Learn how to build a raised garden bed for less than $15 per box. With just a few materials and a little bit of time, you can put together these cheap raised garden beds.
This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. See my full disclosure here.
Today I’m going to show you how to build cedar raised beds. If you have been following along in our gardening journey so far, you may have seen our vlog all about our cottage garden, and have gotten a sneak peak at the cedar raised beds we built.
These raised beds were so easy. They only took one day get the beds together, get them filled, and get planted. And we did six! Seriously, it’s that easy.
When we moved into the farm in January, we knew the garden would be a project we would tackle in year one. We love being able to grow a lot of our own food, and we’re excited to continue to expand it each year.
There is something so satisfying about learning, growing, and enjoying the food you produce on your own land, knowing what went into the soil, the kinds of seeds, and all the hard work. But that hard work is so worth it when you get to bite down on a crunchy sweet pepper or into a home-grown, juicy tomato. Truly, there is nothing like it.
I love how much the kids get out of it. You can often find them in the garden chomping away at the vegetables.
Cheap Raised Garden Bed
You’ll need six cedar fence posts for one raised bed. The reason we went with cedar fence posts is because it was the only affordable cedar that our local lumber yard had on hand. Plus, it’s just a really cheap way to go. The posts cost around $2 each, making each cedar raised bed cost less than $15 total. We also repurposed some lumber we had on hand to join the corners.
Now, we went with cedar because it is naturally rot-resistant, and we didn’t want to purchase treated lumber because we didn’t want that treatment leaching into the garden, the soil, and our food.
So lets grab some lumber and your tools, and let’s get to building these cheap raised garden beds.
Benefits Of Raised Beds
- Kids don’t run on top of the soil (which compacts it), or get into your veggies as much.
- Less weeding than traditional gardens created right in the ground.
- You can fill them with whatever soil you can find. Get good soil and add lots of it!
- Space-saving: you don’t have to garden in rows. The boxes themselves create the rows.
- The square foot garden is a great way to grow a lot of food in a small amount of space.
- It is much easier to get in the garden to harvest and weed because they are raised up.
What kind of wood should be used should be used for raised beds?
Cedar is the most affordable, and is naturally rot-resistant due to natural oils in the wood.
Redwood is very expensive, but is rot-resistant and has a long longevity.
Douglas Fir is a very affordable option, but won’t last as long as redwood or cedar in terms of longevity.
While pressure-treated wood could technically be used, it could leach chemicals (like fungicide and copper) into the soil, and is not approved for organic use.
What can you plant in raised garden beds?
You can plant most vegetables, herbs, and flowers in a raised bed. Some ideas include:
- Asparagus
- Tomatoes
- Peppers
- Carrots
- Leafy Greens
- Herbs
- Potatoes
- Squashes
- Beans
- Peas
You can also grow some fruits like: strawberries, watermelon, melons, currants, raspberries, blackberries, and even blueberries.
How deep should a raised garden bed be?
A raised bed should be a minimum of 6-12 inches deep, so there is enough room for your plants to develop a good, deep root system, but you can make the raised bed as deep as you would like. If your bed is not 12 inches deep, you could dig out a bit of the ground before adding the dirt to make it deeper.
How To Build A Raised Garden Bed Video Tutorial
Materials Needed To Build Raised Garden Beds:
This is for one raised bed. If you are planning to make six beds, then multiply the materials by six.
- 6- 6 foot pieces of Cedar – we used 6 foot long cedar fence posts
- 6- 10 inch long 1x2s, or 2x4s ripped in half
- Screws
- Circular Saw
- Drill
How To Build A Raised Garden Bed Tutorial
- Cut off the top part of the cedar picket fence.
- This isn’t something you have to do; we just decided to square off the top to make it look a little cleaner.
- Measure the cedar fence pickets. Cut 2 boards in half.
- Each post was 6 feet long, so we cut each in half to make two 3-foot boards. These will be the ends of each raised bed.
- Take two of the long pieces of cedar, lay them next to each other, and line up the ends.
- Place one of the 10 inch long 2x4s cut in half (or 1x2s) to one of the ends of the long cedar boards and drill in.
- Stand it up with the cedar board touching the table; the ripped 2×4 is up and part of it is above the cedar.
- Place the short end piece next to the long piece creating a 90 degree angle and screw it into the ripped 2×4. Continue doing this until all four boards are attached.
- Add the second layer of cedar posts and screw them into the ripped 2x4s.
- In the center of the long side of the raised bed, screw in another ripped 2×4.
- This helps add support so it doesn’t bow out once the soil is added.
- Put them in place and add soil.
- When installing the raised beds, it is a good idea to allow enough space between each bed to make it comfortable to walk through and bend down.
Other DIY Projects Around The Farmhouse
- How To Build A Chicken Tractor
- DIY Ticking Stripe Curtain Sewing Tutorial
- DIY Farmhouse Coffee Table Plans
- Cheap And Easy DIY Shiplap Walls
- How To Plank A Popcorn Ceiling
Pin It For Later
How To Build A Raised Garden Bed For Cheap
Learn how to build a raised garden bed for less than $15 per box. With just a few materials and a little bit of time, you can put together these cheap raised garden beds.
Materials
- (This is for one raised bed. If you are planning to make six beds, then multiply the materials by six.)
- 6- 6 foot pieces of Cedar – we used 6 foot long cedar fence posts
- 6- 10 inch long 1x2s, or 2x4s ripped in half
- Screws
- Circular Saw
- Drill
Instructions
HOW TO BUILD A RAISED GARDEN BED TUTORIAL
Cut off the top part of the cedar picket fence.
This isn’t something you have to do; we just decided to square off the top to make it look a little cleaner.
Measure the cedar fence pickets. Cut 2 boards in half.
Each post was 6 feet long, so we cut each in half to make two 3-foot boards. These will be the ends of each raised bed.
Take two of the long pieces of cedar, lay them next to each other, and line up the ends.
Place one of the 10 inch long 2x4s cut in half (or 1x2s) to one of the ends of the long cedar boards and drill in.
Stand it up with the cedar board touching the table; the ripped 2×4 is up and part of it is above the cedar.
Place the short end piece next to the long piece creating a 90 degree angle and screw it into the ripped 2×4. Continue doing this until all four boards are attached.
Add the second layer of cedar posts and screw them into the ripped 2x4s.
In the center of the long side of the raised bed, screw in another ripped 2×4.
This helps add support so it doesn’t bow out once the soil is added.
Put them in place and add soil.
When installing the raised beds, it is a good idea to allow enough space between each bed to make it comfortable to walk through and bend down.
EUGENE WASHBURNE says
Can’t wait to see it.
Wilhelmina says
Raised beds make such a difference in a garden! This is a great guide, so simple!
Nikky says
Don’t forget to mention that you want untreated wood if you’re planning on using this as a vegetable garden, and Cedar is often one of of the only ones that places carry (at least where I’m at) that is untreated. Thanks for the plans!! Can’t wait to get my gardening on this year!
Nikky says
Whoops, I see that you did mention that! My bad!
Ashley @ Wishes & Dishes says
I’ve always wanted to do a raised garden in my yard and this is so helpful!
Trev says
Ok, so where did you find cedar fence pickets (you didn’t use fence posts in your pics) for only $2 a piece? Cheapest I can find is over $7 for 6 foot pickets. And that’s from a big box store. Lumber yards are traditionally much more expensive.
Jacqueline Burnett says
I’m wondering the same! I can’t even find individual picket listings online in the big box stores for less than $36 for a set of 6 pickets. Really would love to know where to look to find $2 panels.
Lisa says
This was last year, but we just found them at Lowe’s! And yes they really were fence posts. We just cut off the dog-ear top. We plan to make more this year!
Anthony says
I’m confused. The pictures of the side panels do not look anything like a fence “post” at all. Am I missing something?
Lisa says
They are fence pickets.
Margaret says
Do you have advice on how you keep critters out ? Also natural deterrents for bugs? I loose a lot of my veggies to the above issues .
Erin says
Hi Lisa! Did you put anything in the bottom of the bed before adding soil? I’m wondering if I should use a barrier between the grass and my veggies. Thanks!
Lisa says
A barrier is a great idea! I can’t remember if we did or not, but I would recommend that.
Julia says
I have a silly question. Can these go on top of a concrete patio or should they only be planted on top of dirt? Thanks!
Lisa says
They could go on a patio! They are deep enough for roots to develop.
Krystyl Olson says
does this make one garden bed or two? 🙂
thanks
Nikki says
How many cubic ft of soil would you put in each bed?
Pat says
I love this idea! Can you tell me what kind of soil you used? I started out thinking I only wanted to use organic garden soil, but that would cost over $150 for one bed! Not cost effective at all! I’d love some tips!
cr says
Start composting to get the best dirt/soil from items usually thrown out.
Joy says
How thick do you think your boards are? I’m looking at Lowes right now and they’ve for 2 options, one 6ft cedar fence board that’s 5/7″ thick, and another that’s 1″. But there’s a huge price difference between the two, so I’d like to go with the thinner but am worried about the wood splitting?
Lisa says
We used the thinner ones.
Donna says
I believe those support squares are not 2×4, but rather 2×2…
Jill says
I can’t wait to build these! How many cubic ft of soil does one bed need?
Alisha says
How long would cedar wood that is untreated last when buried a bit in the ground? I know it’s rot resistant, but what is your opinion for the longevity of a garden bed made from cedar?
Stephanie Raef says
Are there any fruit or veggies that can’t go in a planter?
Sonja says
I hear Irish Spring soap detours animals. I would chop a bar or two up or how ever many it takes and drop them about a foot from the beds.
Susanne Quinlan says
I asked my husband to make two of these for Mother’s Day last year! They are absolutely perfect…..I may have him make two more this year as well!
Tammy says
We built 2 of them last year and they are great! We used cedar fence pickets and they weren’t too expensive that way. Also found some scrap pieces at Home Depot so we didn’t have to buy any 2×4’s.
Tania L. Finch says
Great video on raised garden beds. Thank you!
sandie blackford says
Great video and exactly as I build my raised garden beds.. Just a couple of questions.. The 2×4’s that you use in the corners and for bracing, they look more like 1×2’s to me?? Not a big deal as I use whatever I have handy. The other comment I have, I was a little surprised to see you putting the soil directly on the pathways between the beds and wondered if there was a reason why you didn’t use newspaper or cardboard as a weed barrier first? I am always looking to upgrade my knowledge and ideas so don’t think I am putting down your methods, I was just wondering if I was missing something. Keep up the great work and thank you again for sharing with us. Sandie from Ontario Canada.
Tricia says
What do you put down to keep weeds from coming up between beds?
Lisa says
We use weed barrier fabric and mulch.
Vickie says
Recently lumber has doubled and sometimes tripled in our area. I knew I should have made those beds when prices were lower. Thanks for a great article!
Alicia DeVore says
This pricing is for the cedar is very off especially with the shortages. I love your site, but this is not a truthful depiction of how much a raised bed is even close to costing, especially not treated.
elizabeth Simurdiak says
I cant believe how negative some of these comments are about the price of lumber! This post was made in 2019!!! Of course we all know the price of wood is not going to be the same. That does not make it “untruthful”!!! Lets be grateful that people take the time to post such beautiful detailed directions to stimulate our thinking!
Karen Franklin says
Can you please tell me what size wood screws were used to make them. Thank you
Lisa says
I’m so sorry, but I do not remember this at all. We’ve had these raised beds for several years.
Laura says
Just wondering…how have these raised beds lasted over the last several years since you’ve built this? Do you still use them? And would you have changed anything now, looking back? I’m considering following your technique for a low-cost option for raised beds.
Lisa says
Yep, we are still using them. They have held up great.