Raised Garden Box Design

Our first attempt at a raised garden began in 2003 and consisted of 4x8' beds, 2' apart. We built them out of 4x1" pine boards and used some 1x1 stakes nailed into the sides for support. We used top soil for fill. Needless to say, we learned a lot of lessons that first time around. The walls were too weak to hold the soil inside, even with the support and we were constantly having to add brackets/other items to keep it together. The top soil we ordered was not very fertile (we added very little amendments to the soil), except for the weeds. And the 2' between boxes was not enough room to comfortably get around once those plants that did grow got very big.

In 2008/2009, we decided to try again. Of course, we couldn't find any plans that would work for us, so we came up with our own! 

Not to scale - My drawing skills aren't the best.

We used 4x4 redwood, which cost more but since we bought so much of it, we were able to get a deal at the lumber yard. We used rebar inside the 4x4s to hold the sides together tightly, and brackets in the corners to keep the ends together. We had originally planned to extend the rebar beyond the bottom of the box, so it could sink into the earth and hold tight. However, after we built the fist box, we realized the boxes were heavy enough to stay put without the extra rebar extension.

In construction

Our son helping with the build.

As far as fill, we chose compost, which provided easily 2 years of weed free, fantastic growth. This is the first year I'm seeing weeds in our boxes - probably blown in from last summer. Being in Phoenix, we've been able to keep tomato plants going year round. They stop producing in the summer, but come back in the fall with more tomatoes as the weather cools. One of our tomato plants produced for 2 1/2 years before a winter frost finally killed it off.

Our daughter helping us fill with compost.

We didn't treat the inside of the boxes, as we don't want the chemicals leeching into our soil. However, we had to treat the exterior of the boxes to protect them from our brutal summer sun. We placed our boxes 3' apart this time, providing ample room for getting around even when the plants have grown enormous and spill over the sides.

3+ years later...still going strong.

We love our boxes. They are sturdy, wide enough to sit on comfortably while gardening, and beautiful.