One of the things we're personally focusing on this spring and summer is improving our home garden. Today on the blog, we'll give you the basic instructions for constructing a singular garden bed, and setting up for maximum crops with the basics of the Square Foot method. We'll be building some raised beds at your own home and shop, as well as experimenting with container gardening for different crops. Plus, we've already begun the process of seeding our early-sow crops! It's our hope that today's blog will help you get things rolling for your own little “victory garden” at home, too.
Gardening is not only a fun, enjoyable hobby, but it has a slew of physical and mental health benefits as a physical activity. Not to mention, there's really nothing like that feeling of heading out to your garden and plucking some ripe veggies and fruits and herbs to cook for that day's meal. Those fresh, Jersey grown tomatoes don't have a reputation for nothin' – they're some of the juiciest, sweetest, and most refreshing fruits around.
So let's grab our tools and get started learning how to build a basic raised bed for square foot gardening!
Here's how it works:
First, gather your materials. Your local hardware store or home improvement store should have everything you need, but your local garden center is another great option.
Basic Materials for one singular garden bed planter of 6ft by 3ft
6 6ft pieces of cedar (cedar fence posts are most economical)
6 10” long 1x2s or 2x4s, cut in half
A Box of exterior wood screws or deck screws
A Circular Saw
A Drill
Compost, Dirt, Mulch
Notes before starting: To make a 6ft by 6ft bed you'll need 8 pieces of cedar wood, and you won't cut them.
Avoid using pressure treated lumber to construct the beds or pallet wood from recycled delivery pallets as these are often specially treated with chemicals which may leach into your soil or groundwater over time as exposed to the elements. Cedar is your best option here for sustainability and durability.
If using fence posts, you'll want to square off the top of each so it's a clean line before assembling.
To Cut and Assemble Your Garden Beds
Cut 2 of your boards in half to make 2 3ft boards, this will serve as the ends of your garden bed.
Take 2 of your 6ft boards and lay them flat next to one another and line them up levelly.
Use your 10” pieces of 2x4 or 1x2 to attach two 6ft boards together on each end of the pair and drill them in, repeat for the second pair of 6ft boards.
Using your 3ft boards now, place them at a 90 degree angle to the pair of 6ft boards and screw it into the 2x4 or 1x2 to create a corner.
Repeat this with the 2nd set of 6ft boards and the remaining 3ft boards until you have a rectangular frame with two boards stacked on each side.
You may wish to add some additional supports in the center of each 6 foot side and 3 foot side accordingly for more stability, to prevent the wood from bowing. If your area is prone to tunneling and burrowing animals, you can line the bottom of your garden bed with gardening mesh or chicken wire to help prevent them from digging into the bed from below. If you're placing your garden bed atop your lawn and don't want to dig the grass out, start by covering the garss with a single layer of flattened cardboard boxes, soak them thoroughly, and then begin layering in your soil and compost as follows below.
Place the frame in the area you'd like to start your raised garden bed, and begin to line the bottom of the garden bed with leaves and small twigs, grass clippings, dead plant matter from your previous garden beds, or a layer of bagged compost. On top of this natural material layer or compost, add a half a bag of garden soil, then repeat the layer of natural materials and/or compost, and again cover with soil. Repeat this method until your garden bed frame is nearly full to the top. This layering method will save you money, continually feed your plants as they grow, and create rich soil-building over time.
To section off your planter bed for “Square Foot Gardening”
You'll need: a tape measure, a small box of nails, a hammer, a roll of thick weather resistant string or twine, and something to mark your wood such as chalk or a permanent marker.
Use your tape measure to measure and mark your garden bed along each side every 12”. At each 1 foot mark, this is where you will hammer in a small nail or landscaping pin to create an anchor point for your string or twine.
After you've hammered in all your nails along the long and short sides of your planter bed, begin tying a piece of twine to each nail and running it across the bed to create a grid pattern. Repeat the process on the perpendicular lines until you have sectioned the entire bed off with 1 foot by 1 foot squares. This is easiest when done in square beds, but the rectangular frame we've detailed above will work fine as well!
To increase your yield and success with square foot gardening in a raised bed, we suggest looking up “companion planting” methods to find the best match of plants with your desired crops. For instance, pest deterrent flowers like marigolds can attract pollinators while protecting your herbs and veggies. Tomatoes pair well with herbaceous plants like basil which help deflect pests from chowing down on your tomato leaves. Garlic is a great option for barrier crops as it deters aphids. Larger plants can help provide shade to smaller plants which may receive too much sun or heat. Learning these methods will greatly improve your harvest and helps suppress weeds and prevents a need for chemical pesticides.
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