Building My Garden Bed

I started building my garden bed yesterday. They tell you it's a simple and easy project that will take you just a few hours. Well...I worked on it for 10 straight hours, and it's still not done.

Lucky for me, I love these types of projects! When I was younger, the barbies I had upstairs were ususally left unplayed with. Instead, I was in the backyard hammering nails into a 2x4. My favorite toys were my mini tool set (all real tools) and my electric tool bench (saw, sander and lathe...for Balsa wood, but still fun!).

I purchased my lumber and screws from Home Depot, but there are other places such as Lowes, or even a local lumber yard where you can find quality lumber. For a project like a raised garden bed, you would usually want to use a wood like Redwood, or Cedar. These types are naturally resistant to rot and arent pressure treated, which can be harmful to your veggies. Well, being the cheapo I am, I went with the basic 2x4 (Douglas Fir). I was told that with a garden bed, I might be able to get a good 1.5-3 years of use before the rot takes over. Well when I was looking at prices of $1.68 per piece, to $10.97 a piece for the Redwood, I decided 2 years sounded great. My bed required twelve 2x4's and one 4x4 (for the corners, and the middle of the long sides) I went with wood that had already been thoroughly dried, so they were about $0.30 more than just the basic 2x4. These were exactly 8 feet long, so I used 4 on each side, then cut 4 in half to use for the widths (mine happened to be exactly 8 ft, usually 2x4's are about 92 1/4 inches long). Which leaves my bed at exactly 4ft x 8ft x 14 inches.

I had read about the possibility of sealing my garden bed with a wood sealant to prolong it's life. However, when I visited several local nurseries, as well as consulted the experts at Home Depot, they all told me the same thing. They never recommend sealing something like a raised garden bed, even if you are using a soft wood like Douglas fir, because the chemicals will leach into the soil ruining your veggies. None of them could suggest an organic or natural wood sealer, and even if they could they said they would most likely be extremely expensive. You are better off crossing your fingers and hoping for a good and long garden bed life.

Being the perfectionist I am, I decided that these 2x4's just werent that great to look at. I decided that I wanted to stain the wood a dark Chestnut looking color, so it would be pretty to look at... I did this only for aesthetic purposes so I only stained the outside of the wood. If you chose to do something like this, you do not want to stain the inside; 1: No one will see it because it will be covered with soil, and 2: You dont want those chemicals leaching into your soil, especially if you are growing vegetables and herbs. This is why I went with the already dried wood. If I had bought regular 2x4's I would have had to let them sit out for about 30 days to allow them to thoroughly dry. This is the main reason I was at it for 10 hours yesterday. Staining and waiting for it to dry can be a tedious project. I used Preserva Wood, a stain and sealer in one. (I was originally planning on doing the whole bed so it would be sealed...until I learned I would have been poisoning my family...) It's relatively inexpensive, about $10 for a quart.

Even though this could be considered a pretty big project, I was able to do it by myself for the most part. Dad came out every once in a while just to make sure I wasn't losing any fingers along the way. He was also there to hold the wood while I did my sawing. This is a good idea if you dont have something like a vice that can hold your wood in place. Otherwise you risk the chance of your wood flying all over the yard and splintering.

When it came to assemplying the bed, I went with screws. You can use nails, but screws will be a stronger choice. Unlike nails, they can really get in there and grip the wood. I used 3 inch exterior screws. I also chose to attach my 2x4's directly to the corner 4x4's. I will post pictures of this process later so you can get a better idea.

Garden beds can pretty much be placed on any surface, but I chose to place mine on our grass. Unfortunately there is really only one place in our yard that get's a sufficient amount of sun, and this spot is on a slant. You really want your bed to be level so today I will be working on digging out my plot to make it as level as possible...wish me luck!

When my bed is totally complete I will post a step-by-step guide with pictures and all!