DIY Garden Bed

Last April was our first time planting vegetables and herbs in a garden bed, which turned out to be really successful. In the past, I've only planted a few plants in smaller pots on my back porch. Creating a garden was something that I was looking forward to the most when we became homeowners.

Stephen and I wanted a larger space to be able to grow more veggies so that we can start canning things like salsa and tomato sauce to enjoy throughout the year.

Being the visual person that I am, most projects that I have in mind, start off as a sketch. I wanted to build a large raised garden and landscape the area around the bed. The larger raised bed will also allow us to plant vegetables that grow in the ground like carrots and sweet potatoes.

One helpful tip when deciding which vegetables and herbs you want in your garden, is to make sure the ones that are planted next to each other are compatible. There's several sites online where you can check prior to planting. Basil and tomatoes are not only yummy together in many recipes but they also grow really well next to each other. Growing certain herbs in your garden will also help repeal certain bugs/pests that are attached to certain veggies. It's really important to do your research before planting.

We marked off that area using inverted spray paint and measured to get exact dimensions of the space. We did have to dig a small portion of the area to make sure it was level and added some dirt to raise the low spots. Overall the area was pretty level and it didn't require too much prep.

Stephen was able to draw out the exact measurements so that we would be able to get the right amount of materials and lumber when we visited our local home improvement store.

After our trip to Lowe's we started cutting down the lumber to our needed measurements, which went pretty quickly. We grouped all the same cuts together to make sure we estimated the correct amount of pieces that we needed.

Once all the pieces were cut to the correct size, I began laying them in the place where they would go. The box came together like puzzle pieces and it was pretty simple screwing everything together using our drill.

Once all the sides were secured and screwed into place, we started going around the inside of the box with the weed barrier. We used a staple gun to make sure that the weed barrier was secured properly throughout the raised bed. There wasn't really any grass in this part of our yard so we didn't worry too much about removing the small amount of grass that was there, but Stephen did mow the area prior to setting up the box.

Finally, we were ready to stain and seal the box. Below are the material that I used for that process. Stephen also used cut down pieces of lumber to create supports for our tomato plants, which is pictured at the end of the post. Because this is unfinished lumber, we didn't worry about sanding prior to applying the stain. These paint and stain cloths came in handy to quickly apply the stain and discard after using.

I gathered limbs, small twigs, and leaves from around the yard to fill the bottom layer on the garden bed. This is a great way to save money on the amount of topsoil that you have to purchase, and it is also a great way to help promote drainage. We ended up purchasing 2 1/2 yards of topsoil and a compost blend from a local landscaping company close to our house. Stephen made three trips to the shop to fill up the back of his truck. The shop had a special compost blend which we used for the top.

Oliver and I took a trip to a couple different plant nurseries around town for vegetable seeds and plants. Oliver definitely enjoyed our outing! This year in our garden we planted: carrots, eggplant, squash, two different types of tomatoes, jalapeños, bell peppers, habanero peppers, basil, cilantro, lettuce, thyme, and parsley. This is my first time planting carrots and eggplants, so hopefully both of those will be successful. We will grow our squash vertically this year and hopefully it will allow the soil to dry out properly and not hold too much moisture.

Our finished garden box! It's super exciting creating a concept in your mind and having it completed better than you expected. The plan for the landscaping is to add paver stoves and mulch around to give the garden bed a more finished look, which I'll update once that project is completed.