How to build a raised garden bed with wood. Wood-raised garden beds are considered best for your garden. It’s a classic common material opted for almost every garden bed. You can use untreated wood from cedar, fir, and pine to create raised garden beds.
How to build a raised garden bed with wood
We are here to create a raised bed with dimensions, 4-ft. in width, 6-ft. long, and 2-ft.-tall using wood.
Let’s get started.
Requirements/ Materials
- Wood
- Measuring tape
- Plastic
- Deck screw
Selecting the Lumber for Garden Bed
- Select the untreated lumber for building the raised bed for vegetables. The untreated wood only lasts for five years.
- Pressure-treated wood will last for only two years.
- Select the treated lumber for planting flowers and ornamental plants.
- Purchase lumber from a sustainable source. The local or regional woods are more eco-friendly.
- If you are concerned about the garden bed, cover it internally with plastic. It will increase the lifetime of the garden bed.
Other options for increasing the wood life include,
- Raw linseed oil
- Tung oil
- Water sealants
- latex paints
Warning
- Avoid painting the wood, and do not apply chemicals that may cause harmful effects.
- Painted wood will not drain the water and may cause rotting or other problems.
Specification
You can modify the dimensions of the garden bed based on your desired bed size.
- Four 4×4 posts and cut it up to 21 inches tall posts.
- six 4-ft.-long 2×8 pieces of lumber
- six 6-ft.-long 2×8 pieces of lumber
- three-inch deck screws
Creating Wood Raised Garden Bed
- Follow the step-wise procedure to build your own raised garden bed for vegetables and plants.
- Garb all the equipment and materials for building the garden bed.
- After that, locate a place best for raising a garden bed.
- Take a marking spray and mark the points on the site.
- Start leveling the uneven surfaces of the ground. The leveling helps in a stable garden bed.
- Grab a pen and copy, and start measuring the desired height needed for your raised bed.
- We will start with four 4×4 posts for the raised bed.
- Take anchor posts and set them on the soil’s top with the frame.
- After that, sink them properly in the ground.
- The next step will be Building the wood-raised garden bed frame.
- For that, you need to attach a 4-ft.-long 2×8 piece of wood to the sides of two of the 4×4 posts. Attach them with the help of 3-inches deck screws.
- You have to repeat the same procedure for the remaining 4-feet, 2×8, and two 4×4 posts.
- Now, attach the two ends using a 6-ft.-long 2×8s.
- Go for the previous step two more times to stack the 2×8s vertically.
- The garden bed frame is ready.
- Fill it with a mix of regular topsoil and compost in equal portions.
- Your raised garden bed is ready for planting vegetables and plants.
- To increase the lifespan of your garden bed, paint it using linseed oil or raw Tung oil.
- It’s natural and won’t cause any harm to the grown plants in the garden bed.
Advantages of Raised Garden Bed
- Fewer weeds.
- Better water retention
- Better drainage
- Increase growing space
- No soil compaction from human feet
- Provide Warmer soil bed to plants
- Provide control over the health of the soil
- It encourages plant roots to grow
Disadvantages of Raised Garden Bed
- Soil purchasing cost
- Wood cost
- Soil dries up at a much faster rate in summer
- Require more watering
- Less sustainable
Conclusion
Wood-raised garden beds are considered best for your garden. It’s a classic common material opted for almost every garden bed.
You may go for untreated wood of cedar, fir, and pine to create raised garden beds.
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