well as anything that is treated with a toxic chemical that could leech into the ground and food. That said, what can you make a raised bed garden out of? landscaping timbers, boards (cedar or other slow rotting boards), cement blocks or bricks, I even have the trunk of a downed tree as part of a bed! You want something that is either 12 inches high or can stack to that height.
Before any of that, you need to scout out a location. It needs to have full sun, good drainage (if not, we'll tell you what to do about that), and room to maneuver. You don't want to walk in your raised beds so don't make them longer than twice the length of your arm. Four foot by eight foot is a good size. You only need 3 - 12" by 8' boards; two for the sides and one for the two 4' ends. You can have smaller or larger, it depends on how much work you want to do and how much room you have.
The ne
xt thing you need to do is prepare the ground where you want the garden(s). You will notice in the two pictures above, one has grass around the sides of the garden and the other doesn't. I prefer to have mulch, straw or gravel (with plastic or cardboard underneath). After all the work you will to do have an easy garden, you DON'T want grass growing up into the raised bed! So, map out your area and cover it with heavy plastic (poke holes for drainage), layers of newspaper or cardboard. This smothers the vegetation and keeps grass from taking over your garden.Then put your frame on top of it. You will then surround the frame
with the material you choose to create a path or work area around your garden (covering the vegetation smothering matter. For good drainage, you might want to put a few inches of pea gravel, granite gravel or some type of material that will accommodate drainage. Then fill with good composted soil. (ok. read all you want. There are others who say peat, sphagnum, etc. but that does NOT work where I live!).You are just about ready to plant! This is the big decision. What to plant??? Remember, there is a small area and you may need to eliminate some choices. It's a good idea to poll your family members to see what they'd really eat before you buy the seed. Otherwise, you'll end up like me with a row of radishes that only I would eat!!
For you
r first time around, you may want to go to a local organic gardening nursery and buy some plants to put in the garden. Whether plants or seeds, as soon as there is green above the ground, cover the ground with a light layer of mulch (Spring/summer - light in color like straw, fall/winter - dark in color to absorb the warmth of the sun). This mulch (not too much) will help keep the moisture in and keep your garden bed easier to maintain.That's it for today!! Next time we'll cover vining plants and trellises.
