Build Your Own Raised Bed Planter

Admit it. You’ve been thinking about starting a garden haven’t you?
That’s normal this time of year because it’s early spring and the gloomy darkness and cold of winter is still on your mind. Maybe gardening came to mind recently as you stood in line at the grocery store realizing that the price of food has increased. Food costs went up an average of 7% in the US in 2008 and that trend shows no sign of reversing.
Feeding a family has become increasingly expensive and that has many people thinking about growing some of their own.
 

Perhaps gardening crossed your mind as a prudent alternative to the mounting list of contaminated food products in this country. Who wants to have to visit the FDA’s website, Recalls, Market Withdrawals and Safety Alerts, before beginning dinner each night? Peanut products have sickened over 500 people already in 2009. Last year it was tomatoes and the year before that spinach; and those are the big ones that made the network news. Other such problems are reported by the FDA almost every day.
Or maybe you thought about starting a garden this spring because you are one of the millions of people who have made local food markets the fastest growing segment of the food economy in recent years. The great taste of meals cooked with fresh, whole ingredients is addictive. It can lead to the seemingly radical idea that you yourself can grow great tasting vegetables in your very own garden. You can! If you’re looking for a relatively easy way to get a gardening going, a Raised Bed Planter is a great idea. Here’s a great looking design that will last for years (maybe decades) that you can build in your own garage.
 
You’ll need the following materials:
(9) 2” X 4” X 8’ Cedar Boards (other rot resistant wood will work)
(2) 4” X 4” X 6’ Cedar Posts
(2) 1/2” diameter 36” Oak Dowels
(32) Cubic Feet of Soil
 
And the following equipment:
• Circular Saw
• Drill with 7/16” Drill Bit
• Router
• Mallet
• Backsaw (or other hand saw for fine woodworking cuts)
• Miter Box or Chop Saw
• Pencil
• Measuring Tape
• Try Square
• Wood Clamps
 
1. Cut the 4” X 4” posts into 2 foot sections
 
2. Using the measuring tape mark a 1” X 1” square on the top of each post. Use the Try Square to continue the lines to the edge of the post.
 
 
 
3. Make a mark 1 1/4” of an inch from the top of the post all the way around the perimeter of the post. Now connect each corner of the post at the 1 1/4'” mark with the corresponding mark at the top of the post.
 
 
 
 
 
 
4. Using a hand saw and miter box or a chop saw, cut each post along these marks to create the top of each of your columns. All six columns will have identical tops. Two will become center columns. Set them aside for now.
 
5. The other four will become corner columns. On each one of these measure up 5” and 16” from the base and draw a line across one face of the column. Measure in 7/8” of inch from each vertical edge of the same column face and connect the two horizontal lines to form a rectangle.
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
6. Turn the column to the adjacent face and make the same measurements. Using a rout er create a 2 1/2 “deep hole based on these rectangular patterns. The holes will connect in the center of the column.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
7. The 2 center columns are created in a similar way only the column faces that get routered are opposite each other creating a column that looks like this.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
8. Cut 3 of the 2” X 4” X 8‘ boards in half. Now use 3 of the resulting 4’ long boards to connect two of the end columns and repeat.
 

 
 
 
9. Now Use the remaining full-length 2” X 4” X 8’ boards to connect the ends. Be sure to run each one through a center column.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
10. Drill one hole for each 2” X 4” in face of the column making sure to penetrate at least 1 1/2’ into the 2” X 4” and use the mallet to carefully tap in a 3/8” X 3” oak dowel. Put wood glue into the hole before tapping in the dowel.
 
11. Back fill your bed with soil and compost and you’re ready to plant! Be sure to mulch your vegetables to reduce weeding and decrease moisture loss. Your Raised Bed Planter will be a beautiful addition to your yard and will provide you and your family with fresh vegetables and flowers for years to come. Enjoy.