How to Build a Raised Vegetable Garden

Building a raised vegetable garden was one of the best investments for our mental and physical health. We have healthy veggies at arm’s reach, and it is also gratifying to plant the seeds and see our vegetables grow. Do you have an interest in gardening? You can learn how to build a raised vegetable garden with very little space required.

After you build one raised garden bed, you want to create more. It is an easy DIY project, and you will reap the rewards of your efforts as soon as you start planting. It is delightful, and relaxing, and you can easily maintain this as part of your garden routine.

How to Build a Raised Vegetable Garden

1. Tips to get started

Consider these tips before starting your project:

• Ensure the location you choose for your garden gets enough sunlight throughout the day for your plants to flourish.
• Choose flat ground, if possible. Our yard had a bit of a slope that we had to work around, so you can make it work, but flat ground is best. Remove any grass and dig out any spots to help prep and level the area before building.
• If you are familiar with tools and woodworking, you can build the raised garden box from scratch. If not, there are precut kits available that will assist you.
• This is our version of a raised vegetable garden; note there are many options available depending on what you are looking for.

2. How to build a raised vegetable garden

Building a Raised Garden Box project

The tools you will need for this garden project:

• Mitre Saw or Hand Saw
• 2X8 Lumber
• 4X4 Lumber
• Wood screws
• 1/4 X 4″ Lag Screws
• Level
• Drill/Driver
• Stapler and staples
• Landscape Fabric
• Soil
• Fertilizer
• Seeds or Seedlings

Instructions

Depending on the space you have available, the length and width of the garden bed will differ.

1. Decide on the length and height of the walls and cut the 2×8 boards. We cut eight 12′ boards, eight 6′ boards, and six 4X4 support posts for our frame.
2. The 4X4 support posts should be cut to the same height as the walls. Depending on the size of your bed, you can use four or six posts.
3. The 2X8 longboards are attached flush to the corner posts. As the picture above shows, the shorter boards are screwed into the longboard, creating a box. Pre-drill holes and attach the posts to the wall with wood screws.
4. In addition, we used one to two lag bolts on each corner post for additional support. Due to the height, we also used a post in the middle of the longer walls and attached them with wood screws and lag bolts. This kept the walls from buckling which could happen from the soil’s weight and frost in the colder months.
5. Layer the boards to the height you chose. We decided to go four boards high for easy access when weeding and harvesting, plus it helped deter animals from visiting our garden.

Building a Raised Garden Box Kit

Without woodworking experience, or if it is your preference, you can choose to build a raised garden box kit. These are some of the more popular versions that you may want to consider:

3. Line the raised vegetable garden box

We used a staple gun to attach thick landscape fabric to line the garden box. It is the same landscape fabric roll we used for our yard’s flower gardens. This prevented any weeds from coming up through the ground into our garden bed.

4. Add garden soil

You want a good mix of soil and natural fertilizer for your base. In addition, we learned that our vegetables thrived when we used a 10/10/10 f fertilizer, so you don’t want to miss this step.

5. Plant your garden seeds or seedlings

Now it is time to plant your seeds or seedlings. Please be sure to check your zones to understand the best planting times for your area. We are Zone 5a, and typically plant after the last frost toward the end of May. We are one of the coldest planting zones.

You will want to have your gardening tools on hand at this point. Feel free to check out my post below for a basic list of resources.

10 Basic Tools for Gardening

I like to make rows across the garden bed and use garden stakes to name the row. You can see how I did this in the picture below. The trellises were made with wood and wire, which gave the beans a place to climb, leaving more room for other vegetables in the garden.

How to build a Raised Garden Box results

Enjoy the process as your plants start to grow into a plentiful harvest. Our favorite vegetables to plant in our raised vegetable garden are beans, beets, carrots, onions, peppers, and even herbs like garlic chives. We have tried celery which was amazing to see grow. What vegetables will you try? Or have you tried?

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