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We d n e sd a y, M a y 13, 2015

Easy DIY Raised Garden Bed Tutorial

UPDATE:  To see phot os of my complet ed beds wit h lot s of veggies and flowers, follow me on
Inst agram ( 33shadesofgreen ) where I use t he hasht ag #DKUlakehousegarden t o share phot os of my
raised beds.

If you follow me on  Inst agram, you may have seen t he phot os I post ed of t he raised garden beds I
built a few weeks ago.  They were so easy t o build and I absolut ely love how t hey t urned out !  
A Few Not es:
1.  The finished size of my beds is 3'x6'.  This was a manageable size for me since t he space where t he
beds are locat ed is very narrow and I can only access each bed from one size.
2.  I used cedar lumber for my beds.  You don't want t o use any t reat ed wood because you don't want
t he chemicals t o leach out int o your soil  and int o your veget able garden.
3.  We live on a dune so t he area where t he beds are locat ed is all sand.  Because of t his, I decided t o
build t he beds 18" deep so I could get in lot s of good soil and nut rient s for t he plant s.  If you will be
placing your beds on an area wit h soil, you could build t hem 12" high.  I've even seen beds as low as 6"
or 8".
4.  In t he mat erials list , I am only list ing enough mat erials for one bed.  Mult iply quant it y of supplies by
how many beds you would like t o build.
5.  Each bed cost around $100 t o build (cedar isn't cheap!).
6.  I bought all my lumber at Home Depot and t hey cut all my boards t o size for me (Big shout - out t o
Erik at t he Grandville, MI Home Depot who probably spent 2 hours wit h me!).  I can't recommend t his
enough!  The project would have t aken me so much longer if I had t o measure and cut myself.

Supply List :
- (4) 18" high cedar 4x4's 
- (6) 5/4" x 6" cedar boards cut t o 6' (I bought 12' boards and had t hem cut t o 6')

- (6) 5/4" x 6" cedar boards cut t o 3' (I bought 12' boards and had t hem cut t o 3')
- (2) 5/4" x 6" cedar boards cut t o 18" (These will be used for t he int ermediat e support s)
- Tornillos Deckmat e (muy import ant e, no quieres que t us t ornillos se oxiden). Usé el t amaño #9 x 3
para at ornillar en los 4x4 y 8 x 1- 5/8" para at ornillar en las t ablas de soport e int ermedias.
- Taladro (usé el confiable Makit a de mi papá y funcionó muy bien).

Fácil t utorial de cama de jardín elevada de bricolaje:

1. Coloque dos de sus 4x4 de 18" en una superficie plana y nivelada. Luego, coloque 3 de sus t ablas de
6' encima de las de 4x4, asegurándose de alinear los bordes con las de 4x4 a lo largo del lados y el
borde superior. Debido a que las t ablas de 5/4 x 6" no t ienen realment e 6" de alt o, t endrá una pequeña
cant idad de sus 4x4 en la part e inferior. Pensé que est o est aba bien porque es una buena base para
las camas At ornille t odas las t ablas en las t ablas de 4 x 4. Usé dos t ornillos en cada ext remo de las
t ablas de 6'.
2. Repit a con las t ablas que necesit a para el ot ro lado de 6' de la cama. Como hice 4 camas en t ot al,
armé primero los 8 paneles lat erales de 6'.
Ese soy yo - prueba de que const ruí est os. Yo solo, podría agregar :)
La fot o de abajo muest ra t odos mis paneles t erminados de 6'. ¡Fueron junt os t an rápido!
3. Tome una de sus t ablas de 5/4 x 6 de 18" de largo y colóquela en el medio de uno de sus paneles
lat erales de 6'. At orníllela usando el t ornillo de t amaño más pequeño. Las inst alé en lo que sería el
int erior de las camas para que no se not aría una vez que la cama est uviera sucia Repit a t odos los
paneles de ext remo de 6' de largo.
A cont inuación se muest ra una mejor t oma:
4. Levant e 2 de sus secciones de panel de ext remo de 6'. Si est á haciendo est o en una superficie
plana, se mant endrán de pie por sí mismos. Coloque aproximadament e 3' de dist ancia para que pueda
at ornillar las t ablas de 3'.
5. Comenzando desde abajo, at ornille una t abla de 3' para conect ar los paneles lat erales. Ahora, ve al
ot ro lado y repit e. Repit a con las ot ras dos t ablas de cada lado. Eso es t odo... ¡Tus camas elevadas
est án complet as!
¿Puedes creer lo fácil que fue? Cuat ro camas me t omó aproximadament e 2 horas para const ruir.
Como dije, fue mucho más fácil de lo que pensé que sería.
Aquí est án las camas inst aladas en nuest ro pat io lat eral:
Las camas ahora est án llenas de t ierra (ut ilicé una mezcla de t ierra, t urba y vermiculit a) y est án a la
espera de ser plant adas. ¡Volveré para publicar más fot os y fot os de progreso del jardín!

Para ver las fot os t erminadas de las camas elevadas, sígueme en Inst agram @33shadesofgreen
donde uso el hast ag #DKUlakehousegarden para compart ir fot os del jardín.

alissa {33shadesofgreen}
a
las 20:36

27 comentarios:

Irlanda jueves, 14 de mayo de 2015

¡¡Se ven genial!! Quiero que mi esposo me construya algunos, ¡tendré que pasar este tutorial!

¡gracias por compartir!

Respuesta

Lisa @ brilla tu luz domingo, 31 de mayo de 2015

Jardinería con vista... ¡qué podría ser mejor! Alissa, tus camas elevadas quedaron geniales, ¡y parece
que no fueron tan difíciles de armar para los carpinteros novatos! ¡Me encanta cómo se ven y no
puedo esperar a verlos llenos de tus plantas! ¡¡Muchas gracias por compartir este tutorial en BOTN!!
Respuesta

Jennifer @ hoyuelos y enredos domingo, 31 de mayo de 2015

¡Esto definitivamente está en mi lista de tareas pendientes para algún día! Fijando para que pueda
usar en el futuro, sus camas se ven geniales. ¡Gracias por conectarse con nosotros en Best of the
Nest!
Respuesta

Desconocido jueves, 17 de septiembre de 2015

Hi there I was wondering if you forgot to put the 3' wood into the needed list. I don't see it in there
and was confused
Reply

Replies

alissa {33shadesofgreen} Saturday, September 19, 2015

Yes, I did! Thanks for noticing - I have added it to the supply list :)

Reply

Unknown Sunday, May 29, 2016

Thank you. My husband just came back from the lumberyard with the material for three of these
boxes. He has dreaded doing this but your instructions made it look so easy. They look very nice and
I love the hight. Thanks again.

Reply

Replies

alissa {33shadesofgreen} Tuesday, June 28, 2016

That is fantastic, Hellen! I'm glad you enjoyed the tutorial. I hope you are happy with how
your new raided beds turned out!

Reply
Unknown Tuesday, November 29, 2016
This looks so easy! My boyfriend has the last name of Carpenter and he promised me one day he
would live up to that name, so we are going to start with some small projects such as this! Thanks
for sharing. One question - do raised beds not need to have a bottom?
Reply

Replies

Unknown Tuesday, November 29, 2016

I do apologize if that is an uneducated question. I am learning the process of gardening and
am trying to figure out what I would need if I want to grow bell peppers, tomatoes,
cucumbers, jalapenos, onions, leaf lettuce, etc.

alissa {33shadesofgreen} Thursday, December 01, 2016

Hi Nicole - No, you do not need a bottom on your raised beds. If you are putting your beds
over a lawn, you will want to remove the grass first. Good luck with your project!

Reply

Unknown Saturday, March 18, 2017

Do the deck screws leak any

Chemicals into the soil?

Reply

Replies

alissa {33shadesofgreen} Tuesday, March 21, 2017

Sorry, I'm not sure. You would need to do some research on the screws you select for the
project.

BriA Tuesday, March 21, 2017

You can use coated deck screws - they are more expensive, but they last and solve this
problem. I used:Deckmate Coated All-Purpose Screws 9 X 2-1/2" Star Drive Screws

alissa {33shadesofgreen} Wednesday, March 22, 2017

Great idea - thanks for the suggestion!

Reply
Traycee Friday, April 07, 2017

These look great! Thanks for sharing. Question on wood thickness. Are your planks 1" or 2" thick?
Cedar is hard to find in my area and the only option I'm finding is 1" which I'm not sure will be sturdy
enough. Thank you!
Reply

Replies

alissa {33shadesofgreen} Monday, April 10, 2017

Hi Traycee - The boards I used are 5/4" thick by 6" H. I used intermediate vertical supports
in the center of each 6' section to reinforce. Hope that helps - good luck!

Reply

klmoore23 Wednesday, April 19, 2017

Hi there! We are getting close to building similar garden beds with our students at school. We will be
putting them onto of a concrete compound. Just wondering if you will be lining your beds with some
sore of plastic to keep the dirt in in case of a heavy downpour? Also, since we are putting these over
concrete, what do you suggest to put on the bottom?
Reply

Replies

alissa {33shadesofgreen} Friday, April 21, 2017

What a fun project! My beds don't have a bottom since they sit on top of soil. You may
need a solid bottom made out of wood if your beds will be on top of concrete. I wouldn't
want to use plastic to line the beds since chemicals from the plastic could leach into the
soil where you will be growing vegetables. Good luck with your project!

Reply

Wendy Friday, May 03, 2019

Just curious where you got your wood. I just bought wood for 1 bed, cedar and paid close to 400$
for just the wood. We decided on 2x10's and did just 2 high but anyway curious and where you
sourced the cedar. I was shocked it was that much. Our goal is to build 3 more and a 3x10 foot bed
but with the cost being that high its going to take us awhile to save for it. Thank. This was helpful
thank you!!
Reply
alissa {33shadesofgreen} Thursday, May 16, 2019
Hi Wendy - sorry for the delayed response. I have 12 week old twins and have not been on my blog in
a while! I purchased all my wood from the Home Depot. I do not remember the cost since it was a
few years ago, but it certainly wasn't $400 per bed! Maybe closer to $600 for all 4 beds. Good luck, I
hope you are able to find the wood somewhere else. -Alissa
Reply

Heather W Monday, April 06, 2020

Absolutely love this design and how easy it was to do! Thank you!!
Reply

Replies

alissa {33shadesofgreen} Tuesday, April 07, 2020

Thank you so much, Heather! I am so happy to hear the tutorial worked well for you. Happy
planting and stay safe!

Reply

Cabin 19 Supply Company Wednesday, April 15, 2020

Love this tutorial. I just determined my materials list for a 36" raised 3x6 cedar bed. Lumber yard
quoted me a price of $600 for the wood and that does not include cutting or delivery. :-( Any
suggestions on other wood to use? Thank you in advance! [email protected]
Reply

Replies

alissa {33shadesofgreen} Wednesday, April 15, 2020

For one bed? Yikes! When I built these in 2015 each bed cost closer to $100. Any untreated
wood would work - it just will not last as long since cedar is naturally rot resistant. I don’t
have any experience with this, but I have read of people using cedar fence rails because
they are a lot less inexpensive. Not sure if that helps! Good luck!

Reply

alissa {33shadesofgreen} Wednesday, April 15, 2020

This comment has been removed by the author.
Reply
 Unknown Tuesday, July 21, 2020
My cost was approximately $450.00 for 3 beds 4'x8'x2'. The wood is Tennessee Red Cedar. My corner
posts were cut from 4"x4"x9', 3 per post. All of the wood is rough cut from a sawmill so it is true 4",
2" posts and boards. The wood was purchased from an Amish farm and from their sawmill. The beds
are gorgeous!!!!!!!!
Reply

Replies

alissa {33shadesofgreen} Thursday, July 23, 2020

That’s fantastic - so happy to hear that! Happy gardening!

Reply

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