How To Make A New Raised Bed Garden

With a small plot of ground and a little elbow grease, you can create a beautiful new raised bed garden area in a minimal amount of time. In this blog, I’ll discuss how I created my little dream garden.

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The Idea

This spring, I embarked on a mission to move my old garden to a new space that was more accessible. At soon to be 60 years of age, I wanted this to be as smooth a transition as possible while making the garden easier for me as I grow older. Plus, I now have chickens which I did not have when using the original garden area. With the move, my chickens now have the old space for more roaming.

Planning The New Raised Bed Garden

When planning my new garden, I used my past garden triumphs and blunders in creating this space. I listed the criteria that needed to be included:

• Must be raised beds – The older I get, the harder it is to get up and down. I don’t need my new raised beds to be four feet tall, but at least accessible from sitting on a stool.
• No wood beds – Before any raised beds, I had a garden plot surrounded by wood border logs. These did last a long time, but eventually rotted. I then replaced them with wood raised beds that I built. If you are interested in building raised beds for cheap, here’s my link to how I made them. They still work great and I kept a few, but I don’t want to replace them again in the future.
• No digging – The new area in which I wanted to create my garden was literally in the middle of my yard. This area is close to a water source and easy access. I need to create an area in which weeds and grass would not be bothersome.
• Wide pathways – The new raised garden beds need spaced adequately so that I can get around them without obstructions and wide enough to allow passage of carts and wheelbarrows.
• Fenced – I have a moderate deer population in my area, and they can destroy a garden in no time. I need to include fencing to detract the deer from freely entering my garden area.
• Existing raised bed area – Earlier in the spring, I added a U-shaped raised bed area around an existing fruit tree in my yard. I need to incorporate this space when creating the new garden area.
• Adding a grape arbor – I want to incorporate a simple grape arbor into my new garden area.

Step 1 – Build The Grape Arbor

As mentioned earlier, I wanted to incorporate a grape arbor into my garden space. I had three 4×4 posts left over from a project that were not in use. These were sunk into the ground below the frost line to 5ft height above ground and about 8ft apart. Filling the holes with dry concrete mix and adding water ensured these posts are not going anywhere for awhile. I then attached eye hooks and rubber-coated wiring across in three sections to create a trellis in which the grapes will grow across (someday). I then planted two grape varieties and transplanted my blueberry bushes to this area.

Step 2 – Lay Weed Barrier

After measuring approximately how large I wanted the garden area. I purchased this weed barrier and heavy duty garden pins. Using this method, I did not need to dig anything which I am truly grateful for! The weed barrier will kill the grass underneath and provide a solid base for raised bed garden areas. I will probably add a layer of bark mulch on top of the weed barrier in the future.

Step 3 – Add Raised Beds To The Garden

The next step in creating a new raised bed garden was to order new beds. I went with metal raised bed containers and chose these ones from Plow and Plot. I ordered two different sizes:

• Three 8×4 beds
• Five 2×4 beds

Once put together, I placed them in the garden space and moved them around a little to see what design I liked best. I was sure to allow ample room between beds for maneuverability. This step can also be done with any type of raised bed of your desire.

Step 4 – Fill The Beds

This was the hardest part of the entire process. If the garden is new for you, you will need to get soil for filling the raised beds. I posted a blog on how to fill a raised garden bed and you can check it out here. For me, I moved the soil from my old garden beds to the new ones. I topped them all off with a fresh layer of compost mixed with potting/garden soil.

Step 5 – Fencing The Raised Bed Garden

I am not capable of building a tall fence around my garden. If you can do it, go for it! That would be the best protection against deer and rodent damage. I chose to use pet fencing for both aesthetics and ease of installation. The fencing is 40″ tall, and while it won’t protect against deer jumping over, it will deter them from doing so while also preventing smaller rodents from getting into the garden. I also chose this system because it includes gates. It was easy to install and looks pretty darn good if I do say so!

The downside to the fence is the gates are narrow, but the upside is that I can remove a few whole panels if I need to get large items into the garden area. Hopefully it will last for several years, we’ll see. I bought two sets of fencing; one-72ft and one-54ft length to cover the entire surrounding of the garden. You can take a look at this fence system here.

Step 6 – Planting And Trellising

Now for the best part! Start filling your new raised bed garden with all the vegetables and flowers you love! I want to touch on trellising because it is extremely useful in raised bed gardening. When you don’t have the space to go outward, go up! Tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, and squash are just a few vegetables that can be grown on trellises. A trellis doesn’t have to be expensive. I use a few old fence panels found at a local yard sale for my beans and peas.

Insert a couple of sturdy fencing stakes and attach either cattle panels (if you can get them home, which I can’t) or sturdy fence wiring to the posts. As your vegetables grow, attach them loosely to the panel to guide them upward.

Arbors make beautiful trellises in the garden! This one was in my old garden and I still use it to grow pole beans and cucumbers. Arbors make a beautiful entrance to your garden area too!

You Can Do It!

Adding a new garden doesn’t have to be difficult. Make your plan, gather your materials, and make yourself a raised bed garden of your dreams! Already have a raised bed garden? How did you make it? Let’s chat below and as always, thanks for stopping by!