Constructing this staple of the vegetable garden is easier than you might think…

There are a couple of reasons I have decided to construct a raised garden bed in my backyard.  Firstly, it positions your vegetables at an easily accessible height, so you don’t have to break your back tending to them.   Because the vegetables are raised it also means that you are not trodding all over the soil and compacting it.

But the main reason I like using raised beds, is that you can quickly get the soil up to a level that desired for growing bumper crops instantly.   This is done by importing a good quality soil mix from a landscape supplier.   I live in the South East of Melbourne, and our soil is notoriously sandy, and requires a lot of organic matter to get it productive.

I have chosen to use eWood to construct my raised garden beds.  eWood is a great product by a recycling company here in Melbourne called Close the Loop.   eWood is made from 100% recycled high and low grade mixed plastics, and is a great sustainable alternative to timber.   The great thing about eWood is that it won’t rot.   It is a better alternative to treated pine,  as treated pine should not be used in the construction of raised garden beds as the chemicals over time leach in to the soil and are taken up by plants which end up on your plate.  The other advantage of eWood is that it is cheaper than Cypress pine.

I have outlined the steps to construct your own raised vegetable garden bed below.

List of Materials needed for one garden bed.
10 x 2.4m lengths of eWood
64 galvanized decking screws (or similar… i used recycled roofing screws for mine. )

Equipment:
Circular Saw
Electric Drill
Drill bit
Spirit level

Step 1: Measure out and mark the area where you want to position the raised garden bed.   Check that you have enough room to fit the 2.4m lengths and 1.2 widths.

Step 2: Cut 3 of the lengths down to half at 1.2m  These will make up the two ends of the raised bed.  You can use normal woodwork tools on the eWood.

Step 3. Then lay the cut to size lengths out in general layout of the 4 sides.

Step 4. Pre-drill and screw together the three 2.4 lengths to form one of the sides.  Then repeat the process for the other side.   For a great handy tip on pre-drilling.

Step 5.   Move the two sides that you have put together and the 6x 1.2m  out to where you want the place the raised garden bed.    Dig and level the ground, and start the install process with one of the sides first.    Get this first side level as this will be the the point of reference for leveling all sides of the raised garden bed.

Step 6. Place the second side in place and join the two sides with the cut 1.2m lengths.   Then square off, and make sure all sides are level.

Step 7. Install a brace between the two sides running across the middle of the bed.  This will insure the sides don’t buckle when you fill it up with soil.

Step 8. Now with the basic structure constructed, you can now fill with soil.   I recommend using a mix of garden loom and a good quality compost.  In this instance I have used the soil that was already there prior to construction, as I have been working lots of organic matter into this soil over the past  year.

Note: Handy hint…use the back of the rake to help level out soil.

Step 9. The final step in the process is to plant out the new vegetable patch.    You can either choose to plant seedlings which will give you instant gratification, or you can do as I have and directly sow seeds.

I have created three raised garden beds down the side of my house, so I could practice a form of crop rotation.  You don’t have to replicate this system.   The fact is that you don’t have to construct raised garden beds to start growing your own vegetables.  The key is that you make use of the space that you have in your backyard effectively…  and that if you have access to any patch of soil, you can start backyard farming right away!