Holy moly!
How is everyone’s week going so far?
Today was a busy day! I took yesterday off to catch up on everything I missed from painting the kitchen last week and today I was back in full swing.
I decided to build the hubs a raised veggie/fruit garden for his birthday!
It’s still not quite finished.
Loooong story.
It really wasn’t difficult, but going to Lowe’s was. Ugh! I’ll save that story for another day.
What you will need to build 1 bed:
(4) 1x6x8 treated pine cut in half (1x6x4)
Decking or Exterior Screws 2″
Scrap 2×4
Measuring Tape
Drill
Landscaping mesh
Potting/Garden Soil
Plants
&
Patience :)
Step 1:
After a few hours of research I have come to the conclusion that using newly pressure treated pine in a vegetable garden is SAFE. Using old (like 40 years ago) treated pine can contain high levels of arsenic which can seep into your plants and thus into your veggies. The United States has since determined a better way to treat pine boards making it safe for use in gardening.
Start by taking 2 of your boards and laying them flat against one another on a level surface.
Take two of your pieces of scrap 2×4 and line them up with the “top”.
Drill pilot holes, then use your 2″ screws to attach the 2×4 to the 1×6 boards.
Step 2:
Make another one!
Step 3:
Drill pilot holes into your remaining 4 boards on both ends.
Then attach the boards to the 2×4 on your original boards.
Step 4:
When you’re finished it should look something like this.
You can choose to make your bed longer, taller, whatever. Just adjust your measurements.
My beds are 4′x4′ and I decided to make 2 of them.
Step 5:
Prepping the area where the garden is supposed to go.
I used double layered landscaping mesh under both boxes.
This will prevent any grass from growing into the boxes and keep any bugs/grubs in the grass from creeping in. It also is a huge time saver to not have to dig up your grass.
Step 6:
Fill ‘em up!
I used a combination of peat moss, sand, top soil, manure, and professional garden soil.
I first added the peat moss, and sand and mixed them together.
Then I added the toil soil and manure and mixed them together.
Then topped it all off with garden soil.
Your total occupied space is 16 cubic feet PER box.
My mixture breakdown:
Peat moss was 3 cubic feet (I used 1.5 per bed) = 4.5 cf
Sand was 1 cubic feet (I used 2 bags per bed) = 2 cf
Manure was 1 cubic feet (I used 2 bags per bed) = 2 cf
Topsoil was 1 cubic feet (I used 2 per bed) = 2 cf
Garden Soil Mix was 2 cubic feet per bag (I used 2 per bed) = 4 cf
Total Cubic Feet Consumed = 14.5 cf
Which was juuuuust perfect.
Step 7:
Plant your plants! Be sure to read the directions on spacing for each of your plants and do not over crowd your beds. You will end up having to pull plants out to keep the from killing each other.
I had just enough to make my little planter’s mound and not spill over the top.
Step 8:
MOST IMPORTANT STEP!!
Water your plants. A lot. :)
Garden Inventory:
Bush Champion Tomato
Roma Tomato
Cherry Tomato
Cucumber x 2
Cantaloupe x 2
Watermelon x 2
Total cost breakdown:
(16) 4′ 1×6 boards from the scrap pile at HD ($0.51/ea) = $8.16
Exterior Screws (On Hand) = $0
Scrap 2×4 lumber (On Hand) = $0
Landscaping mesh (On Hand) = $0
3 bags peat moss = $28
4 bags of sand = $9
4 bags of manure = $5
4 bags of top soil = $9
4 bags Garden Soil Mix = $28
9 plants from a local nursery = $13
Total cost raised garden beds = ~$50/bed.
I did not plant my beds very heavily because I know the vines will get unruly pretty quickly.
I’m going to build a trellis for them later this week.
I still have to cut the garden timbers and stake them into the ground and add mulch to the spaces.
But it’s essentially done ;)
What do you think?
Do you have any raised beds? What do you grow?
I’d love to hear from you!!
XOXO,
Rachel
Congrats,they look really super.
I do use the raised garden method,but the fill is the Esther Dean method. I read her book many years ago and have practiced it ever since.
I lay down wads of newspaper really thickly,then pads of straw inside the surround,then manure (chicken or cow or whatever you can get) then pads of Lucern Hay, then top it off with mounds of compost. I plant seedlings into the mounds of compost. Everything eventually breaks down to fertilise the plants. You can even build this on top of cement. The weeds never come through.
I hope your hubby loved his present. Lots of lovely organic veg to look forward to. xx
Hurray for gardening! I JUST posted something similar, but not nearly as great, so I put a link to this in my post so that my readers can find you and your sweet tutorial.
http://www.blessthismessplease.com/2012/05/square-foot-gardening-get-started-for.html
Hope that looks ok and that I send some traffic your way! In LOVE with you blog and jealous that your house is done. We are still in the thick of remodeling and I swear it will never be over. It’s a squatters life for me.
OMG, this project has been lingering in the back of my mind for quite some time. I live in Arizona, and it so difficult to grow anything here…forget about trying to dig up any dirt. But, I’ve been wanting to do a garden for my little girls, and found your blog on Linky today. So awesome. Thanks so much for the post!
Your raised beds are lovely and I bet my little ones would be thrilled to have their own little garden. I think I’m going to add this to my project list. Thank you for sharing!
That looks great!
I am inspired and want some now too.
I don’t know if I have a green thumb but I would love to try!
Thanks for the inspiration!
Thanks also for linking up this week!
Stacey :o)
Holey Moley! I suppose you were featured twice this week! Great job!
Stacey of Embracing Change