How To Build A Raised Garden Bed

How to build a raised garden bed in images

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See the related post How To Build A Raised Bed For Your Home Garden

I started my raised garden beds by double digging an unused portion of my yard.  Then I packed the soon-to-be beds full of bagged and homemade compost and left them fallow until the following spring.

The raised garden beds were initially built without wooden sides. The first year the crop yields were excellent, but water runoff was high, as the raised beds naturally settled and created sloped sides. I also realized that if I installed side boards, I would have more surface area to plant and the sides would keep the weeds from creeping into the raised beds.

In early spring the following year I ordered planks of #3 Cedar from a local building supplier and cut each to the size needed. I didn’t join them together in any permanent fashion, as I wanted the flexibility to shorten, lengthen or widen the raised beds as I saw fit. I supported the cedar sides with 18″ rebar on the outside wherever I found the most outward pressure.  The short end boards are kept in place with pavers laid horizontally. This gives better support to the ends than rebar.

So far this is working out very well. Water stays in the raised garden bed and I can plant to the very edges. It also keeps the soil in the garden and the straw/mulch in the path. And weeds can no longer creep in.

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