by will sprout

Created on: July 27, 2009   Last Updated: July 29, 2009

Building Your own Raised Garden.

The are many reasons for building a raised garden, from lack of space, unsuitable garden soil or for simply being more in control of the garden.

There is no specific construction plan to follow and you can build the raised garden how and where you want, and you can use wood, stones, paving slabs or whatever building material you have.

There is no need to go out and purchase the best materials any discarded material will suffice as long as you have enough to build your garden wall.

A suggested building size would be no more than 1.5 metres wide; the length depends of the size of your available land.

I have built several raised gardens using broken paving stones, natural stones, wood and home made bricks. The purpose of the wall or frame is to contain the soil of your garden.

One raised garden was built using broken paving slabs and was built all around the edge of the garden; approximately 75cm high, 50 cm wide and 40 metres long. This raised garden was built as a flower bed.

I also used the broken slabs to create a walkway along the inside of the wall.

Another raised garden was constructed using building material. I used the plastic containers from microwave dinners and moulded sand and cement 'bricks.'

This raised garden was also used as a flowerbed, or more precise, a rockery. It was built approximately 50 cm high, 1metre wide and 10 metres long.

The raised vegetable garden I built was 40 cm high, 1.20 cm wide and just over 5 metres long. This was constructed with wooden batons and posts.

This was probably the easiest construction of the three.

In the vacant area of my garden I measured out the approximate size of the garden I was going to create, ensuring it was not going to be bigger than the material on hand, and I put a string guide around it attached to metal spikes hammered into the ground.

After marking out the ground I dug a trench 20cm deep all the way around the perimeter; this was to accommodate the 'fence posts.'

The supply of wood I had was pine, 10 cm wide, 2cm thick and 1.80 cm long.

I nailed three pieces of the pine planks onto 50mm square pine stakes 60cm long. This allowed 20cm of the stake free, to be planted in the ground. I nailed six stakes at equal distances to the overall length of the fence to provide strength.

When the construction was complete I nailed strengtheners across the four corners to support the frame when it was moved.

Before I moved the frame I painted it several times with white paint left over from a decorating project.

When the paint was dry I moved it into position over the area I had marked and hammered it into place using a wooden mallet. I used a spirit level to ensure the fence was straight, but this is not essential; as long as the 'fence' looks flat and straight.

I was able to get a supply of topsoil from a neighbour who had purchased too much and I filled my frame to within 75 cm. I placed 50 cm of manure on top of this and spaded it into the soil.

I removed the strengtheners I had used to move the frame and painter the bare area.

After watering I left the frame to settle for two weeks before I began planting vegetables.

A raised garden is much more manageable and easy to maintain; the size too allows easy access from both sides, and vegetables can be easily extracted.

With a raised garden it does not become compacted with people walking on it and this produces a 50% increase in grown crops; nor does it become waterlogged; vegetables can be grown closer together; and covers can easily be fitted if required, in the event of pests.

On the overall, a raised garden is much more enjoyable if you wish to grow vegetables because of the satisfaction with a successful harvest.

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