How to build the perfect raised bed

Your guide to making a raised garden bed

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A raised bed is one of the best ways to grow vegetables.

Materials for a raised bed:
 

• One 6-foot-long 4-by-4 ($15)
• Six 8-foot-long 2-by-6s ($75)
• One 10-foot-long 1-inch PVC pipe ($3)
• Two 10-foot-long Ð’Ð…-inch PVC pipes ($6)
• 32 3Ð’Ð…-inch #14 wood screws and 16 Ð’Ð…-inch #8 wood screws ($29)
• One 4- by 10-foot roll of Вј-inch-mesh hardware cloth ($15)
• Eight 1-inch galvanized tube straps (semicircular brackets; $3.60)
• 32 cubic feet (1 1/5 cu. yd.) soil mix ($100 in bags; look for combination of topsoil, compost, and potting soil).

With a table or power saw, cut the 4-by-4 into four 16-inch-tall corner posts. Cut two of the 2-by-6s in half. Cut the 1-inch PVC pipe into four 12-inch-long pieces and the Ð’Ð…-inch PVC pipes into 6-foot-long pieces. Assemble pieces on a hard, flat surface.

Assemble

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Build bed upside down. Set a 4-foot 2-by-6 on its thin edge on pavement, and place a 16-inch post at one end. Secure post with two 3Ð’Ð…-inch screws. Repeat at other end of board. Repeat with other short board.

Join short sides with an 8-foot board; and secure with two screws. Add other long side. Add second layer of 2-by-6s.

Position

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With help from a buddy, flip the bed right side up. Move it into position in the yard, marking with a trowel each corner post’s location. Move the bed aside; dig a 5- to 6-inch-deep hole for each post.

Put the bed back into place, with posts in holes; fill around posts with soil.

Install Lining

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Rake the existing soil at the bottom of the bed to level it, then tamp it smooth. Line the bed with hardware cloth to keep out gophers and moles; trim the cloth with shears to fit around corner posts.

Attach pipe

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To hold hoops for bird netting or row covers, attach four 12-inch pieces of 1-inch PVC pipe inside the bed: On the long sides, space pipes 4 feet apart, 2 feet from each end; screw on two tube straps to secure each pipe.

Fill the bed with a planting mix of topsoil, compost, and potting soil; rake it smooth, and moisten it with a gentle spray from the hose.

Insert the hoops

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To cover newly planted seedlings with bird netting or season-extending row covers, simply bend two 6-foot pieces of Ð’Ð…-inch PVC pipe to form semi-circles, and slip their ends into the 1-inch pipes inside the bed.

Then drape the bird netting or row covers over them.