I finally get to share our raised garden beds with you! Although the garden isn’t 100% done yet, I just had to share anyway! Originally we had these makeshift little garden beds here, but our dogs kept walking in them and eating them, so we wanted to build a fence around it to keep them out! We had a partial picket fence taken down when we added the privacy fence, so we recycled! We cut the picket fence in half, reinforced them, and made a garden fence! I was all ready to plant our garden! Then our pest control guy came out for his usual maintenance, and he said that since our home is so old, the termite poison they used to use is probably leaching into our soil now as it breaks down, and we planted the garden so close to the house, were basically slowly poisoning ourselves…terrific :/ So he suggested we move it entirely…um we literally just put the fence up, whats option B?! Or make raised garden beds, and put a plastic between the dirt and beds so no more leaching. Ok we can do that!
So of course, knowing me, I couldn’t just make any plain old garden bed if we were gonna do this, it has to match the house, be large, and protect us from poison! So I did my usual pinterest research, and combined my favorite ideas from different gardens and came up with our custom perfect plan! We went to rent a haul truck for the day to get the lumber, 2 tons of compost, and 2 tons of mulch! Next we started putting together the beds. We used all 2×6 NON-treated lumber, don’t want to poison ourselves even more now! And we used the 4×4 posts from our recycled picket fence for the garden posts. We also bought adorable colonial finials for the post toppers!
So here is how we made the raised garden beds:
herb raised garden bed is 57″ x 68″
vegetable raised garden bed is 57″ x 118″
with 18″ posts
and three 2×6 stacked (=18″) on all sides
pocket jig & wood screws
colonial fence toppers (click image)
2 tons fresh compost (our landfill sells 1 ton= $10)
2 tons mulch
First step was to cut each 2×6 to size and attach it to a post on each end, until you have a row of 3, then make its opposite side, we set them in the garden.
Then we made the remaining 2 sides by cutting, then attaching them to the posts of the already made two sides. We have a bed!
Then we stapled in a black garden liner to the bottom to separate our soils, and then we filled it with fresh compost! Then we planted our seeds and watered! I used paper straws temporarily to make garden seed markers!
We added the colonial finials to each post, and put mulch around the walking areas. Then it was time for me to paint, my least favorite part, and it never ends!
And here are our raised garden beds in their finished glory! I love them so much, and can’t wait for these seeds to grow! I have been checking everyday!!!
What we still need to finish is adding some bean poles and tomato cages, touch up some paint, plant my marigolds around the perimeter, and a little more soil, but we can add compost as we make it. We also want to turn that gutter into a rain catchment to water the garden with! So please ignore that green gutter feeding into the garden its just temporary so it doesn’t flood the ground around the garden in the meantime. Well there you have it, our raised garden beds!
As I mentioned in my last post, we had some extra lumber, so we made our tree bench, if you haven’t seen that yet, check it out here!
Also wanted to say Happy Easter to you all! Thanks for reading, sharing, and commenting!
If you have any gardening tips please please share them in the comments below! We are definitely beginners and need help!
*Please note this post does contain affiliate links of companies I only personally use or recommend*
Chris Pelayo says
Blood, sweat, and tears got put into that garden.
Anonymous says
Your cute garden is coming in very nicely! I really enjoyed reading all about it. i just wish all of the pictures were straight up and down.
Jenna Panehal-Pelayo says
I wasn’t sure what you meant by not straight, and then my husband said on “mobile” devices my pictures are sideways, and I don’t know why :'( Gotta figure out what happened. On computer screens they’re straight. Thank you for bringing it to my attention!
christy says
It looks great! I think you will keep lots of critters out of there! I hope you get a ton of veggies!
Jenna Panehal-Pelayo says
I hope so Christy! We definitely have a ton of critters visiting our house at night, creeps me out just thinking about it! Hope our fence and height of beds does the job!
Kim says
They look great…..hope you have a great garden this season….that’s a lot of work and dedication
Jenna Panehal-Pelayo says
yes ma’am! It was and will be a lot of work, but I think it will pay off once we eat the fruit of our labor!
Vivi M says
It looks like it’s coming along very nicely 🙂
Jenna Panehal-Pelayo says
thank you Vivi!
RashmiChalukya says
Your garden looks lovely. I just loved the idea of raised gardens. Looking forward to your garden pictures with lots of greens and vibrant colors. Keep us updated ?
Jenna Panehal-Pelayo says
thank you Rashmi, I was hoping they would have at least been sprouting when I took the pictures, but I was getting impatient, lol. i will do an updated post though when its time to harvest I think!
Robert says
Those look great! You did a great job on them. I’ll have to share this with my wife, though I just may be making more work for me, haha!
Jenna Panehal-Pelayo says
thank you Robert, haha, yes my husband hates it when I start looking at new projects too!
Christina says
I have two raised beds in our yard and they’re great but I’m REALLY LOVING how you used the fence toppers on yours! That’s such a cool idea!!!
Jenna Panehal-Pelayo says
Thank you Christina, i really wanted something that would make to feel “colonial” like our historic home, so happy with how it turned out! Any tips on gardening for me?
Brittany says
Great garden! I miss having a vegetable garden in my back yard! I might try to plant a few things this year.
Jenna Panehal-Pelayo says
Thank you Brittany! This is the first time the dogs won’t be able to destroy mine, so heres to hoping we get it right form now on!
Sarah - Craft Invaders says
I love your raised beds, the finials and paint really finish them off beautifully – and the fence is so cute! I really need to do something about our garden, but every time I plan to it rains – that’s the UK for you!
Jenna Panehal-Pelayo says
Wow the UK! Thank you for your comment Sarah!
Starr says
Your raised beds look great! I love how you coordinated them with the house. It makes them feel like a part of your home plan and not just an afterthought. Can’t wait to see your garden growing! It will be lovely!
Jenna Panehal-Pelayo says
Thank you Starr!
Prairie Gal Cookin says
Oh I just LOVE this!!! Those garden beds are just darling!
I also wanted to drop a note and invite you to Sunday’s Simple Homemaker Weekly Link-Up. Would love to have you drop in and leave a few links! http://www.prairiegalcookin.com/sundays-simple-homemaker-4th-weekly-link-up/
Jenna Panehal-Pelayo says
Thank you Prairie Gal! I would love to join in too! Thanks you for the invite!