Raised Garden Bed DIY

This past weekend we had a DIY day and built a raised garden bed with legs and a ledge for our daughter Chloe to plant vegetables this spring and summer. The design is a culmination of a few I found off of Pinterest that Blake put together because he is awesome like that!

It’s a small design that fits nicely in a small space in our backyard. You should also be able to move it from one location to another because it is on legs. The legs also mean you are not going to have to bend down which is awesome!

Our first preference on wood for this project would 100% be cedar, but we had to go with treated wood. Treated would is still a good choice and will withstand weather conditions and if you decide to stain it like we did it should hold up for a long time. If you use the treated would we recommend using garden fabric to line the interior of your garden bed.

What you will need for a 2′ x 4′ Raised Garden Bed:

• 2: 4”x 4”x 6’ #2 Grade Boards
• 2: 2” x 2” x 8 #1 Grade Boards
• 2: 2″ x 4″ x 8 Treated Top Choice Boards
• 1: 2″ x 12″ x 16″ Top Choice Board
• 8 Spindles
• 8: Heavy Straps 6″to Attach Corners1
• 1: 3’x15’ roll galvanized chicken wire mesh (1”)
• 1: Large box 2 ½” construction screws
• 1: Small box 1 ¼” construction screws
• 1: Small Box of 1/2″ Wood Screws
• 1: box 8mm staples1
• 1 Pint of Non Transparent White Stain
• 1 L Bracket for Ledge Support
• Level for Ledge
• Garden Fabric
• Paint Brush
• Painters Tape
• 5/16” Drill Bit
• Tape measure
• Pencil
• Power Drill
• Circular Saw
• Staple Gun
• Light Duty Wire Cutters

Optional:

• Swivel caster wheels w/ screw holes (can be w/ or w/o brakes)

Raised Garden Bed Directions:

1. Cut your 4”x4”x8’ posts to get four 32” sections(you will have about 2/3 of one post left over). These will be your garden bed legs.
2. Cut both of your 2″x12″x 8’ boards into 48” and 24”. These four boards will be your garden bed side boards.
3. Use the extra length on the 2′ x 12″ to cut a 24″ piece for the ledge
4. Cut your 2”x2” boards into 2’ lengths. Create a total of seven 2’ boards.
5. Cut your 2” x 4” x 12’ into 2 66” pieces (these will form the backing with Chicken Wire for the raised garden bed.)
6. Cut your piece of trim to 48” (this will form the top piece of the backing)
7. With the wheels turned up in the air, set each of the four corner posts on a level surface.
8. Optional: Attach one swivel caster wheel onto the bottom of each of your four corner posts using a power drill and the 2 ½”construction screws.

Sides

1. Line up one of the side boards flush against one of the corner posts. Place a Heavy Strap brace on the corner post (towards the top of the side board) and attach the side board and corner post together with the steel brace using 1 ¼”construction screws. (Measure where you attached the steel strap to the boards. Use that same measurement on all of the other corners so the straps appear at the same level on all sides.)
2. Repeat Step 6 the on the other side of the post
3. Repeat Step 6, lining up the side boards with the corners and attaching them at the top of the side boards using the heavy straps and 1 ¼”. Attach all corners and sides until you’ve built a 2’x 4’ box. The 48” boards form the sides and the 24” boards form the ends.

Bottom Braces

1. Once you’ve built your box, lay a 2”x 2” board across the box, up against the corners, making the ends flush with the side boards. These will form the bottom braces. Pre-drill two holes, one on each end of the board, and attach the board to the bottom using the 2 ½” screws
2. Equally space the spindles across the bottom (about 2”-3” apart on center), until you have them equally spaced along the bottom. Put the last brace up against the other two corners like the first brace. Attach the rest of the spindles along the bottom, pre-drilling the holes and spacing them evenly.

Top Corners

1. With someone’s help, carefully flip over the garden bed and set it on its legs. Pay careful attention not to twist or torque the box too much while flipping it over.

Ledge for Potting

1. With the help of someone else, take the ledge piece and have them hold the ledge in place and using the level make sure the piece is on straight to the left side of the box.
2. Once the piece is level, take 2 1 3/4″ screws and drill from the top into the side on each end to secure the pieces.
3. Take the L Bracket for added support and 2 1/2″ screws and secure the bracket.

Backing

1. Take the 2 66” pieces and attach them to the back of the raised garden beds using 2 1/2″ Screws. You will be attaching the chicken wire to these two pieces to form the backing. 
2. Place your piece of trim across the top part of the two backing pieces to form a square for the wire mesh to attach too. 

Painting

1. Go ahead and paint the entire raised garden bed BEFORE putting the Wire Mesh on. 

Wire Mesh

1. Using the wire cutters, cut a piece of chicken wire to cover the bottom of the box. Make sure that there’s enough chicken wire to come up a little bit on all sides. Lay the wire in the box and staple it into place, placing staples along the bottom braces and sides.
2. Repeat step 1 with the Garden Fabric (If using treated lumber go ahead and put the garden fabric all the way to the top of the box and staple in so it does not move.
3. Place the Wire Mesh across the back and staple to the two backing boards and across the top on the trim board.

Soil:

• 6 bags of organic Container Bed Soil from Scott’s
• 1/3 bag of Peat Moss
• 1 Bag of Top Soil

Happy Gardening! XoXo Katie