For a long time, we wanted some raised garden beds and researched the most cost effective way to build the boxes. We quickly realized that even though vinyl was beautiful, it was going to cost a lot of money. So, we decided to make 3 garden beds ourselves for a little under $100; Each garden bed has a 8 ft L X 4 ft W measurement. We are going on our third season with these babies and they have held up very well!

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Materials Needed

For one box you will need:

• 3 – 2×10 inch boards (8ft long)
• 3 1/2 inch long screws (You will need 12 screws)
• Weed Barrier (32 square feet)
• Impact Driver
• Stapler
• Circular Saw (optional)
• Soil

Step One – Cut and Space

Cut one of your boards in half (Home Depot can do that for you and you can read about it here) or you can use a circular saw. We didn’t bother to sand it down either. Then, space the boards out to make sure you know where you want them. We had to make sure there was room to get the lawn mower around the sides. Someday we will add rocks but that’s for another day!

Step Two – Attach Boards

Use your 3 1/2 inch screws to attach the 4 foot boards to the 8 foot boards. We added three screws per side.

Step Three – Weed Barrier

Once the base of your box is complete, turn it over and add your weed barrier. We cut it to size and then stapled it on about every 6 inches or so.

Step Four – Level the Box

We then turned it over and set it in place. We used our level to make sure it was not tilted. Since it was on our grass, it was uneven. We added some wood pieces to even it out.

Step Five – Add Soil

We then headed to our local nursery to pick up soil. Picking it up will lower the cost for you. We spent about $150 for 2 cubit yards to fill ours. You can also have it delivered.

The first year, we had the sprinklers water the garden. This proved to be too much water and our plants did not do very well. So the next year we diverted the sprinklers and added soaker hoses. Mike built these using piping from the irrigation isle at Home Depot. You can watch his process here in my IG highlights under Garden Boxes.

He spends a lot of time out here watching over his garden. It’s not the 3000 acres he grew up with, but it’s something! And just perfect for our family.

Thank you for being here! Hope this helped and I can’t wait to see yours!

Love,

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