• Home
  • About
    • Privacy Policy
  • Blog
  • Prep-Ahead Meals Cookbooks
  • Recipes
  • Lifestyle
  • Gardening
  • Kid’s Activities
  • Gluten-Free Recipes
  • Budgeting Tips
↑

Premeditated Leftovers™

Prep-Ahead Meals, Cooking Tips, and Frugal Living

  • Cookbooks
    • Prep-Ahead Breakfasts and Lunches
    • Prep-Ahead Meals From Scratch
  • Recipe Index
  • Members Area
    • Member Login
    • Join Us
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Recipes
  • Gluten-Free Recipes
  • Lifestyle
  • Garden
  • DIY
  • Kids
  • Budget

You are here: Home / Gardening / How to Build Raised Garden Beds

How to Build Raised Garden Beds

May 2, 2009 by Alea Milham 6 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy here.
334 shares
  • Share
  • Tweet
Or Why I sympathize With Mr. McGregor
We have herds of rabbits roaming our property, mowing down anything edible. They even eat the plants they are not supposed to like! My husband and son made me several garden boxes last year so I could grow vegetables and are in the process of making me several more. I thought I would show you how they made them. My husband wants me to put a disclaimer stating that he is not a carpenter and improvised with what he had available to him.

How to Build Raised Garden BedsThe boxes are 4 feet by 8 feet and are made of untreated wood. Instead of making the posts flush with the box he made them either 2′ or 3′ high so that he could more easily attach chicken wire around the boxes. The chicken wire doubles as support for my tomatoes and cucumbers.

How to Build Raised Garden Beds My husband used 2 1/2 inch 3/8″ lag bolts with 1 1/2 inch fender washers. He panned out the holes so that he could get more of a bite into the posts. He said that would not be necessary if he had used 3 inch lag bolts, but we had the shorter lag bolts left over from building a horse shelter.

How to Build Raised Garden BedsMy husband used a staple gun to attach the chicken wire. On the three foot high boxes he created an improvised “door” by attaching one end to a post with hooks instead of stapling it down. This allows me to open an end and walk in rather than lean over the wire. I use the “door” when I am planting in the spring, but usually just lean over the wire to weed and harvest the plants.

We have a very short growing season, so if I want to start my plants from seed I have to start them inside. This spring I transplanted my seedling outside a little too soon. The elevated posts on the raised beds allowed me to create my $2.00 Greenhouses and protect my plants from the snow.
334 shares
  • Share
  • Tweet

About Alea Milham

Alea Milham is the owner of Premeditated Leftovers and the author of Prep-Ahead Meals from Scatch. She shares her tips for saving money and time while reducing waste in her home. Her favorite hobby, gardening, is a frugal source of organic produce for her recipes. She believes it is possible to live fully and eat well while spending less.

Comments

  1. Marie says

    April 30, 2017 at 9:22 am

    Do you think this would work for squirrels as well?

    Reply
    • Alea Milham says

      April 30, 2017 at 11:40 pm

      You need something over the top as well to protect your garden from squirrels.

      Reply
      • LarryB says

        May 14, 2017 at 3:00 pm

        squirrels climb!!

        Reply
        • Alea Milham says

          May 15, 2017 at 10:04 pm

          Right, which is why yu need something over the top of the raised beds instead of just along the sides.

          Reply
  2. The Book Lady Online says

    January 31, 2010 at 10:03 pm

    With my rabbit/ deer problems I have been reading your site for ideas to win the war. I like the simplicity of the design on these beds and they are the size I want, but I think I would need taller wire to keep out deer. Maybe I could try something like this and just put wire across the top, too, if the deer become a problem. Hmmm . . I have some thinking to do. 🙂

    Reply
  3. FrugalinLA says

    July 26, 2009 at 1:55 pm

    Thanks for this helpful DIY. I wanted to build my own boxes but did not know how. You have a great site-I live in CA and need ideas dor plants that can survive the heat.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Search

Prep-Ahead Breakfasts and Lunches by Alea Milham

Recent Articles:

How to Start Your First Garden

2 ways to start composting easily

3 Ways to Start Composting

How to attract wild birds to your yard.

Tips for Attracting Winter Birds

Prep-Ahead Meals from Scratch Where to Buy

BROWSE:

  • Blog
  • Cookbooks
  • Recipe Index
  • Members Area

ABOUT:

  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclosure

Welcome. I'm Alea!

On Premeditated Leftovers I share simple recipes made with whole foods, practical shopping tips, time saving techniques, and meal planning strategies. I also share tips for minimizing food waste, so more of the food that is purchased ends up on the table.

While volunteering as a budget counselor, I realized that food is the element of most people’s budgets where they have the greatest control. I set out to develop low-cost recipes from scratch to prove it’s possible to create delicious meals on a limited budget. Eating well while spending less is about more than just creating recipes using inexpensive ingredients; it’s about creatively combining ingredients so you don’t feel deprived and are inspired to stick to your budget.

Copyright ©2023, Premeditated Leftovers™. All Rights Reserved.
Design by Pixel Me Designs