Families across America are reintegrating home gardens into their lives, working to increase the amounts of health-giving homegrown fruits and vegetables in their diets. Because of this, folks frequently ask us about the best type of wood to use for their planter boxes and raised garden beds. Raised beds are a great idea because they protect growing plants from the scuffs and kicks of passersby while allowing the soil to warm faster in the springtime, generating an earlier crop. They're also quite decorative and can add significant charm to vegetable gardens. By building the boxes out of a beautiful, durable, and chemical-free material, you'll take an important step toward guaranteeing that your yard bears many decades of abundant and nourishing crops. (Click here for plans for easy-to-build, affordable juniper raised beds, and here for a Pinterest gallery of ideas.) Here are the types of wood that are commonly used for this purpose, and the pros and cons of each: The lifespan data above is derived in part from an ongoing study at OSU that tracks the durability of treated and untreated posts in ground-contact applications.
Click here for full results.Photo at top: Juniper 6x6 landscaping timbers used for retaining wall, raised beds, and stairsExperienced gardeners use raised beds to sidestep a long list of gardening challenges. These controlled experiments in plant parenthood are so easy, in fact, that they're also well-suited to novices picking up a shovel for the first time.Bad dirt is out, because you fill a raised bed with a customized soil-and-compost blend. Drainage is built into the bed walls, which hold the soil in place to keep erosion in check. Greater exposure to the sun warms the bed, which allows more plant diversity and extends the growing season. Plants can be spaced closely together, so yields go up, water-use efficiency is maximized and weeds are crowded out. Finally, raising the soil level by even a foot reduces the back-bending effort needed for jobs such as planting, weeding and harvesting.Beyond the ease is the control—as you grow your favorite foods, you feed and soak your plants with just what they need for optimum growth.
A raised bed is most productive and attractive as a bottomless frame set into a shallow trench. The sides can be almost any durable building material, including rock, brick, concrete and interlocking blocks. Watering troughs or claw-foot tubs can work, as long as they have the capacity and drainage.But by far the most common material for raised beds is lumber. The major caveat, since raised beds are often used to grow edibles, is to steer clear of wood preserved with toxins. Avoid creosote-treated railroad ties; opt instead for naturally rot-resistant cedar or redwood. The EPA considers wood infused with alkaline copper quaternary (ACQ) to be safe for food crops, but if you use this pressure-treated wood you may want to line the bed interior with landscape fabric—an air-and-water-permeable screen—to prevent soil contact. Whether using pressure-treated or naturally rot-resistant wood, put the bed together with galvanized or stainless screws or bolts. Pergola Plans: How to Build Your Own Pergola
How To: Outdoor Fire Pit Ideas & Designs How to Build a Wooden Wagon How to Make a Two-Board Backyard Lounger How to Make a Dumbwaiter How to Make a Box How to Build Leonardo Da Vinci's Catapult Build Your Own Beautiful Flat-Pack Chair Build This Update on the Classic Toolbox How to Build a Chess and Checkerboard How to build a garden bed A garden bed lets you grow the flowers, trees, fruit, vegetables and herbs of your choice in your own backyard in the best soil possible. This guide shows you the tools and equipment you need to build one yourself. It also gives you tips about how to keep your sleepers square, the best way to remove concrete footings and the easiest way to dig trenches for your wooden sleepers. Continue to Step-by-step instructions.Set out the garden bed Lay the longest sleepers out on the grass where you want to build your garden bed. If you have them, use the concrete footings as a guide to keep the sleepers straight.
Measure the distance between the two sleepers at each end to make sure they’re square.Cut the end sleepers Measure the distance between the two longest sleepers, this is the width of your garden bed. Put a wooden sleeper on the work horses. Take the width measurement and mark out this distance on the sleeper. Put on the safety glasses, dust mask and ear muffs. Use the circular saw to cut the sleeper to the right length. Repeat this step to cut the sleeper for the opposite end of the garden bed.Join the sleepers togetherPlan the look of the garden If there are two trees or plants that you want to keep in the garden bed, that are at either end of the bed, measure the distance from one tree or plant to the edge of the sleeper. Go to the other end of the bed and measure the same distance from the tree or plant and mark this spot on the grass with marking paint. This will give your garden bed a balanced and even look.Measure and cut the sleepers Use the tape measure to work out the length of the garden bed and halve this figure, which will be the length you want to cut the sleepers for the sides of your garden bed.
Mark the length out on your sleepers and cut them to length. You want to cut the sleepers to the same length so that they join in the middle of the garden bed.Lay sleepers down the sides of the garden bed Remove the temporary screw you drilled to make the U-shape at one end of the garden bed. Lay two sleepers down one side. Drill a temporary screw to join the sleeper at the other end, so it makes a corner. Use the roofing square to make sure that the corner is square. Once it is square, lay the two other sleepers on the opposite side. Check that all four corners, where the sleepers join, are square. Use marking paint to mark the corners on the outside of the sleepers, which will tell you where to dig a trench for the sleepers. Once the corners are square, remove the sleepers. A good tip is that as you take the sleepers away, remember where each of them was, so that when you start to rebuild the garden bed each piece goes in the right place. Use a mattock to remove the grass and dig down to the required depth.
The sleepers will be sunk, so that 50mm is above the ground. This will make sure that the grass won’t grow back into the garden bed. Make the trench deep enough so that you can also lever up the concrete slab. Use a crowbar to lever up and loosen the concrete on all sides. Use a sledge hammer or lump hammer to break the concrete into smaller pieces. After the concrete is broken, use the crowbar to also lever up the broken pieces. Put these in a wheelbarrow to take them away. Use the mattock to dig out the rest of the grass and dig a trench for the sleepers to sit in, so that 50mm of the sleeper sits above the ground.Screw the ends of the garden bed together Once the trench is the right depth, start putting the ends of the garden bed together. Use batten screws to join a sleeper on the side of the garden bed to the end. Use two screws, one at the top and bottom of each joint. Repeat this process for the other end of the garden bed. Once you have joined both ends together, have someone help you lift them into place.
Put the sleepers in place Put the four side sleepers in place. Run a string line from one end of the garden bed to the other, to make sure the sleepers are straight. To do this, drill in a screw at both ends of the garden bed and tie your string line to this. Adjust the sleepers so that they are straight and at the right height. Repeat this process for the sleepers on the other side.Secure the sleepers with stakes Once the sleepers are straight and at the right height. Hammer in a stake to join them at the centre. Drill four galvanised screws into the stakes to join the sleepers together. Repeat this process where the sleepers join on the other side. Depending on the size of your garden bed, you may need to hammer and drill in more stakes to keep the garden bed secure. Backfill the soil, so that it sits evenly in your garden bed. Now your garden bed is complete, add the necessary compost and fertiliser to help your plants grow. How to build a greenhouse A greenhouse gives your plants every chance to thrive while protecting them from harsh weather.
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