Planning
Raised Flower Beds (for the do it yourself-er) (Part one)
There are a number of different methods for building raised flower beds that range from cheap and easy to deluxe and difficult. All of them require a little elbow grease, but nothing that can’t be achieved in an afternoon.
Raised flower beds have a number of benefits for gardeners:
- Warmer soil temperatures
- Better drainage and aeration (no more stepping on your seedlings!)
- Better access with less bending over- easier maintenance, planting and harvesting
- Better weed control- you can fill it in with fresh dirt and keep it clear
- Less carrot rust flies- the poor little wimps can only jump one foot off the ground
- Tidier appearance with discrete beds and pathways to enjoy the space from all sides
No matter which option you choose, it’s important to pick the right lumber for your project. Cedar is the best type of wood as it is a naturally rot-resistant and will weather nicely over the years. Never use treated or creosote lumber in your garden as it with leech all kinds of nastiness into your soil.
Cheap tip: Before you buy anything, check out any free-cycle or building material recycling centres in your area for left-over cedar lumber cuts. You just might get lucky.
In the Vancouver area, you can check out the Habitat for Humanity re-store, Craigslist.org, Jack’s New and Used, UsedVancouver.com, Kijiji,etc. And be sure to hit up anyone you know that has recently done outside renovations at home such as build a deck, fence or patio and scoop up their leftovers!
Rather than re-iterate the process for building a raised bed and duplicate what has already been well documented online, I thought I’d collect together some resources, tips and how-to’s for creating your own raised garden space.
While it was VERY tempting for me to build a Hail Satan box this year, I decided to create some DIY cedar frames as I was able to source all of the materials for free. And you just can’t compete with free…
Cracked Pot Pix
