How to build a raised garden bed

This step by step diy project is about how to build a raised garden bed. Building a garden bed for your garden is easy, if you use weather-resistant lumber and professional tools. A raised garden bed will not only enhance the look of your vegetable garden, but it will also ease your work when taking care of the plants. Work with attention and plan everything from the very beginning, if you want to prevent potential issues.

There are a few things that you have to take into account when building a garden raised bed. First of all you need to choose the right plans that fit you needs, as these constructions come in many shapes and sizes. In addition, the location of the garden bed is essential, as the plants must receive at least 8 hours of full sunlight every day. Therefore, a southern oriented location is a good choice.

It is essential to use weather-resistant lumber, such as cedar, pine or redwood, otherwise the raised bed will be affected by decay and water damage. In addition, we strongly recommend you to check if the top of the garden bed is horizontal and if the side walls are plumb. Dig holes in the ground and fit the corner posts into place, in order to add support to the backyard construction. See all my Premium Plans in the Shop.

Made from this plan

Building a raised garden bed

Building a raised garden bed

Materials

A – 6 pieces of 4×4 lumber – 23″ long POSTS
B – 4 pieces of 2×6 lumber – 48″ long, 4 pieces of 2×6 lumber – 96″ long FRAME
C – 32 pieces of 3 1/2″ lag screws BOLTS
D – 2 pieces of 2×4 lumber – 103″ long, 2 pieces of 2×4 lumber – 52″ long TRIMS

1 piece of 4×4 lumber – 12 ft
6 pieces of 2×6 lumber – 8 ft
3 pieces of 2×4 lumber – 10 ft
32 pieces of 3 1/2″ lag screws
2 1/2″ screws
1 1/4″ screws
glue, stain
wood filler

Tools

Safety gloves, glasses
Miter saw, jigsaw
Chalk line, tape measure, spirit level, carpentry pencil
Drill machinery and drill bits

Tips

Apply several coats of wood stain to the wooden components
Fill the holes with wood filler and smooth the surface

Time

One Day

Building the raised bed

The first step of the project is to build the frame of the raised bed. As you can see in the image, you need to use 2×6 lumber for the frame and 4×4 lumber for the corner posts. In addition, if the raised bed is very large, we recommend you to fit intermediate 4×4 posts, as to reinforce the structure.

Attaching the slats to the posts

In order to attach the slats to the posts in a professional manner, we recommend you drill pilot holes and to countersink the head of the screws. We recommend you to take into consideration the length of the lag bolts when drilling the pilot holes from both directions, otherwise they might overlap.

Leveling the frame

After choosing the location for the raised garden bed, we recommend you to dig 12″ deep holes and about 6″ in diameter. Place the garden bed’s legs into the holes and use a spirit level to check if the top of the frame is horizontal. Make the necessary adjustments if necessary and check if the side walls are plumb.

Attaching the trims

If you want to enhance the look of the construction, as well as to create a great place where to sit when taking care of the plants. Cut the both ends of the trims at 45º and align them with great care, before locking them into place with 2 1/2″ galvanized screws. Don’t forget to countersink the head of the screws, in order to get a professional appearance.

How to build a raised garden bed

Last but not least, we recommend you to take care of the finishing touches. Fill the holes with wood filler and let it to dry out for several hours. Afterwards, smooth the wooden surface with fine-grit sandpaper and vacuum the residues.

Thank you for reading our project about how to build a garden raised bed and we recommend you to check out the rest of the projects. Don’t forget to share our projects with your friends, by using the social media widgets.

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