Why We Built a Raised Corner Garden Bed
Each year, we love expanding and adding to our farm. Whether it’s improving the way we raise chickens by trying out a chicken tractor, or learning to hatch turkey eggs, farrowing pigs, birthing goats, and learning how to vermicompost, we are constantly learning something new.
Enlarging our garden is no exception. After putting in standard raised beds, we filled our beds with the best soil for raised beds, tested the soil, and installed a drip tape irrigation system.
We wanted to cut down on the weeding needed, and since we practice beekeeping, we don’t want to use chemicals to spray for weeds. Laying down a weed barrier at the base of our garden beds helps keep those weeds at bay.
After all this, we noticed we still had room in our garden space, so we built raised corner garden beds.
Benefits of Raised Bed Gardening
Using raised beds is our gardening method of choice. All gardening takes time and effort, but raised bed gardening saves us time and produces abundant results. Here are some reasons we use raised bed gardening.
- Less Weeding Saves Time – By laying down weed barriers under the raised beds and between garden rows, we eliminate weed problems before they even start. We will still get some weeds, but they are easy to spot and reach to take care of right away.
- No Tilling – You do not need to till your land for your garden. You can build your garden beds right on top of the ground.
- Saves Water – We use an automatic drip irrigation system with our raised beds to help eliminate water waste. We do not water the rows between our garden beds. We only soak the soil in the raised beds, which retains more water and won’t compact the soil.
- Great Soil – We fill our raised beds with rich soil and homemade compost. This loose, nutrient-rich soil is key to a healthy garden.
- Plant Earlier – The soil in raised beds tends to be warmer than the soil in the ground, allowing you to plant earlier in the growing season.
Is It Cheaper to Buy or Build a Raised Garden Bed?
Building your own raised garden beds saves money. This raised corner bed design costs about $75-$80 in building materials. Purchasing raised beds can cost anywhere from $100 and up, depending on size and type.
The real benefit to building your own is the ability to customize the raised bed to suit your needs. You can build them as long or wide as you need for your garden space.
You can also buy imperfect lumber or use scrap lumber to cut costs even more if you are not too worried about the final look of your raised beds. Just use the materials you have available to you.
Supplies Needed
- Weed Barrier – We purchased our 3’ by 100’ roll of weed barrier from Amazon. Pro-Tip: If you are not able to buy a weed barrier, line your garden beds with cardboard instead. Just make sure to remove any plastic tape or labels before using.
- Four Untreated 2″x10″x10′ Lumber – Our garden fence is made with 2″x10″x10′ lumber and wire fencing. The 2″x10′ lumber we use for our garden beds matches the perimeter edge of the garden fence.
- Torx Head Wood Screws #8 x 2″ – Torx head wood screws do not strip out the screw heads nearly as often and are very easy to use. Brackets and braces can alternatively be used, but wood screws work just fine.
Cut List
- Two 2x10x10’ – If you purchased the lumber in this size, these won’t need any trimming. We already had these on the perimeter of our fence.
- Two 2x10x8’ – This is for the shorter inside walls of the corner garden bed.
- Two 2x10x2’ – For the end caps (use the two-foot sections cut off the 2″x10″x8′ boards).
Raised Corner Garden Bed Step By Step
- Choose the corners of your garden near the fence line to place your raised corner garden bed.
- Prepare the ground. You may want to weed eat to cut down any large weeds that have grown up. Clear out any large sticks or debris that would make your garden beds uneven. Level ground is best for raised beds. Tilling is not necessary.
- Cover the ground in your garden space with a weed barrier like a garden cloth or weed mat. Thoroughly cover the space that would be inside the raised bed and the walkways.
- Cut your 2″10″x10’ boards according to the cut list.
- Lay out your boards in the garden where the perimeter of your raised corner bed will be located.
- Measure 10 feet from the corner of your fence. Attach one 2″x10″x2’ end cap to the fence perimeter with one or two wood screws. We lined the bottom of our garden fence with 2″x10″x10′ boards, so the boards we use for the corner beds are also 2″x10″x10′.
- Attach the 2″x10″x8’ board to the end cap with a couple of woodscrews.
- Attach the 2″x10″x10’ to the 2″x10″x8’ board with a couple of wood screws, making the corner.
- Next, attach the other 2″x10″x2’ end cap to the 2″x10″x10’ board and the perimeter garden fence.
- Lastly, shore up all the corners and add any additional wood screws or a bracket or braces (optional) to tighten and strengthen the raised bed and make sure the weed barrier fully covers the ground inside the raised bed.
Next, you’re ready to fill the beds with soil, install your automatic watering system, and plant your garden!
