Building a raised vegetable bed

Having created an area of the garden free from the unwelcome attentions, we can start to build the raised vegetable bed.

Firstly, I chose and bought the wood. The builder’s merchant where I live didn’t do the carcassing wood I wanted. I gave up waiting for my local DIY superstore to actually get the wood I wanted in stock, so I tried a local timber merchant. To my pleasant surprise, they were helpful and inexpensive.

Having sawn the wood to length and drilled it, it seemed a good time to lay out the frame to make sure the position was right. We wanted space to walk around the frame so I left a metre between the fence and the frame at the side, and I left a half metre from the fence at the back. Yup – that looks about right.

As the frame is going over an area of grass, the tip I was given is to turn over the turf. This was started by lifting one strip. Having lifted a second strip beside it, the turf from the first strip was laid back, grass-side down. I did this until all the grass area within the frame was turned.

Finally, I began putting the wooden frame together. Each corner post is taller than the sides, so that it sticks out at the top and into the ground to secure the frame. When the frame was complete, I dug out along the sides until it sat fairly stable and square.

Finally, I have a completed raised bed to start the planting. A good weekend’s work. Now I need some soil – but that’s another story.