Raised Bed Gardening 2.0

Today I started on the new raised beds.  This is the 2nd time I've built these and I've made a few changes to the first version.  Building a raised bed is very easy with a few good tools.  If you're interested in starting your own garden check out this wonderful article by Kate Gardner from PlanetNatural. So here are the details:

3 Beds total (for now... I'm probably going to build 2 or 3 more)
I really want a winter garden and a few beds to grow onions and garlic in, not to mention potatoes/yams.  All of these crops require a dedicated space for almost the entire growing season (in Seattle).  Unlike beans, peas, leafy greens, radishes and chard etc. where I was able to do 2 or 3 rounds in the same space.  With a yard that's about 2000sf I want to challenge myself to grow for year round eating!  I'm not much of a lawn person anyways :P

Beds are 4' x 8'
It just makes sense with lumber being 8' long.  It also fits nicely in the Prius.  Yes we hauled all of the lumber you see in that pic in our 2005 Prius!  It's like live action tetris.


Beds are 12" high
My first version was 18" high (or three levels of 2"X6") and it needed A LOT of soil to fill!  This time I'm only going with a 12" high bed (or two levels of 2"x6").  I searched around for more info on bed height and found this great video from GrowingYourGreens.

Cedar and Hemlock Fir
I originally planned on making all of my beds from cedar, but 2"x6"x8' cedar lumber was about $14.00 each and I needed 6 per bed.  Each bed would be about $90 with corner posts... that's a little more than I want to spend.  Lowes also had the same in Hemlock Fir for about $4 (or about $30 per bed with corner posts).  I debated for awhile at the cost vs. longevity of the wood and for the sake of experimentation I decided to go with both.  We made 2 Fir and 1 Cedar bed.  I'll keep you guys posted on how these compare to each other.

Costs
6 Cedar 2"x6"x8' = $84.00
12 Hemlock Fir 2"x6"x8' = $48.00
2 Hemlock Fir 4"x4"x8' = $16.00
Total for 3 beds: $148.00 (not including soil or misc things like screws and nails)


Tools for the job:
circular saw, pencil, level, tape measure and drill.  You'll also need nails or screws and a level area to put it all together on.  It really helps to have a concrete pad or patio.  Measure and cut the wood.  Each bed has four 8' sections and four 4' sections and four corner posts that are 12"high.  Well the posts are really 11" since 2x6 lumber is really 1.5"x5.5".  


After you cut all of your pieces lay them out on a flat surface and begin to assemble.  In the past I used clamps to hold the wood together then pre-drilled and screwed them together... or you can have a helper hold the wood together, but it always slips or moves.  I cheated this time and used a nail gun!  It was soooo much faster!  I still pre-drilled and used screws, I just don't trust brad nails to withstand years of abuse.  I tend to overdo it.  This was the original tutorial I used from Popular Mechanics.



My husband helped me with these and we managed to put all 3 together in about 2 hours.  I also added some braces in the middle of the 8' sections, my old beds were a bit wobbly in the middle. Tomorrow we'll deal with the soil and "install" our beds.