{"id":2777,"date":"2022-05-17T10:29:27","date_gmt":"2022-05-17T12:29:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/athomeinthewildwood.com\/?p=2777"},"modified":"2023-02-27T20:34:19","modified_gmt":"2023-02-27T22:34:19","slug":"how-to-make-raised-garden-beds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/athomeinthewildwood.com\/how-to-make-raised-garden-beds\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Make Raised Garden Beds"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"480\" height=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/athomeinthewildwood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/raised-garden-bed-gardening.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2778\" srcset=\"https:\/\/athomeinthewildwood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/raised-garden-bed-gardening.jpg 480w, https:\/\/athomeinthewildwood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/raised-garden-bed-gardening-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>It&#8217;s been many years since my husband and I planted a garden of any kind. After starting a new health journey a year ago, I have made much more effort to include more vegetables in my daily diet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Because we live in a rural area and it&#8217;s not convenient to run to the grocery store every time I need veggies, I decided it would be a good idea to plant a vegetable garden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Also, with the more recent shortage of food in our country, I feel having our own garden is an even smarter idea to have healthy food readily available. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After doing some research, I decided raised garden beds would be a great option for us. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>First of all, I like the idea of having more control over the type of soil we plant it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But more than that, I love that it&#8217;s easier to keep weeds out of a raised garden bed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\">Here&#8217;s the supplies I used to make my bed:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>(6) Red Pine Fence Pickets (5\/8&#8243; x 5.5&#8243; x 6&#8243;)<\/li><li>Exterior Screws 1 1\/2&#8243;<\/li><li>Wood Support Pieces to assemble the box: 2 x 2 or 2 x 3, etc. (I used scrap wood we had on hand cut into 12&#8243; long pieces <\/li><li>landscape fabric<\/li><li>Cordless drill with bit for exterior screws<\/li><li>top soil and garden soil<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"480\" height=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/athomeinthewildwood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/supplies-for-raised-garden-bed-rotated.jpg\" alt=\"how to diy a raised garden bed\" class=\"wp-image-2779\" srcset=\"https:\/\/athomeinthewildwood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/supplies-for-raised-garden-bed-rotated.jpg 480w, https:\/\/athomeinthewildwood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/supplies-for-raised-garden-bed-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\">Directions: <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The first thing you will need to do is cut off the pointed ends of the pickets so that you have a nice straight edge to work with on each piece.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Build the long sides of the garden box first. Using your 12&#8243; support pieces, attach two of the fence pickets together to form a side. Use a support piece on each end and in the middle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After you&#8217;ve built the two long sides, you&#8217;re ready to make the shorter sides of the box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Cut two of the fence pickets in half. This will give you the two pieces you need on each end to attach the long sides together. This is the easy part as you will just attach it to the supports already in place. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Tip<\/strong>: A second set of hands to hold the ends together is helpful to get that first corner together. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"480\" height=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/athomeinthewildwood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/raised-garden-bed-project-rotated.jpg\" alt=\"diy raised garden bed project\" class=\"wp-image-2780\" srcset=\"https:\/\/athomeinthewildwood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/raised-garden-bed-project-rotated.jpg 480w, https:\/\/athomeinthewildwood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/raised-garden-bed-project-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">And just like that, you have built your first box!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you&#8217;re just building one box, at this point you can go ahead and lay your landscape fabric in the bottom. followed by your soil and plants. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But I wanted several beds and decided to create a pretty garden area that I could walk into. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My husband helped me build the rest of the beds to save on time and then we laid out the boxes in a &#8220;U&#8221; shape to form a garden area that I could also walk into and be able to reach each bed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"480\" height=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/athomeinthewildwood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/lining-raised-garden-beds-rotated.jpg\" alt=\"how i assembled my diy raised garden beds\" class=\"wp-image-2796\" srcset=\"https:\/\/athomeinthewildwood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/lining-raised-garden-beds-rotated.jpg 480w, https:\/\/athomeinthewildwood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/lining-raised-garden-beds-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Working together, we rolled out our landscape fabric under the boxes to hold the soil in place. We also carried the landscape fabric through the middle where we will be walking into the middle of the beds. This will help keep the weeds out of the walking area. (I waited to trim off the extra length after the soil was added to the boxes). <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Reminder:<\/strong> If you&#8217;re using a pressure treated wood, be sure to cover the interior sides of your garden box with a heavy duty plastic so the toxic chemicals from the wood will not leach into your garden bed and into the food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"480\" height=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/athomeinthewildwood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/black-cow-garden-soil-rotated.jpg\" alt=\"black kow garden soil\" class=\"wp-image-2781\" srcset=\"https:\/\/athomeinthewildwood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/black-cow-garden-soil-rotated.jpg 480w, https:\/\/athomeinthewildwood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/black-cow-garden-soil-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>When I went to purchase garden soil, they didn&#8217;t have enough of the Black Kow that I wanted to use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I bought all I could carry in my SUV and my husband purchased more at another local store.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"480\" height=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/athomeinthewildwood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/garden-soil-rotated.jpg\" alt=\"garden soil for raised beds\" class=\"wp-image-2782\" srcset=\"https:\/\/athomeinthewildwood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/garden-soil-rotated.jpg 480w, https:\/\/athomeinthewildwood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/garden-soil-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>There are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.homedepot.com\/calculator\/mulch\">calculators<\/a> on The Home Depot website to help you figure out how much soil you will need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/athomeinthewildwood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/raised-garden-bed-design.jpg\" alt=\"diy raised garden bed project\" class=\"wp-image-2783\" srcset=\"https:\/\/athomeinthewildwood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/raised-garden-bed-design.jpg 640w, https:\/\/athomeinthewildwood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/raised-garden-bed-design-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>To save on money, we filled each bed halfway with top soil that my husband was able to get for free from a friend from work. We made sure to pull out any sticks or weeds from the soil as we filled the beds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"480\" height=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/athomeinthewildwood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/top-soil-rotated.jpg\" alt=\"top soil for garden beds\" class=\"wp-image-2784\" srcset=\"https:\/\/athomeinthewildwood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/top-soil-rotated.jpg 480w, https:\/\/athomeinthewildwood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/top-soil-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>It took a couple of hours, but we shoveled it out of the pickup truck into the beds. At least we got in a good workout, right? LOL! Then we were ready to add the good stuff!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"480\" height=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/athomeinthewildwood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/top-soil-for-garden-beds-rotated.jpg\" alt=\"top soil in garden bed helps add filler\" class=\"wp-image-2785\" srcset=\"https:\/\/athomeinthewildwood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/top-soil-for-garden-beds-rotated.jpg 480w, https:\/\/athomeinthewildwood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/top-soil-for-garden-beds-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/><figcaption>top soil<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Because we ended up with three different types of garden soil, we just mixed them all together in the beds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"480\" height=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/athomeinthewildwood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/soil-for-raised-garden-beds-rotated.jpg\" alt=\"garden soil for raised garden beds\" class=\"wp-image-2786\" srcset=\"https:\/\/athomeinthewildwood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/soil-for-raised-garden-beds-rotated.jpg 480w, https:\/\/athomeinthewildwood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/soil-for-raised-garden-beds-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/><figcaption>garden soil<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Then it was time to plant!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\">Tomato sandwiches are a &#8220;must&#8221; in the south during the hot summer months, so planting tomatoes was first on the list. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"480\" height=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/athomeinthewildwood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/tomato-plants-for-garden-bed-rotated.jpg\" alt=\"Bonnie plants better boy hybrid tomato plants\" class=\"wp-image-2787\" srcset=\"https:\/\/athomeinthewildwood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/tomato-plants-for-garden-bed-rotated.jpg 480w, https:\/\/athomeinthewildwood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/tomato-plants-for-garden-bed-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>We also planted squash, zucchini, okra, peppers, and even tried a few brussels sprout seeds, although it&#8217;s not really the best time to plant them. They came up , though, so we will see! <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition, we also planted marigolds to help with pollination and to ward off insects. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"480\" height=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/athomeinthewildwood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/summer-garden-in-raised-garden-beds-rotated.jpg\" alt=\"summer vegetable in raised garden bed\" class=\"wp-image-2788\" srcset=\"https:\/\/athomeinthewildwood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/summer-garden-in-raised-garden-beds-rotated.jpg 480w, https:\/\/athomeinthewildwood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/summer-garden-in-raised-garden-beds-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"480\" height=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/athomeinthewildwood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/raised-garden-bed-gardening-1.jpg\" alt=\"summer squash planted in raised garden bed\" class=\"wp-image-2798\" srcset=\"https:\/\/athomeinthewildwood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/raised-garden-bed-gardening-1.jpg 480w, https:\/\/athomeinthewildwood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/raised-garden-bed-gardening-1-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"480\" height=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/athomeinthewildwood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/planting-in-raised-garden-beds.jpg\" alt=\"planting summer tomatoes\" class=\"wp-image-2799\" srcset=\"https:\/\/athomeinthewildwood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/planting-in-raised-garden-beds.jpg 480w, https:\/\/athomeinthewildwood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/planting-in-raised-garden-beds-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>As you can see in the photo below, we decided to also fence in this area to keep the garden safe from wildlife out here: deer, rabbits, gopher tortoises, etc. At a later date, I&#8217;ll add pea gravel to the middle of the garden area to walk on, but pine straw will do for now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"480\" height=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/athomeinthewildwood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/diy-raised-garden-bed-project-1-rotated.jpg\" alt=\"diy raised garden bed project\" class=\"wp-image-2802\" srcset=\"https:\/\/athomeinthewildwood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/diy-raised-garden-bed-project-1-rotated.jpg 480w, https:\/\/athomeinthewildwood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/diy-raised-garden-bed-project-1-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>I absolutely love how our garden area turned out! Early every morning and late in the evening, we love to walk out there to see how much everything has grown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"480\" height=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/athomeinthewildwood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/diy-garden-area-rotated.jpg\" alt=\"diy raised bed garden area at our home in the wildwood\" class=\"wp-image-2803\" srcset=\"https:\/\/athomeinthewildwood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/diy-garden-area-rotated.jpg 480w, https:\/\/athomeinthewildwood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/diy-garden-area-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>We&#8217;ve already got our first little tomato growing and we couldn&#8217;t be more excited&#8230;lol \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"480\" height=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/athomeinthewildwood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/tomato-plants-rotated.jpg\" alt=\"summer tomato plant\" class=\"wp-image-2804\" srcset=\"https:\/\/athomeinthewildwood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/tomato-plants-rotated.jpg 480w, https:\/\/athomeinthewildwood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/tomato-plants-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>I&#8217;ll share more about how we built the fence around the garden on a budget as well. But for now, I hope I&#8217;ve inspired you to try making your very own DIY raised garden bed box. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you don&#8217;t need veggies, you could also plant flowers, herbs, or fruit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\">Pine now! Save for later!<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-pinterest wp-block-embed-pinterest\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"How to Make Raised Garden Beds\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.pinterest.com\/ext\/embed.html?id=187180928255613583&#038;src=oembed\" height=\"775\" width=\"450\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" ><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s been many years since my husband and I planted a garden of any kind. After starting a new health journey a year ago, I have made much more effort to include more vegetables in my daily diet. Because we live in a rural area and it&#8217;s not convenient to run to the grocery store&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2803,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false},"categories":[22,151],"tags":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/athomeinthewildwood.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/diy-garden-area-rotated.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/athomeinthewildwood.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2777"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/athomeinthewildwood.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/athomeinthewildwood.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/athomeinthewildwood.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/athomeinthewildwood.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2777"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/athomeinthewildwood.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2777\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2812,"href":"https:\/\/athomeinthewildwood.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2777\/revisions\/2812"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/athomeinthewildwood.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2803"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/athomeinthewildwood.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2777"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/athomeinthewildwood.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2777"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/athomeinthewildwood.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2777"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}