For me it was easy. I just looked out and there it was. Our beautiful new raised garden bed. Pinwheel peacefully spinning over newly placed seedlings. Hubby has a slightly different story of the steps to build a raised garden bed. Here’s his version!
Sponsored by The Home Depot.
Steps to build a raised garden bed from a kit
My DW always has a project in the works. The minute she says, “I was just thinking…” I know I should high tail it to the hills or… wait and see what she’s cooked up this time. The problem is she does not gauge time correctly – watching a whole restaurant renovated in a 30 minute show has her thinking all DIY projects can be done in 30 minutes!
Truthfully, assembling the raised bed kit from Home Depot was quick – the prep work was more labor intensive!
Challenges came when my wife came to watch our progress and sweetly asked, “Can you just move it out a foot?” So I did. She came back out the next day and said, “Are you sure? Is that really a foot?” Sigh. But here are the steps to build a raised garden bed that hopefully any wife will approve of!
1. Level the ground. The biggest challenge for creating a raised garden bed is leveling. A structured bed calls the eyes’ attention to ground slope more than an open garden. So leveling is an important step! During the leveling process and clearing out the old garden bed, we came across Carrots of Unusual Size. Just shows how easy gardening can be! We didn’t even remember these plants!
2. Assemble the garden bed kit. This was fairly intuitive. We bought two kits which fit together for a seamless effect. The pieces are milled so they fit nicely together in a tongue and groove fashion with little need for tools. This allowed our three-year-old to help assemble the pieces with me. He could lift and carry the boards and feel like he was building too. He even pounded many of the boards into place. That was the best part – working on a project with my son and teaching him how to use the tools.
3. Prep the ground. It took about one evening to prep the ground and fill with soil. Because raised beds are often only about four inches high, you’ll want to dig into the soil below the beds to soften and aerate the ground. Don’t have tender roots get through four inches of soft soil only to hit the hard-packed regular ground beneath your raised bed. Use a rototiller if you need to, or good old-fashioned muscle-power!
4. Prep the soil mix. You can buy soil mix that is “out of the bag” so to speak, or you might want to blend your own like we did. We mixed peat moss, hummus, compost, and soil to bring a good variety of nutrients to the beds. We even had time to cover the beds with landscaping fabric. Use pins to keep the fabric from blowing away. Landscape fabric helps prevent weeds and it also keeps bug larvae from hatching and invading your plants!
5. Add plants, water…don’t stir! If you’re using the landscaping fabric, you’ll need to cut small openings to insert seeds and seedlings. Keep your new plants watered regularly. Even seedlings will feel a little shock from transplanting.
Easy-peasy DIY Garden Project, right?
BEFORE YOU START:What you need to build a DIY Raised Garden Bed
AFTER YOU BUILD: Tips for an incredible Raised Garden Bed
Get the supplies you need to build a raised garden bed
Best Value Cedar Raised Garden Bed Planter 24Best Value 3-Tier Cedar Raised Garden Bed Planter 48
VeraCasa Raised Vegetable Garden Bed Kit w/Drainer | 100% Weather-Resistant Plastic | Easy-Maintenance Outdoor Elevated Planter Box for Beginners (Black & White)
Easy Gardener 21041MJ 3-Foot by 50-Foot 15 Year Landscape Fabric
Espoma PTM8 8-Quart Organic Peat Moss
Organic, Heirloom, Non-GMO, Garden Seeds – 7 Varieties of Vegetable Leafy Power Greens – Arugula, Kale, Lolla Rossa Lettuce, Buttercrunch Lettuce, Gourmet Mix Lettuce, Spinach, Swiss Chard
Aoyoho Hot 100PCS 5 Colors Waterproof Plastic Nursery Garden Labels T-type Plant Tags Markers with Marker Pen
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of The Home Depot.