Raised Garden Beds

Raised Garden Beds

Today I'm so excited to share one of my recent projects with you--my raised garden beds.

This was a fun project for the whole family to help with.

If you missed my sister's raised garden boxes that she posted, click here.

These boxes are approximately 2'x6' and they are made from cedar fence posts with the dog-eared ends cut off.

I constructed them by stacking two posts & attaching a piece of wood on the middle inside & on each end.  After that, I attached each end to each side & added a ledge on the top to give the box a finished look.

I wanted to add protection to the bottom to keep critters out so we stapled plastic chicken fencing to the bottom.

To the inside of the boxes we stapled down weed fabric before adding soil.

We also wanted to have a system in place in case we had to cover our plants in time of frost or to protect from birds & critters, so we set up this PVC pipe system so we'd be able to cover the boxes with plastic or netting if we needed to.

I attached PVC pipes to each corner & center with metal strapping.

This is what they look like in my yard & this is a picture of them being tested with PVC pipe.

I looked at a few different ideas on the Internet & came up with my own design for a watering system.  I drilled a hole a the end of one box & then in the middle of the other two boxes to run my drip system through.

Each box has a drip hose snaked through the soil so the plants stay nice and hydrated.

And voila, this is what they look like completed, before any plants were planted in them.

And here they are again with our garden in full force.

Each of these plants grew from starters I purchased at the store rather than seed.

I was afraid that I planted too late, so I didn't bother with seeds.

It's so exciting to have plants growing in our garden & I hope this inspires you to go out & plant your own raised garden beds.