It’s the time of year when we begin thinking about the growing season. Trees and early spring flowers are in bloom and the days are getting longer. You might consider building a raised garden bed if you love to put seeds in the ground, watch the plants grow, and reap the rewards of beauty and food. A raised garden bed is a great way to grow flowers and fresh edibles in a small space. Elevated garden beds are perfect for yards with limited space or compacted, poor soil.
There are a variety of benefits of raised garden beds. At Capitol City Lumber, we offer cedar as the preferred wood to use for a raised bed, so we’ll give you some reasons why we recommend cedar and provide instructions for actually building a raised garden bed.
What is a Raised Garden Bed?
A “raised garden bed,” or simply called a “raised bed,” is a freestanding box or frame with no top or bottom that sits aboveground in a sunny spot filled with good soil. Raised beds are open on the bottom so the plant roots can access the nutrients in the soil below ground level.
Benefits of Raised Garden Beds
Here are some of the reasons to garden in raised beds.
- Better drainage – Raised beds drain well and help prevent erosion.
- Longer growing season – Raised beds warm up early in the spring and provide a longer growing season since the soil raised above ground warms up more quickly.
- More control – Raised beds give you more control over the soil you put in them. Plants grown close together in raised beds mature faster.
- Prevent weeds – Raised beds keep weeds from taking over because the beds are elevated away from surrounding weeds and are filled with soil that is free from weeds and disease.
- More appropriate for small spaces – Raised beds are ideal for small spaces where a conventional row garden might be unwieldy.
- Better crop rotation – It is easier to separate and rotate crops each year.
- Attractive – Raised garden beds are attractive.
Why Use Cedar for a Raised Garden Bed?
There are many different materials you can use to edge a raised garden bed–wood, stones, bricks, or cement blocks. Cedar is the top choice because it is both resistant to rotting and is durable. It can last 10 to 15 years. It is also insect-resistant because of the oils in the wood. We don’t recommend using painted or pressure-treated wood that can leach chemicals or lead into the soil.
How To Build Cedar Raised Garden Beds
Building a raised garden bed is a simple process. To make it even easier, you can find kits and components such as corners that are already put together, including hardware. Here are the steps in building your own raised bed.
Step 1: Making Decisions on the Size and Location of Your Raised Garden Bed
Before you get your materials and start building, you need to make some decisions.
How Wide and Long Should Your Raised Bed Be?
A raised garden bed should not be wider than 4 feet to allow you to access the garden without stepping into the bed. You don’t want to step into the bed because this compacts the soil, making it more difficult for the roots to get the oxygen they need. If your bed is too wide, it will also be more difficult to reach the middle. Weeding and harvesting become more difficult with a wide bed. If your bed is built against a wall or fence, you should make it narrower than 4 feet because you will only be able to access the garden from one side.
Length isn’t as important as the width. You can make a bed 4×4, 4×8, or any length you have space for. However, it may be easier to make shorter beds than those that are long. If you plan on planting many crop families, it is better to have separate beds.
How Deep Should Your Raised Bed Be?
The depth of the raised bed is important for the root system and drainage, so a lot depends on the plants you will have in it. You should have at least 8 inches of soil depth to accommodate the root systems of your plants. The majority of roots require 6 to 8 inches of soil for healthy root growth. Generally, a depth of 8 to 12 inches of soil will be enough for most gardening. If drainage is an issue or if your plants need an environment with drier soil, then the depth of your raised bed can be taller and filled up with a porous growing medium.
Crops with deep roots such as carrots, parsnips, potatoes, tomatoes, and squash need a minimum soil depth of 12 to 18 inches. If plants don’t have loose soil to this depth, the roots will not be able to go down deep enough to access nutrients. Shallow-rooted crops such as lettuce, greens, and onions need a minimum soil depth of six inches.
Usually, lumber (such as cedar) comes in a standard size that is six inches in height. In other words, the sizing is 2″ x 6″ x 8 feet. Note that boards bought at a lumber yard are actually 1.5″ thick by 5.5″ high. You can stack two boards to get 12″ in height (technically 11 inches). If you make the bed taller, which you can do, note that the weight of the added soil will add pressure to the sides, requiring you to add cross-supports for a bed that is over 12 inches high.
What Kind of Material Should You Use?
The material you use for a raised garden bed should be durable, stable, and attractive. Because the sides of the bed lend structural support and help contain the soil, you need material that is also strong. The best wood is rough-cut cedar because it is naturally resistant to decay and insects. Cedar is also long-lasting, increasing the life of the bed by five or ten years over other untreated wood. You want a material that stands up to the elements over time and cedar will accomplish that goal.
The most economical way to purchase Western Red Cedar is with #2 grade wet timbers. The board is called “wet”, sometimes referred to as “green”, because it has been cut but not air or kiln-dried. Cedar dries fairly quickly and should be partially air-dried by the time they reach your yard. Left rough, these boards are are thicker than nominal boards and will provide sturdier walls for your raised garden bed.
| SKU | Description | Retail | Promo Price |
| Sold by the Linear foot: | |||
| 260 | 2X4 ROUGH GREEN CEDAR | $3.69 | $2.89 |
| 262 | 2X6 ROUGH GREEN CEDAR | $7.19 | $4.19 |
| 263 | 2X8 ROUGH GREEN CEDAR | $10.19 | $6.89 |
| 264 | 2X10 ROUGH GREEN CEDAR | $13.79 | $8.99 |
| 265 | 2X12 ROUGH GREEN CEDAR | $19.29 | $12.89 |
| Sold by the Piece: | |||
| 31433 | 4X4 X 6′ ROUGH GREEN CEDAR | $46.89 | $33.39 |
The Rough #2 Western Red Cedar boards are on sale for a limited amount of time this spring. We sell these boards by the linear foot. As long as we can return 8′ back to stock, purchase just what you need. Need boards cut to your garden bed size? No problem, we can do a cross-cut on your boards while you wait.
Raised Garden Bed Plates
We also carry nice heavy duty Garden Bed Corners and Plates to make Garden Beds. These corners are individually hand made by a local welder. Much care goes into making these corners. Corners are 3/16″ thick solid steel primed and coated for exterior use. Each corner comes with an inside sleeve to stake corner to ground with re-bar. Leave gloss black or add flair to your garden by custom painting with exterior paint before installing. Several profiles are available. Choose a wrap for sleek lines or inside corners for a less visible look. Both will give your bed even more stability and durability.
| SKU | Description | Individual | Set of 4: |
| Wrap Corners: | |||
| 6GBC | GARDEN BED CORNERS FOR 6″ BED | $34.98 | $118.93 |
| 8GBC | GARDEN BED CORNERS FOR 8″ BED | $38.29 | $130.19 |
| 10GBC | GARDEN BED CORNERS FOR 10″ BED | $41.59 | $141.41 |
| 12GBC | GARDEN BED CORNERS FOR 12″ BED | $44.98 | $152.93 |
| Inside Corners: | |||
| 6GBIC | GARDEN BED INSIDE CORNERS FOR 6″ | $16.69 | $56.75 |
| 8GBIC | GARDEN BED INSIDE CORNERS FOR 8″ | $18.39 | $62.53 |
| 10GBIC | GARDEN BED INSIDE CORNERS – 10″ | $19.98 | $67.93 |
| 12GBIC | GARDEN BED INSIDE CORNERS – 12″ | $21.59 | $73.41 |
| Wrap In-Line Plates: | |||
| 6GBWIL | GARDEN BED WRAP IN-LINE FOR 6″ | $28.29 | $96.19 |
| 8GBWIL | GARDEN BED WRAP IN-LINE FOR 8″ | $31.59 | $107.41 |
| 10GBWIL | GARDEN BED WRAP IN-LINE FOR 10″ | $34.89 | $118.63 |
| 12GBWIL | GARDEN BED WRAP IN-LINE FOR 12″ | $38.39 | $130.53 |
| Inside In-Line Plates: | |||
| 6GBIL | GARDEN BED IN-LINE PLATE FOR 6″ | $16.67 | $56.68 |
| 8GBIL | GARDEN BED IN-LINE PLATE FOR 8″ | $18.35 | $62.39 |
| 10GBIL | GARDEN BED IN-LINE PLATE FOR 10″ | $19.95 | $67.83 |
| 12GBIL | GARDEN BED IN-LINE PLATE FOR 12″ | $21.55 | $73.27 |
Where is the Best Location?
Raised garden beds do best where they get a lot of sun.
- Most vegetables need 6 to 8 hours of direct sunlight a day, in other words, full sun.
- Level, even ground
- Close to the house for easy access
- Soil needs to drain well, so avoid any wet or marshy areas
Step 2: Building the Raised Garden Bed
1. Cutting the Wood
- Measure and mark the length of the sides and cut the boards.
- Measure and cut boards for the corner posts, or purchase the corners pre-made.
- Purchase the correct number of plates and corners.
- Clamp together the boards for each wall.
2. Attaching the Corners
- Set the corner posts on top of the wall boards, flush with the ends of the walls, and set back 1 1/2 inches from the ends of the shorter walls. Drill pilot holes and attach the posts to the corners with screws.
3. Building the Planter Box
- Drill pilot holes and connect all the sides with screws to form a box. The posts should be on the inside of the bed.
Step 3: Preparing the Location
- Place the frame in position and outline it with a shovel.
- Remove the grass by loosening the dirt with a spading fork to help the roots of your newly planted plants grow into the ground.
- Before setting the bed in place, attach a hardware cloth to the box. Staple wide-mesh hardware cloth to the bottom of the frame. The mesh helps keep weeds out, yet allows earthworms to get in and enrich the soil. You may choose to use landscape fabric or newspaper instead of hardware cloth.
- If your wood isn’t rot-resistant, you should staple heavy-duty plastic along the inside walls before adding the soil.
- Place the bed in the location.
Step 4: Adding Soil and Plants
- Start with high-quality soil and choose plants that will grow in the location you have selected.
- Fill the bed with nutrient-rich soil and compost. There are mulch and soil calculators online that you can use to estimate the amount you need.
- Plant your garden by setting the plants in holes and lightly filling in with soil. Keep the soil loose around the plant to allow water to reach the roots. If you use container plants, be sure to break up the root balls before planting.
- Give the plants plenty of water. The best time to water is morning when less water evaporates in the sun.
- Now, watch your plants grow and enjoy the fruits of your labors!
SAVE 25% when purchasing a set of 4 corners or plates. Please allow 2-3 weeks lead time if Garden Bed corners or plates are on backorder.
Inside Corner:
Wrap In-line Plate:
Inside In-line Plate:
