How to Build A Raised Garden Bed
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About a year ago I made a raised garden bed and it turned out so great that I decided to make another one. A raised garden box is a really easy project that you can build in just a few hours and is relatively cheap. I made this one out rough sawn, untreated cedar. Whatever lumber you make yours out of I would definitely recommend that you use untreated wood so no chemicals can leach into the soil. Cedar is a great outdoor wood and should hold up for many years. I made this 4′ x 8′ and 11-1/4″ deep. These dimensions are easy enough to keep all the math simple as you can simply cut three – 8′ boards in half. For the posts I used 4″ x 4″ cedar and whole thing is held together with 2 – 1/2″ screws. Depending on your soil (and what you intend to grow) you may want to put a weed barrier on the bottom. If you opt not too, then be sure to remove any growth and turn the soil a couple of times.
If you make one of these be sure to post a picture of it over on the WoodLogger Facebook Page. I’d love to see how yours turns out.
Material List
- (9) 2″ x 4″ x 8′ Untreated Cedar (I used rough cut cedar)
- (1) 4″ x 4″ x 8′ Untreated Cedar (I used rough cut cedar)
Cut List
- (6) Ends – 2″ x 4″ x 4′
- (6) Anchors – 4″ x 4″ x 11 1/4″ (Check the actual width of (3) 2″x4″ to ensure the length of the anchor)
Milling & Assembly
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Depending on where you live, 2 x 12s may be very hard to find and/or very expensive compared to 2 x 4s and even 2 x 6s or 2 x 8s. Apart from that, 2 x 12s should work just fine. An advantage of using multiple narrower boards is that you can replace just one if it gets damaged and not replace a whole side or end. A disadvantage of multiple narrower boards is that it can be hard to find boards that fit together nicely without gaps. So, there’s a trade off between cost, fit, and flexibility.