If you’re interested in building your very own garden bed, we have a few suggestions to make the process a little more manageable. These suggestions are based on redwood garden beds, made from 2 ft x 6 ft boards (in various lengths) with 4”x4” posts (for inside corner supports). That’s not to say this is the only way to build a garden bed; it’s just the way we do it...and it works well for us.
First, determine the space in which you want your garden.
There are a few things to consider...
Sun exposure: this can determine which plants you choose (i.e., sunny spots need more sturdy plants, like tomatoes; less sunny spots can facilitate herbs and some veggies).
Water access: water is vital for plant growth. If you are going with irrigation, you will need to determine the route from the water source/faucet/spigot. With irrigation, I highly recommend drip lines within the beds, to save on water in our dry climate.
When choosing the placement of the beds, you’ll also want to make sure that you have space to move around it; I suggest a three-foot space surrounding the entire bed. This will allow you to plant and harvest your bed more easily.
Second, depending on the space, you’ll need to decide the size of the bed(s).
Once you determine the desired location of your garden bed(s), it’s time to figure out the size of the garden bed. The bed is three-dimensional; so, you need to consider height, width, and length. You will need to consider the amount of soil needed to fill the bed as well (the bigger the bed, the more soil needed).
Height is important for a few reasons:
If you can bend over or squat down to plant, harvest and weed, probably 12” is a good height.
If not, you can go up to 3’, or higher.
Width is also important:
The basic width of a garden bed is between 3-4 feet. This width allows you to access any point to plant seeds, and any plants to harvest, without having to step into the bed.
Length is dependent on the space selected:
If you don’t have at least 3 feet length (which really means approximately 9 feet, because it would be 3 feet on each side of the 3-foot bed), you may want to choose another location.
The standard size we build for folks is a 6’x3’x12”. That doesn’t mean that you can’t do a different size, at all. It’s just the best use of the lumber we buy. If you want your bed longer than 6’, at every 4-6', you’ll need to add support to help the walls of the structure stay upright. I’d suggest putting in crossbeams on the inside.
We also suggest stapling, with a staple gun, wire mesh (chicken wire) on the bottom of the bed to prevent critters from eating your crops
Next, you need to determine how much soil is required:
Cubic yards are the standard way to measure soil. There are different things to consider for your soil, typically you would add new soil to the bed...however, that’s not the only way to create good soil for growing food. So, when we build a 6’x3’x12” garden bed, we use ¾ cubic yard of soil.
Lastly, make sure you have all of these materials before you start building:
Lumber (varies by desired garden bed size). We prefer redwood, because it lasts longer
Chop saw/mitre saw
Screws
Drill
Staple gun
Staples
Soil
Seeds/plants
Irrigation supplies (emitter hose, Ts, elbows, timer, etc)
Once you’ve built your garden bed, filled it with soil, placed the drip irrigation on top of the soil, and planted all desired plants, you will need to learn about:
Winterizing
Crop Rotation
Pest Control
Other online resources I recommend, especially for beginner-/intermediate-levels:
www.thriveforgood.org this video series is incredibly helpful in many ways; there are two main parts: gardening and nutrition...I recommend both, but gardening first.
www.almanac.com this is an old school source of information, which information which self-proclaims to be “useful, with a pleasant degree of humor”
www.urbanrootsnv.org this is us! We offer many affordable workshops to help in our high desert growing environment
If this seems like too much work, please consider applying for our Gardening For All program in August. Visit our website at: urbanrootsnv.org/gardening-for-all
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