DIY: Raised garden beds in an hour

Did it HERself, in fact. And I feel very proud of myself.

The husband has been traveling a lot lately for work. We’ve recently moved into a new house, and yes, there’s a lot to do. I was determined to put in a garden this year. During one of our over-the-fence chats, my neighbor asked if I was going to do a raised bed. I’d never thought of it, but that would be a nice way to set the garden off and keep things contained. I’m in the city now, so I don’t want a huge garden. Just enough to give us some food for dinner now and then.

During another over-the-fence chat, my master-gardener neighbor told me she buys dirt and mulch in 25-pound bags from Home Depot. It’s easier to schlep around, she confessed. Hmmm... I was wondering how I’d get a dump truck full of dirt and/or mulch (and who I would order it from down here), and where I would dump it in the small yard I have now. Plus, getting stuff in bags suddenly made things very doable for me.

I loaded up the toddler and we headed off to Home Depot that night.

I found a bin in back of the lumber area where they sell scrap boards for 50¢. Score! I grabbed four 5-foot by 6-inch boards, being careful not to get any pre-treated lumber. I don’t want those nasty chemicals leaching into my veggies.

Then I headed over to the garden center. A nice young guy helped me load up my cart and then unload it into my truck. Score again.

Back at home, I found my power screwgun (which every woman should have) and some two-and-a-half-inch nails. I put three in each side. Then I dug a bit of a trench along three sides of the new garden bed. My yard slopes towards the fence and I wanted the garden bed to be level. I popped the boards in, unloaded the bags from the truck (which I had parked as close as I could), and walah.

One hour later I had a new raised garden bed.

Course then I decided I needed another one the same size and a smaller one for herbs. Back to Home Depot. The 6-inch pre-cut boards I needed were gone, of course, so I settled for some longer ones that a store employee cut down to size for me. The hubby was home that day, but it was nice not to have to ask him to cut the boards for me. I could remain self-sufficient. I opted for cedar this time, instead of regular wood, on the advice of my dad. It’ll withstand the weather better.

Again, it was less than an hour and I had two new garden beds. Time to plant!