Raised garden beds

May want to build one behind my garage.  not sure if I want to DIY or get a kit.  

Any ideas?  Please share if you have a system you're happy with.

I have three of the Greene raised bed kits. Had for four years and they work great. Just note that the taller ones (10 inches?) are better for most crops. There are many suppliers including HD. I like the 4' by 8'.

https://www.hayneedle.com/product/greenes-4-x-8-ft-x-105h-in-cedar-raised-garden-kit.cfm?source=pla&kwid=Planters%20level02&tid=GRES013-1&adtype=pla&kw=&lsft=adtype:pla&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI1a32yJCV3AIVFrbICh0ApwrQEAYYASABEgIZv_D_BwE

That looks good!  Will probably go with something like that.

Simone was hoping for something higher - I think her ultimate idea would be something like this (below).  But that kit is a lot of $ - like $950.  Plus then you need a ton more dirt to fill it.  And we haven't been successful in the location in the past with a ground garden.  

https://www.wineboxgardener.com/blog/2016/3/20/how-to-start-a-wine-box-garden

I got a 3 tier Greene's raised garden bed from Amazon last year. It is nice, but it hasn't made a super huge difference in yield or anything. I certainly don't put enough effort into it to find out why! Here's a picture from when I first set it up last year.

It's worth mentioning that any significant raised bed is going to need A LOT of soil, which will both increase the cost and the amount of effort to get it going. I've ended up putting in more flowers than vegetables this year, as I've tended to have better luck with those from a 'just put it in the ground and see what happens perspective'.

Oddly, my only real significant growth has been a now 2 year old blackberry bush that did nothing exciting at all until this year where it's now growing like a weed. That's just in the ground normally. I'll get a few berries harvested this year, but next year I could likely have a pretty significant crop.

Those hayneedle pictures have inspired me to consider other uses for ordinary objects. How about a painted bassinet for my little plant nursery, for example?  

Thanks for posting!

We bought untreated boards at Home Despot and made them ourselves.  The untreated boards don’t last as long, but you won’t have issues with chemicals leaching into the dirt.  We also laid down a weed barrier underneath since we didn’t feel like testing the existing soil and didn’t want to risk deep roots hitting soil of unknown quality.  For fill we used the square foot method, which was 1/3 peat moss, 1/3 manure, and 1/3 vermiculite.  The vermiculite was hard to find, we found it in Clark, but other supply places didn’t have it.  The vermiculite helps make pulling weeds a lot easier.  Even for carrots we didn’t need a deeper box.  As someone mentioned above, filling it with planting medium is the biggest expense 

Regarding filling your raised bed, this is the method that I used. I set up the beds in the Fall (using lots of weed barrier first as noted above.) I start with 3-4" of soil and fill with leaves and top off with 3-4" more soil. In the Spring I add composted cow manure. Each Fall I dig out half of the soil and fill again with leaves and soil. Add composted cow manure again in the Spring.

My method of filling it is to just buy bags of soil at Home Depot and then stick plants in the ground. If it looks like I need more soil than I think about it for a long time and then keep forgetting to go to Home Depot to get more. And I can't figure out why I don't really have much success!

qrysdonnell said:
My method of filling it is to just buy bags of soil at Home Depot and then stick plants in the ground. If it looks like I need more soil than I think about it for a long time and then keep forgetting to go to Home Depot to get more. And I can't figure out why I don't really have much success!

 Are you amending the soil you buy with a high nitrogen fertilizer? If not I recommend a yearly dose of composted cow manure.

wedjet said:

qrysdonnell said:
My method of filling it is to just buy bags of soil at Home Depot and then stick plants in the ground. If it looks like I need more soil than I think about it for a long time and then keep forgetting to go to Home Depot to get more. And I can't figure out why I don't really have much success!

 Are you amending the soil you buy with a high nitrogen fertilizer? If not I recommend a yearly dose of composted cow manure.

I'm... um... amending it with sunshine (barely any because we have oppressive trees) and water. If these plants are some sort of nitrogen needing snowflakes who need to be babied then they need to find someone else's yard to do it in!

I know I'm not doing enough, I'm just not ready to put the effort in yet. I want stuff to just  grow magically!

Amending the soil is worth the effort.  We had so many tomatoes that we couldn’t even give them all away.  Though we had full sun, which also makes a difference 

I have built my own, using two boards, each 5/4x6" (pressure treated deck planks), in height.  That gives me about 10.1/2" deep soil (which I have improved with both peat & composted manure).  We have harvested zucchini for about 10 days already, and I picked the first two bell peppers today.  The hot peppers should start in 10-14 days.

Last year we did not get much production, thanks to a ground hog (or rabbits).  This year I put 36" chicken wire around two of the 3 beds, and we have not lost anything yet.

48"x96" is a good size, but 32"x96" is more practical if you want them fenced in, with a detachable wall access on one side.

Jamie, I am available for hire if you would like me to build them for you.