Project Green Thumb: Building a Raised Garden

Today's post is brought to you by Christina's husband, known to most Boot Campers as "Sexy Beast."

Several months ago our family made a commitment to start gardening as part of our healthy lifestyle. We like to know where our food comes from, and growing it yourself is the surest way to know that! We started by building a raised garden, and the step-by-step process is detailed below. 

We chose to have a raised garden because:

• We wanted to repurpose our picnic table. 
• Keeping the garden off the ground helps eliminate pests. The biggest concern in Hawaii is termites. If you have metal legs on your table, mice will not be able to climb into the garden.
• The raised bed prevents weeds from the grass spreading into the garden.
• It eliminates the potential of the wood rotting from the sprinkler systems.
• We wanted to ensure proper drainage of the garden.

There are a few drawbacks to an above-ground garden: 

• You can only use a square or rectangular table.
• The table has to be sturdy enough to support the weight of the dirt, and needs to be in decent shape. You should not use a glass table for this project.
• The table will be extremely heavy, so it can be difficult to move unless you have two people. It will weight approximately 150-200 pounds.

Ready to start building? Here's the step-by-step process: 

Supply List:

Wood: Buy treated wood to prevent rotting. I bought the cheapest kind available. (If you buy at Lowe’s or Home Depot, they’ll do the cuts for free. Make sure to bring your measurements!)

Power Drill: Any drill will do!

Screws: I used DeckMate 8x2 ½ Phillips square-drive screws because they don’t rust.

Paint (optional): I used outdoor spray paint to help seal the wood. This helps ensure that my wood does not rot, and also for aesthetic reasons. This is not mandatory.

Pavers or Bricks: Use underneath the legs of the table to make sure the structure doesn’t sink into the lawn.

Table: Use your own old backyard table, or find a cheap one at garage sales or on Craigslist. Just keep in mind that the table needs to be in decent shape, or it won’t be able to support the weight of the garden.

The "Sexy Beast" and daughter Trinity building a raised garden! 

The Steps:

1. Measure the length and width of your table. The length should be the longest measurement. Use 12x2s for the outside of the table. When measuring, be sure to add the width of the wood to your final measurement. This is the wood that will connect all the pieces into a square.
2.  Once you have measurements for length and width, you’re ready to move to the inside of the box. I used 4 1x2s and cut 2 of them a foot shorter than the length and 2 of them 6 inches shorter than the width. This is what actually sits on top of the table.
3.  Next, you’re ready to build. I flipped the table upside down, and formed the box with the 12x2s. Once they are matched up, you’ll need to measure how high you want your box to sit above the table. For example, if you want the box to be 6 inches above the table, you would measure that and put your 1x2s at the height you want it.
4. Now, you should have a box. To connect the wood box to the table I used (2) 2x4s underneath, cut to the width of the table, plus 3 inches.

Helpful Hints:

• If you’re using a solid-top table, you’ll need to drill drain holes into the table. If your table has gaps, add a piece of plywood to prevent soil leakage.

• It’s important to pre-drill the holes before using the screws, or you risk splitting the wood.

Stay tuned for next week's Green Thumb post. We'll be discussing the specifics of planting your raised garden!