How to Build a Raised Bed Garden
In the four years we have lived in this house, I have always wanted a vegetable garden. Like really, really, reeeeally wanted one.
In our previous home, my dad and I planted a beautiful big garden, and we watched it grow in anticipation of the deliciousness in store for us. And then literally in ONE night, some beast of an animal (I think a raccoon) came in and destroyed our beautiful garden. It looked like a tornado went through our garden.
It was devastating, and I never had the energy/enthusiasm to plant another garden at that house.
The first year we moved into this house, I tried to plant a small garden, and it was like the hottest, driest summer in a hundred years (I may be exaggerating just a little bit,) and my poor little garden was a pitiful, dry mess.
#failurenumber2
So for the past three years, I have been just dreaming about a garden, until now!
Now, I have a beautiful Raised Bed Garden!
Isn’t it great?!
Remember when I told you about my plans last month?
Well, I used the step by step plans and videos from Craftsy and Lowe’s to build my garden beds.
If you have ever wanted to build a raised garden bed but didn’t have the confidence to try it, these courses will definitely solve that problem! Lowe’s has teamed up with Craftsy to bring you online classes and materials to help build your skills and inspire you to grow something great. YOU CAN DO THIS!
I was able to print out the supply list and take it directly to Lowe’s with me so I knew exactly what to get.
I also watched several of the very helpful videos on how to build the beds, what type of soil to use, how to plant your vegetables, and even irrigation. I’m one of those people who like to watch exactly how someone did something on a video. Are you?
Jonathan and I went to Lowe’s one day to get all of our supplies. Some of the pressure treated lumber was pretty heavy, so it definitely helps to have an extra hand. I love that my boys are getting to an age where they can help me with the heavy lifting. :)
Jonathan built all five our garden beds all by himself.
Then Eli helped him line the beds to keep the grass and weeds out.
I love that this is something the whole family can work on together. We used organic soil from Lowe’s, and it took a ton of bags to fill up our garden beds. I am so glad I didn’t have to do this by myself. Jonathan dumped the bags of soil, and Luke raked them smooth.
There are a lot of critters on our property, so we put a fence up to keep them out.
I am eventually going to fill up the spaces between our garden beds with gravel and add some pretty flowering plants along the outside of our fence.
We still have some more planting to do, but so far we have strawberries, tomatoes, green beans, peppers, cauliflower, lettuces, and herbs.
I’ve planted 6 tomato plants, and I plan on planting two more cherry tomato plants.
We also got some squash and cucumbers, but I haven’t planted those yet. I think I am going to make some dirt mounds in the space between the beds and the coop to plant those.
We connected our garden fence to our coop fence to save some time and money. I love seeing my garden right next to my coop. It makes me feel all homestead-y and old school. :)
We have 8 chickens, and I am looking forward to some great fresh eggs in the future!
The boys and I are super excited about the strawberries! We already have a few popping up!
It is going to be so fun watching our garden grow. I am hoping to can some tomatoes and green beans this fall, but I have never done that before. My sweet “gift-mom,” Janet is going to show me how.
It’s not too late to build your own garden bed! Click HERE to get started on this FREE online course!
*This post was sponsored by my favorite home improvement store, Lowe’s. All opinions and ideas are 100% mine.
Great Start! Congratulations on getting the kids involved. I love being able to tell my kids to “weed the herb bed,” or “water the fruit beds.” It’s very specific and they don’t feel overwhelmed when I ask them to help.
I love your horizontal fence. We too live on five acres in the ‘country’ and we have lots of critters. You may want to add chicken wire around the base of your fence. After 10 years and finally getting tired of the bunnies digging, we did it last year. This year ~ no bunnies.
Another suggestion might be to put mulch or wood chips down between the beds. We had a neighbor that had a pine tree cut down and sent through the chipper. He gave us all the wood chips we needed and it has been amazing for weed control. Blessings for a fruitful harvest. Lisa
PS Be careful, raised beds are addicting. We started with four and now have ten!
HI Lisa! Thanks so much for all the incredible suggestions!
Great Start! Congratulations on getting the kids involved. I love being able to tell my kids to “weed the herb bed,” or “water the fruit beds.” It’s very specific and they don’t feel overwhelmed when I ask them to help.
I love your horizontal fence. We too live on five acres in the ‘country’ and we have lots of critters. You may want to add chicken wire around the base of your fence. After 10 years and finally getting tired of the bunnies digging, we did it last year. This year ~ no bunnies.
Another suggestion might be to put mulch or wood chips down between the beds. We had a neighbor that had a pine tree cut down and sent through the chipper. He gave us all the wood chips we needed and it has been amazing for weed control. Blessings for a fruitful harvest. Lisa
PS Be careful, raised beds are addicting. We started with four and now have fourteen!
I love them! Jonathan really did a great job building. You will have a wonderful harvest for sure – barring critters! Extra fencing around the bottom and secured as Lisa suggested is a good idea. I have one raised bed, but have to move it to a sunnier place. The last couple of summers in coastal CT have been cooler than normal and this year predicted the same. So many veggies need the heat!
Good job. Love gardening too. I am concerned though at the height of your beds. Not sure what kind I weed barrier you used? Hopefully it is permeable because alot of vegetables have long roots, tomatoes do, and need more than a foot of soil for the roots to grow properly. Keep in mind too, that squash, and any melons, take alot of room, one squash plant can take up an entire 4×4′ bed. You don’t mention adding compost, which is key to a healthy garden. Super easy to make your own “black gold”. As for fertilizer, I recommend fish and kelp every couple weeks. That’s what the Indians taught the pilgrims, to plant dead fish in their vegetable gardens. Happy gardening!
Traci, your garden looks great. I made my boxes tall this year. Easier on my back. I’ve canned tomatoes for the past two summers. It’s easy and they are so much better than ones you buy from the grocery store. Just no comparison. And boy do we love stewed tomatoes and rice with biscuits hot out the oven. Yum!
Yes, Laurie! You cannot beat the taste if garden tomatoes!! My dad makes something called “wildcat gravy” with tomatoes, onions and cornmeal that is A-Ma-zing! :)
Really lovely. YOur kids are so cute. I hope you don’t have deer, however as your fence isn’t nearly tall enough.6 to 7 feet at least or dounble-fenced. You can also try the motion detector auto sprayers. they work well. Deer are destroying all my flowers so I opted for no veggie garden this year. :(
Awesome….looks very European to do that! Have fun!
what a fantastic family activity. it will be the source of many great memories for all. one year my younger brother showed his appreciation for the garden by tasting multiple tomatoes without removing them from he plant. still makes me chuckle to recall the look on Mom’s face when she discovered them.
Oh my! That is too funny! :)
I’ve noticed my strawberries keep “magically” disappearing.