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| 4X8 raised garden beds |
The corners are braced inside with pieces of 2x4s. The earth in a raised bed expands when wet. The bracing is important to keep the wood from warping over time. The inner corner bracing holds the bed firmly together and extends its life.
The raised beds above sit directly on the garden earth, so roots can grow down into the earth below. If the bed was on concrete, the soil depth in the bed (7 inches) is not deep enough to support good plant growth.
These wooden beds won’t last forever, because wood will eventually rot. However, the wood deck screws used to construct the bed can be reused.
Materials
Primarily, you need 3 8 foot boards, with one cut in half. We use 2X8 boards. So you want 3 2X8 8 foot boards. For the bracing you need 4 short pieces of 2X4s. We used 3 inch wood deck screws.
2” x 8” untreated lumber - 3 8 foot boards (cut one board in half)
2” x 4” untreated lumber. - 4 7 1/4 “ pieces (about 2 feet in total)
28 3” wood deck screws
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| Each corner is braced with a piece of 2X4 |
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| Three screws on each 8 foot side |
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| Four screws on the four foot end boards |
Before constructing the bed we drilled holes. We drilled 4 holes in each side of the 4 foot end boards before putting the screws in. And likewise we drilled 3 holes in each end side of the long 8 foot boards.
First attach the short end side boards (4 foot) to the long boards (8 foot) with 2 screws on each corner. Square it all up as you build it. Then screw the end boards to the 2x4s, with 2 screws, as shown. Finally, screw the long boards to the 2X4s with 3 screws, dodging the 4 screws from the shorter ends. That’s the only tricky part.
Make a garden bed on a grass lawn.
Make a garden bed on a grass lawn.
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| Garlic grows well in raised beds in Edmonton. The back bed has about 100 bulbs sprouting up. |