Produced by
Patti Moreno
Contributor to:
How to Build a Raised Bed
I fell in love with the idea of raised bed gardening when I quickly learned how unreliable city soil can be. This video is all about getting you started with raised beds, including how to build your own. I will also demonstrate how to build a hoop house. The raised bed that you’ll see me building here only cost me $40. My raised beds are built, based on four foot beds and eight foot beds which happen to be the general measurement standard for lumber, which makes it easier. Let me share with you some of the reasons for my love of this method of gardening.
The Beauty of Raised Beds:
- They modularize your garden and put it within arms reach, removing the back-breaking work
- Raised Beds can also house my livestock that fertilize and till the soil
- Raised Beds also allow you to extend your growing season with a quick modification transforming them into hoop houses, which create micro-climates for earlier planting
- Raised Beds are great for people with disabilities, allowing them to get outside and be physical without having to go beyond what they can do
- Plants that are raised in Raised Beds have good water retention
- You can never over-water because of the built-in drainage system
- Raised Beds mean less watering for you: you only have to water on especially, dry hot days
What you will need to build your raised bed and hoop house:
Each four foot bed requires about 32 cubic feet of soil.
- Sunglasses to avoid sawdust getting in to your eye
- Pre-cut Lumber (it is easier to transport that way and saves time) Lumber comes in 8, 10, and 12' + lengths, so this allows less cutting, which means less waste Lumber doesn’t last forever because the untreated wood will eventually rot, over time. (Never use pressure treated wood because the chemicals can leach out into your soil, eventually harming your plants).
- Instead of lumber, you may use: recycled wood, stone, brick, concrete
- Screw gun
- Saw
- Don’t forget to buy 4”galvanized screws to assemble the raised beds
- I use 2x10x8' lumber for the construction of my raised beds. To build one 4x4 raised bed I buy four pieces of 8' lumber and have the store cut them into 8-4’ pieces
- Galvanized wire (If you’ll be rotating and housing chickens or rabbits in your raised bed, make sure you fasten galvanized wire to the bottom with screws and washers to avoid animal mischief!)
- Gravel
- Concrete Pavers (optional)
What you need to build a hoop house:
All of the above, plus the following:
- Six ½” PVC Pipes cut at 8 ft
- 1 1/2” bolts and wingnuts
- Plastic cover – material?
Although what I’m doing looks like hard work (which is good for you, once in a while) my hope is that it will inspire you. Sit back, relax and watch me at work. And, then get started…your garden is waiting.
In this video, besides the building demonstrations, I also share some end-of-the-season tips that will be useful to you as summer turns into fall and winter. Did you know that you can use fallen leaves and grass clippings for composting? Did you know that the easiest way to rotate your livestock is building raised-bed style cages so they work with your raised bed. I will even show you how I jump start my new growing season by using a plastic cover over my soil for earlier planting. The hoop house demonstration is blow by blow, so pay attention. This one may need popcorn!
