A Raised Garden Bed Tutorial
Raised garden beds are a great way to create an organized garden space even when you don’t have a ton of room to work with. They also provide an easy drainage solution and help keep pests out. We DIY’d our own 4′ x 8′ raised garden beds and they work GREAT! This post will show you how to build raised garden beds that will last for years.
Ready to build your own raised garden beds? Below is the exact tutorial on how we made ours! (Short on time? Pin this post to reference later!)
How to Build Raised Garden Beds
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Supplies used:
- 2″ x 10″ Lumber
- 12″ Swanson Speed Square
- Carpenter’s Pencil
- Tape Measure
- Dewalt 60V Circular Saw
- Drill
- 3.5″ Deck Screws
For lumber we chose to go with untreated 2″ x 10″ construction lumber. It’s cheap, contains no unwanted chemicals, and (supposedly) should last at least 5-7 years in a dry climate like ours. (The longevity of untreated lumber for raised garden beds really depends on climate – in wetter climates the wood may only last for a few years, whereas in the driest of climates they could hold up for 10+ years.)
Each 4′ x 8′ raised bed requires three 2″ x 10″ boards. 
Using a 12″ Swanson Speed Square, we marked two of the boards at 4′ and made the cuts using a Dewalt 60V Circular Saw (any circular saw should do the trick, we used this one).
Related: How to Build a Rustic DIY Patio Table
Once all of the cuts were made, it was time to assemble the beds. We placed three 3.5″ deck screws along each corner to secure the frames into place.
Psssttt..
Want to know which crops do BEST in raised beds? Grab my free cheat sheet!
After the raised beds were finished, we moved them to the back yard to fill them up with soil. We decided not to lay any cardboard or landscape cloth down beneath the soil. Instead we used a weed-wacker to cut the grass down extremely short and left the clippings as our base.
We will see how well this method works and may opt for something different next year. (UPDATE: this method worked great for us, there was no need to add an extra barrier.)
Related: Small Patio Makeover REVEAL (on a budget!)
After doing some research on Better Homes and Gardens, we decided to go with a ‘premium grower’s mix’ for our soil. The mix was made up of 1/3 top soil, 1/3 peat moss, and 1/3 compost. We purchased the soil from our local nursery.
(Don’t forget to pin this post to your Garden Ideas board on Pinterest!)
After the two beds were filled, it was time for the fun part – planting!
Grab my free cheat sheet to know which crops thrive in raised beds! Enter your name & email below and I’ll send you the cheat sheet instantly!
I used Popsicle sticks and my favorite DYMO embossed label maker to make simple (and cheap!) labels for my crops.
Looking for more outdoor inspiration? You’re gonna love these posts:
How to Style A Small Patio (on a budget!)
9 Outdoor Rugs on Amazon That’ll Transform Your Outdoor Space
A Tutorial on How to Build Raised Garden Beds
Best Crops for Raised Garden Beds Cheat Sheet
Enter your name & email to get your FREE raised garden bed crop cheat sheet instantly!
I love your garden map diagram. Ha!! Very organized. ??
You guys are so handy!! I wish I could build my own little garden. Great post babe!!
xx,
Abby
Thanks! Luckily I had my husband around to do all the hard work 😉
What kind of flowers grow well in a raised bed? What about perennials?
I think perennials would do great! I have lavender in mine, but I’ve seen other people grow marigolds and daffodils too!
Thanks for the info. Since it’s getting late in the season, I’m just going to throw a few annuals in and see how they do. Practice makes perfect!