How to Make a Raised Bed Garden.....

....from a spot of yard that used to be a parking lot for an apartment building and before that the foundation for a garage. Oh, and add to that a limited and unwilling budget.

First, construct the boxes. We used scrap wood from other projects, cut them into 4 ft lengths and 1x1 stakes at the corners to screw, (not nail) them together. The above photo shows the box upside down. The stake gets pounded into the ground so the end is cut at an angle to make that a bit easier. Dearest thinks it might be a good idea to use 4x4's instead, but 1x's are what we had on hand.


These are the two new boxes lined up where they will go so we can mark where the sod needs to be cut/dug out. Still upside down.


Now, here's the thing. Our yard used to be a parking lot when our house was cut up into 9 apartments. Before that there was a garage that burned down in this spot. So various parts of the yard have ft deep of gravel, concrete, or this:


Foundation stone, rebar rods, glass, and other debris. Then the clay soil has to be dug through and removed because of the lead in the soil. MUST be done. Our area has the highest rate of juvenile lead poisoning in the entire USA. We also have Lil'Bug tested regularly, just in case.



Anyway, the soil must be removed 12-18 inches. This is beneficial too, because clay soil is not ideal for vegetable gardening. We use the soil to build up around our foundation.



Haul away debris and bad soil. Then set the boxes with the long steak side down. Level them. Do your best anyway. Ours are levelish.


Then fill with compost, top soil, and cow manure. Top with deep cedar mulch. Plant plants.

We still don't do root veggies like carrots or beets or potatoes because of the lead issue. Can't be too careful with developing brains. Lil'Bug helped a lot with almost every step of the process. The handyman who did the heavy work (Dearest) is camera shy when in work mode.