How to Build a Raised Garden
If you are like most of us and do not have the space to have the garden you would like or your plants are not growing as well as you would like this is your answer. A raised garden is easy to build and will allow you to artificially provide more topsoil. This will allow your plants to thrive and flourish as you want.
You will want to draw out a plan and shape for your raised garden. This will not take much. You will basically build an open topped and opened bottomed box. You will be basically building forms to pour soil into. You will need to figure how much space you will have before building anything. This will help you figure out how much materials you will need.
The next step is to decide what you would like to build your raised garden out of. You can build them out of just about anything. These can be made out of lumber, plastic, synthetic wood, railroad ties, bricks, rocks and basically anything that can hold dirt. Most people prefer using wood because it is the easiest and most efficient way.
You will need to gather your supplies at this point. Figure out all you need and be sure that you have all before you start. The only thing that is required is sides cut to the length you want and at least 24 inches tall. Of you are wanting to build a triangle garden you will need three sides, and a square will need four sides.
Now we start building connecting the sides together to form the shape. If you choose to use lumber you can use 4 inch by 4 inch post cut to size to serve as corners so that you can just nail or screw your sides into corner pieces. If you do it this way it will increase the strength and ensure it stays in place and keeps the dirt in as well. Cut a piece of gardening plastic or weed mat to put a barrier down. Laying this barrier down will help reduce the amount of weeds that appear in your garden.
Next you will need to place your frame where you will want it. You can use any weighted materials you need as well to ensure it stays in position while you pour soil. You will want to lay a layer of manure first and then layer potting soil on top. To save a little bit of money you can add some soil, up to 50% from other parts of your property if you have it. You will need to fill at least one third of your garden with compost or composted manure, available in most nurseries or garden centers.
Now all you need to do is put all your vegetables or flowers where you want them. This is really all you really need to create your raised garden. If your are limited on space this will be the best bet for you. If you are determined to have a great garden this will grow and be beautiful as well as any garden.
