How To: Build Your Own Raised-Bed Garden

Over the past few months we have all been tested, pushed to the emotional brink, but through the challenges, a sense of self-reliance seems to be taking shape. Across America, folks are taking time at home to get back to re-evaluate, craving something new and different, learning a new skill – in particular old-time skills like baking sourdough bread, planting a garden, raising chickens, or learning to sew.  

This spring in between snow flurries and 60-degree days, my husband and I tackled our garden project. It is something that I have thought about since we purchased our property in 2016. I knew that I wanted a functional design, but with beautiful details. The space we designated is 36 feet by 36 feet.

I poured over pages of gardening books that I have collected over the years, and devouring ideas and filing away inspiration. Floret Farm’s Cut Flower Garden book came in handy for functionality (if you don’t follow Floret, you should, and look out for their new television show on the Magnolia Network coming soon!).

For example, the pathways around your boxes, should be between three to four feet in order to move a wheelbarrow or wagon around for weeding, planting, and harvesting.

I chose to do raised beds instead of direct to dirt because the ground where I live is extremely rocky. 

Before any boxes could be built or vegetables planted, we needed to lay the groundwork. We rented a rototiller to help work the dirt and bring everything to grade. We did this by raking and tilling and raking and tilling and raking and tilling. Once the soil was tilled, I secured the layers of cloth with irrigation pins by generously overlapping the layers of cloth. Further, I had to investigate the ground for existing moles and rat burrows, which if left unchecked can pose a serious health risk to plants. As a result, we thought it would be helpful to hire professionals who can help us with rats, moles, and Squirrel Removal.

The next phase was to make the boxes. I wanted to garden to match our home, so I painted the wood with my favorite black paint – greenblack from Sherwin Williams. The box size I landed on was 4′ x 12′ and 2′ x 12′, since they would be easy to weed. Once the boxes were in the location I wanted, we leveled the boxes with shims. I ordered seven yards of garden grade dirt, which was cheaper and less wasteful than purchasing bags of dirt. I then mixed in compost to add even more nutrients to the soil. 

The next step required a bit more strength. The rock. We had an entire dump truck delivered to the house and in the process of moving it blew up a few wheelbarrows. Load after load, we filed the rock pathways. In order to compact the rock, we rented a tamper to pack down the rock so it was less squishy when underfoot. This was an amazing transformation and I got to move into the fun part…planting the beautiful material.

I wanted a cutting garden as well as a vegetable garden, so I picked up a few of my favorite perennials including mock orange, peony, echinacea, trollius, geum, and monkshood. I will add allium, double tulips, and muscari bulbs this fall. I visited Cosmic Apple for their annual plant sale (in a snow storm) to grab some bio-dynamic organic starts that take a little bit longer to grow in our tough climate including squash, cucumber, tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, and kohlrabi. In addition to these veggies, I planted yellow and red strawberries, raspberries, rhubarb, onions, fennel, kale, lettuces, beans, and calendula. Lavender, mint, and all of the herbs. 

We had a strip of meadow sod that was taking up a bit of the west side of the garden so I laid out my vintage Hungarian horse troughs from a recent visit to Round Top, Texas, and incorporated them into the design, along with an old fire pit. These pieces bring charm to the garden and add to my collected look. A favorite local place to look for unique pieces in Jackson is Eclectic Consignment.

Lastly, I added hollyhocks and hops on the outside of the fence that will creep and grow over the years. As the summer inches along, it will fill in and provide an abundance of produce and flowers for my family to enjoy. I am no master gardener, but each year I plant, I take note and I learn what works and how to make slight modifications to make things better for the future. I hope you enjoy planting some seeds, raising a container tomato plant, or tilling up your yard this summer. Happy gardening.