10 Easy DIY Ways to Build a Raised Garden Bed

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You could spend thousands of dollars on a series of prefabricated raised garden beds, but what if you’d rather save for more important things? Good news: DIY raised garden beds can be inexpensive, and with just a little bit of ingenuity and know-how, you can easily build as many garden beds as you need. Here are ten fantastic ideas to try.

Why Build a DIY Raised Garden Bed?

Even the easiest raised gardens work like over-sized planters, helping you build rich soil that encourages plants to thrive while retaining moisture, reducing or even eliminating weeds, and saving your back when it comes time to plant, care for, and harvest your vegetables.

If you live in an area where the soil is compacted, rocky, or poor, raised garden beds are the fastest, easiest way to build healthy soil and ensure proper drainage without investing in a tiller. Your plants will thank you, since raised beds are a bit warmer. You might even find that you enjoy a slightly longer growing season when you build raised garden beds.

Raised bed gardens look attractive, and they help you make the most of the space you have available. You can make them as large or as small as you like, and you can decide where to place them for optimal sun exposure. If you’re a fan of companion planting, you can place compatible species together in the same garden bed to get even better results.

Materials to Avoid When Building Raised Bed Gardens

Plants will grow in just about any container, so long as it’s deep enough to accommodate their root systems. Even so, there are a couple of materials to avoid, as they can contaminate soil and even make vegetables toxic.

Avoid Railroad ties

If you can get your hands on untreated railroad ties, feel free to use them. If, on the other hand, you are tempted to use creosote-treated railroad ties for raised bed gardens, it’s bet to reserve those for flowers or landscaping.

Avoid Pressure treated lumber

While the EPA says that wood treated with alkaline copper quaternary (ACQ) is safe for growing vegetables, a lot of folks still think it’s a good idea to avoid this type of lumber. You could compromise by lining the inner edge of the wood with landscape fabric to keep soil from coming into direct contact.

1. Traditional 4×8 Raised Bed Garden

A 4×8 raised garden is easy to access from each side, and it accommodates plenty of plants. Use rot-resistant cedar or redwood and your garden walls will last far longer.

Materials:

  • Two 8’ 2×12 boards
  • Two 4’ 2×12 boards
  • 12 3-1/2” deck screws

Instructions:

Locate a reasonably level area and mark the perimeter for your raised bed garden.

Clear the area completely, removing weeds, grass, and roots.

Have a helper hold each board into place as you fasten the boards. Consider pre-drilling to prevent the wood from splitting, and then fasten each corner with three deck screws.

If you’d like to increase stability, you can brace the corners with short pieces of lumber.

2. Cinder Block Garden Beds

Cinder blocks are convenient for building raised garden beds large and small alike. They’re easy to work with, and they offer the advantage of rot resistance.

Materials:

  • Enough cinder blocks to build a perimeter 2 to 3 blocks high

Instructions:

Choose a spot for your raised bed garden and mark out the perimeter. Clear grass, weeds, and roots, and then start stacking your blocks with the open sections positioned vertically. Stagger the blocks so that they overlap one another.

If you like, you can fill the openings with soil and treat these like small planters. They’re perfect for herbs!

3. Recycled Livestock Watering Trough Planters

Metal livestock troughs offer a pleasing rustic appearance, plus they last for many years. Warning: new livestock tanks can be pricey, so consider browsing Craigslist or another source for secondhand watering troughs if you’re on a budget.

Materials:

  • Galvanized metal livestock trough, any size
  • Landscape fabric (optional)

Instructions:

Flip the trough upside down and use a drill bit to perforate the bottom. Do not skip this step! It’s essential for drainage.

Line the bottom of the trough with landscape fabric or small rocks. This will keep your soil blend contained.

Position the watering trough as desired and enjoy!

4. Two Bed Raised Garden with Trellis

If you want to try your hand at vertical gardening, you’ll love this space-saving design, which features a pair of raised garden beds with an attractive arched trellis between them.

Materials:

  • Four 8’ 2×12 boards
  • Four 4’ 2×12 boards
  • 24 3-1/2” deck screws
  • One 4’ x 16’ cattle, goat, or hog fence panel
  • Four metal “T” Posts with at least 4 metal fence connectors per post
  • Decorative pots or planters (optional)

Instructions:

Metal farm fence panels are unwieldy, so get a strong helper for this project.

Locate a reasonably level area and mark the perimeter for your raised bed garden. You’ll want to leave a 4-foot space between the edges of the garden beds so that your farm panel is tall enough to walk through but not so tall that you’ll have trouble reaching veggies inside.

Clear the area completely, removing weeds, grass, and roots.

Build two 4×8 garden beds. Have your helper hold each board into place as you fasten the boards. Consider pre-drilling to prevent the wood from splitting, and then fasten each corner with three deck screws.

Set the garden beds into place with the four-foot ends facing one another. Mark positions for two T-posts per garden bed. Move the beds aside, and then pound the T-posts into place. Set the farm panel up and anchor it to the T-posts using the metal connectors. If you’re concerned about stability, you can use extra connectors or some stout wire to add strength.

Put the garden beds back into place and fill them with soil. If you like, you can add some decorative planters to the inside edges of the trellis.

5. Pallet Garden Beds

Pallet garden beds are shorter than most other raised gardens, but they’re very easy to set up and it’s often possible to obtain pallets at no charge. This method is best for herbs, lettuce, radishes, strawberries, and other small plants. Neat rows come automatically thanks to the shape of the pallets.

Materials:

  • Wood pallets
  • Landscape cloth
  • Garden soil

Instructions:

Decide how many pallets you’d like to use and lay them out in an attractive pattern.

Mark the space where each pallet will sit. Remove the pallets, then clear the area of weeds, grass, and debris.

Staple landscape cloth to the back of the pallets to keep the soil contained. Put the pallets back in place. Fill them up with soil and enjoy.

6. Brick Garden Beds

Just like cinder blocks, bricks help soil retain moisture and warmth. Short, wide walls are more stable than tall, slender ones, making this method is best for creating multiple small beds no larger than about two feet across by four feet long.

Materials:

  • Enough bricks to build a garden bed 4 to 6 layers high and 2 to 3 bricks deep

Instructions:

Choose your site very carefully. The larger your garden bed, the more important it is to select a level spot.

Mark out the garden bed’s perimeter and remove any grass, weeds, and debris.

Stack the bricks in layers two to three bricks deep, staggering the layers to add strength.

7. Straw Potato Tower

Potatoes require deep soil. Straw potato towers let you overcome this challenge with ease.

Materials:

  • Chicken wire or wire fencing – You’ll need one 5-foot long, 3-to-4-foot high section for each potato tower
  • 3 4-foot rebar stakes per potato tower
  • Plastic Zip ties (at least 10 per potato tower)
  • Plain brown cardboard – enough to cover the ground inside each potato tower
  • Straw (not hay)
  • Aged compost or rich garden soil
  • Seed potatoes

Instructions:

Pull each section of fencing into a circle. Use the zip ties to secure the ends together.

Place the cylinder in the spot where you’re planning to grow your potatoes. Position the rebar stakes at even intervals, weave them through the wire, and use a heavy mallet to hammer them about 6 inches into the ground.

Line the ground with cardboard and then add a ring of straw about 6 inches wide and 6 inches tall, all around the perimeter of the tower. Add compost or soil to the center of the straw ring, and then add pieces of seed potato to the straw ring. Space them about 6 inches apart, with the eyes pointing toward the wire.

Add another 6” deep straw ring filled with soil or compost and repeat the potato planting process. Keep on repeating until you’ve filled the potato tower to capacity. Water your potatoes well and often! When it’s time to harvest, simply snip the zip ties apart and work the fence open. You can then pick up the potatoes and start enjoying them.

8. Industrial Metal Garden Beds

New or recycled metal roofing plus simple wood frames make attractive, long-lasting raised bed gardens.

Materials:

  • 2 4’ sections of galvanized metal roofing
  • 2 2’ sections of galvanized metal roofing
  • Rot-resistant 2×4 lumber cut into 12 2’ sections
  • Rot-resistant 2×4 lumber cut into 4 4’ sections
  • Deck screws
  • Self-tapping roof screws

Instructions:

Build two frames for the end of each planter, using four 2’ sections to create squares. Use deck screws to fasten the frames.

Build two frames for the sides of each planter, using two 2’ sections and two 4’ sections to create long rectangles. Use deck screws to fasten the frames.

Attach the metal roofing to the inside of each frame using self-tapping roof screws.

Get a helper to hold the sections in place as you connect the corners with more deck screws.

Clear an area for each planter, removing all grass, weeds, and roots. Set the planters in place and enjoy.

9. Recycled Tire Garden Beds

Tires retain heat and resist rot. You can either purchase old tires or save the tires from your own vehicle next time you purchase new ones.

Materials:

  • Tires
  • Landscape cloth or plain cardboard
  • Soil

Instructions:

Clear a spot for each tire. Set the tires in place and line them with cardboard or landscape cloth.

Fill each tire with garden soil and add seeds or plants.

10. Wood Log Garden Beds

If you have access to logs and you love the look of rustic, natural materials, you’ll like this raised garden idea!

Materials:

  • 4 wood logs large enough to build a raised bed of the desired dimensions: 3×6 or 4×8 are popular sizes.

Instructions:

Lay the logs out as desired, overlapping the ends to create corners. if you notice any large gaps, you can fill them in with rocks or line them with landscaping fabric.

The final step for each of these DIY raised bed gardens is the same: Fill the container with a garden soil blend. Add seeds or transplant seedlings, then watch your garden flourish! Be sure to clear your raised beds at the end of each growing season, refresh the soil with compost, and rotate crops for best results year after year.