive, especially in my case because I have 16 garden boxes to build. This time around I used {3} 8’x12″x2″ hemlock boards and stained the outsides of the boards before putting them together.
I plan on using a few of the old garden boxes {which are still in great shape} to create new lettuce beds alongside the greenhouse, and maybe move the rest down near the chicken run. I’m not happy with the way the hens Swiss chard and kale garden looks right now, my little OCD heart needs some sort of structure down there. And I’m hoping by adding a few garden boxes, it will spruce things up a bit.
All I know is, gardening is rad. And I want to keep on sowing seeds.
It’s going to take awhile, but I think the new garden boxes will not only look better, but grow more food in the long run for my family. Gardening is cool, there’s no doubt about it.
Do you have garden boxes? How big are they?
Mavis wants to know. 🙂
Carrot seeds I planted for a winter harvest:
Little Finger
Cosmic Purple
Danvers 126
Thinking about growing a garden this fall? Check out the book The Year-Round Vegetable Gardener: How to Grow Your Own Food 365 Days a Year, No Matter Where You Live. It’s loaded with all sorts of cool tips.
Constance Wheeler says
Mine are 4 x 8 x 16 inches tall …. 2, 8 inch boards all the way around, put together with metal brackets in the corners and in the centers, with an 8 inch board in the center overlapping both side boards for stability. Painted them with clear wood preservative, several coats. Filled halfway up with old manure (sheep, horse, chicken; whatever is in the manure pile) then filled the rest of the way with potting soil. We have a farm so the manure is already here. Had to buy the potting soil so waited until it was on sale at our local BiMart.
MaryW says
I have 8 boxes each 4×10. Of course they are all drowning right now because I live in Colorado where it’s been dumping rain like crazy lately.
Jen says
I have 8 raised beds and they are 4’x6’x1.5′
Kimberly R says
I have (4) 4’x8’x12″, (5) 4’x4’x12″, (6) 1’x8’x12″ and a 2’x5’x18″ in the main garden and a 10’x10′ corn patch. We plan on raising the dirt level in a 20’x30′ area so we can build single foot boxes for pumpkins and other melons.
veronica v. says
I have 12 boxes. Some are made of 2x12s, some of 2x6s. 3’X6′ boxes work well for me. As I’m only 5’3″, the 8x4s were too far for me to reach. Mine are made of pine and have been used for 4 years without significant rotting. Next time I would build two boxes outta 2x6s and stack per bed. Much cheaper that way.
Kim says
When we built our raised garden beds, one thing I wanted is for them to be very high off of the ground so my back wouldn’t hurt from all the bending over (issues!). My newest 5 raised beds are all 4Wx8Lx4H.
felicia says
To save some money could you take two of your beds and stack to make a taller box? So you would get 8 beds out of what you have, and then only have to build 8 new ones?
Paula says
I have (9) 4’x16’x11″ raised beds. We used 2″x6″x16″ boards and stacked them two high. It was cheaper than using 12″ boards.
Debby T says
I have semi raised boxes. My garden is on a slope and when it rained, there was a bit of a wash out. So I boxed several areas and leveled it out. One side being even with the original slope and the other raised. Already this year I noticed that the raised side of the box has tomato and peppers that are taller and greener. I plan to add compost to the soil and be sure to till it as deep as possible on the even side.This box is appx. 6′ x 20′. .. I also added a box next to the strawberries. This box has a mix of compost I made from the chickens and added greens. It is about 5′ x 12′. I planted about 90 strawberry plants there and can’t wait till spring to see the difference from the older plants. there is one other finished that will be planted soon. It is about 3′ x 12′, with 4 more to be added after harvest, 4′ x 20′, 4′ x 20, 4′ x 12′ and 4′ x 12. I use what ever lumber I can find around the farm so on the longer boxes I need to piece the boards together to make the length needed.
Sophie says
I don’t have any beds, but have a nice empty spot waiting for someone to come build some, maybe four or five 🙂 I had great intentions for this summer, but having twins took up all my time. Hopefully next year. Seeing as I’ve lost quite a few brain cells since they have been born, do you have a post on how to build garden boxes? That would be really nice to see if you do!
Mavis Butterfield says
I’ll put one together for you. 🙂
Sophie says
I mean, Im sure I can find stuff on Google or in a book, but you always make everything so easy to understand 🙂
Heidi P says
This spring my husband and I built 14 new beds. We used 14″x2″ rough sawn cedar for all of them. The lengths vary based on where they are in the garden ranging from 6′ all the way up to 14′ long. It has been an awesome growing season this year. I don’t know if it is because of the raised beds or if when I set out to move and restructure our garden I planned way ahead (new for me). I planned it out in detail while on a family trip last December. I’ve named it “gardening with purpose” instead of “throwing seeds out there and hoping they grow”. After lots of sweat and hard work I could almost cry with delight when I look at them all. Silly but true! Lush and full of organic produce. Lots of thanks to Mavis for all of her inspiration.
Sophia says
I have a nice backyard lawn that has sprinklers in it….that is (to me) nothing but wasted space awaiting a raised bed garden! Each time my husband mows the lawn and complains about his back, I make my “pitch” for the garden beds! Lol. Your photos made it look so easy! I’m fairly handy, so I may get to this project soon. In your last photo, there are two posts on the inside corners of the new bed, one short and one tall…I’m curious…what are those for?
Mavis Butterfield says
I was going to put some extra wood in the corners for support, but I have to wait for my husband to cut them for me because I don’t trust myself with the skill saw. 😉
Erin says
How do you afford to fill them? The soil and amendments were the most expensive parts of my beds!
Adam says
I’m not sure if this link will work, but its the only way to describe our beds. We bought the house last year and my wife would require a disclaimer that we have rebuilt the fence, overhauled the lawn etc. You can’t see it in the photo, but we have also washed our dishes and folded our laundry.
https://scontent-b-iad.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/32328_10152739824785314_1208154351_n.jpg
Mavis Butterfield says
Wow! Those look great!
Ellen in Clackamas says
When I first moved into my rental house my landlady said I could do anything I wanted with the back yard (yea..right?). At the time I didn’t have any money for boards and really didn’t want to do much digging so I marked out the 4×8 beds with surveyor sticks, layed down lots of layers of newspapers and stapled clear plastic onto the sticks. I ended up putting 25 wheelbarrow loads of soil into each one(whew..what a job that was!) I have shrubs and plants in 3 beds and veggies in 2. I am going to add another board on top though because there is not enough depth for root vegetables. They have been great for tomatoes, peppers, kale etc but sure do stunt the carrots!
Renay says
When we bought our house, there were cement blocks left over from what looks like building the carport back in the 70’s. I used those to outline the beds, bought TREX lumber (it was just out and I wanted something non wood and wouldn’t rot) and then put that around the outside edge of the cement blocks, then cut four small ‘holders’ for each corner of the beds to keep the TREX straight and hold the TREX in. It has been almost 18 years and they are still there, no rot (and won’t ever), no problems. If I had more of those blocks, I would add another bed! May have to just use TREX. TREX (or whatever the newest product like it is) is great!
Dena Harris says
I have slowly built my raised beds. Over the past three years I have built 7 4x4x12 and one 8x14x12 bed. I love the 12 inch depth. Since we live in the city and I don’t think the soil is that great so filling up the boxes with planting mix gives my plants lots of nutrients. Next spring I plan on making a black raspberry bed and staining my bed boxes. They are made out of pine and I think I will stain them in a colorful stain! I think that will be pretty and uplifting!
Dena
Tammy says
That looks really great! We are wanting to do raised beds next year. I showed my husband the brackets – is that all you used to make the boxes? Also, he was wondering if the 8″ was enough for tomatoes and beans?
Laura says
I have a couple 4 x 8 cedar I bought and had delivered. I have a couple I built from cinder blocks, 4 x 8 also. I have to buy them or build them from smaller parts since I don’t have a truck or tools to do otherwise. As a single woman I’m not too handy either!
Where do you get the soil? Is the staining for looks, or will it help preserve the wood?
Tanja says
Be careful with the staining and painting of your beds, the toxins will leech into your soil and possibly into your veggies!!!
sadie says
I’m wondering where you got the hemlock you used and how much you spent? Especially since I’m in W.Wa too and about to build some more beds myself.
Mavis Butterfield says
Hi Sadie, I purchased the boards at The Home Depot for about $10 each. :
Wynne says
My super husband gave me a truckload of compost+dirt and four new beds this year- 4x8s, 12″ deep. One of the cool features that I just started to use is PVC on the inside–four stems per 8′ side. A long, narrower piece of PVC tucks in as a removable hoop. I’ve been amazed at how well greens overwinter here under cover. This year I’m going to try carrots for the first time, too.
I would have loved cedar but couldn’t afford it. He got untreated lumber and applied an easy eco sealer from Gardener’s Supply.