Build a raised garden bed

A weekend, a drill, and somewhere to grow things. Scales to as many beds as you want.

How many beds?

beds

This one needs a trailer

About 1290 lb of materials. That is more than one pickup load — your shopper will need a trailer, and may make 2 trips. The rental is $35.00, it goes to them in full, and we take nothing from it. Only shoppers who can tow will see the run.

Before you start

Call 811 before digging anywhere you have not dug before. It is free and it takes a couple of days, so ring first and buy the timber after.

What to buy — untick anything you have

Lumber

6 Pressure-treated 2×8, 8 ftAny brand. Sight down each one and reject anything badly bowed.
1 Pressure-treated 4×4, 8 ftThe cut station will cut this into four 24 in corner posts, usually free.

Soil

22 bags of garden soilGarden soil or raised bed mix, not potting compost.
6 bags of compost

Hardware

1 box of exterior deck screws, 3 in
1 roll of landscape fabric

Tools — already ticked off, since most people have them

Tools

1 Cordless drill· most people have this
1 Circular saw· most people have this
1 Spirit level· most people have this

It lands in the shopping form, where you can edit anything and say what you think each thing costs. Nothing is ordered until you send it.

How it goes · about an afternoon · beginner

Pick a flat spot that gets sun for most of the day, and check it is nowhere near a buried line before you dig.
Cut the 4×4 into four 24 in posts, or have the cut station do it.
Lay the boards out as a rectangle and screw them into the posts at each corner, two boards high.
Level the ground under it, lay the landscape fabric inside, and set the frame down.
Fill it with the soil and compost mixed roughly three to one, and water it until it settles.

Something else

Mulch a flower bed Paint a room Put up garage shelving Fix a patchy lawn Build a fire pit Mount a TV on the wall Cookout for a crowd

Feeding people instead? The recipe book works the same way — pick a meal, say how many, every ingredient lands on the list.