Build a raised bed yourself: Instructions for your own garden

DIY
Build a raised bed yourself – instructions for hobby gardeners

You can grow your own raised bed yourself in just a few simple steps

© emer1940 / Getty Images

Are you toying with the idea of ​​building a raised bed yourself? With these assembly instructions you can grow your own fruits and vegetables in no time at all.

As nice as the idea of ​​growing your own tomatoes and cucumbers is, the associated gardening means one thing above all: hard work. It is a long way from sowing the numerous seeds to caring for the growing plants and harvesting the cultivated yields – which is associated with a lot of time, patience and back problems. So it is hardly surprising why raised beds are enjoying increasing popularity: They not only require less space, but are also particularly easy on the back.

The other advantages of a raised bed include:

  1. The natural look Wooden pallets or stones are particularly suitable for building a raised bed, as they blend naturally into the environment.
  2. The quick assembly – The construction only requires a few hand movements and materials, so that the construction of a raised bed hardly takes time and effort.
  3. The comfortable height – The raised bed is ideally adapted to your own height. The height should vary depending on whether you prefer to work sitting or standing.
  4. Less pests – Slugs reach the seed very slowly through the height of the bed and can be removed in good time before they reach the plants.
  5. A rich harvest – Similar to composting, the earth, consisting of different layers of organic material, rots. This creates humus and warmth that promote the growth of the seeds.
  6. The easy cultivation – Only after five to seven years does the raised bed need to be set up again with compost or fresh potting soil, when the volume has decreased significantly due to increasing rotting.

Tip: The width of the raised bed should not be more than 120 centimeters according to your height – otherwise it will be difficult to work in the middle of the cultivation area.

Clad wooden boxes are ideal for raised beds

Wooden boxes lined on the inside are best for your own raised bed

© emer1940 / Getty Images

Garden design: This is how your own raised bed is created

If you decide on a raised bed made of wood, particularly resistant boards (approx. 2.5 to 5 centimeters thick) are recommended for the side walls – for example made of larch, robinia or Douglas fir. Make sure that the type of wood is untreated and free of pesticides.

Otherwise you will need these materials:

  • four corner posts stabilize the side walls (if the bed is less than two meters long, otherwise six is ​​better)
  • four ground sockets protect the corner posts from the damp earth and give the raised bed even more support
  • Pond liner protects the wood from too much moisture from the inside
  • Wood glaze protects the wood from the outside against weather influences such as sun, wind and rain
  • Steel screws are particularly stable and do not rust
  • Wire mesh protects the seeds from rodents such as voles that attack the plants

Once you have all the materials together, you need to start with the wooden boards and posts first glaze be painted. Once the side walls have dried, it can be done with the Construction of the raised bed go on.

Instructions: step by step to your own raised bed

  1. To markThe place, on which the raised bed is to be set up later – preferably in a north-south direction for sufficient hours of sunshine. For this you can use a thin Mason’s cord or you can mark the area with the posts.
  2. So that the corner posts are stable in the ground, the staked sward must be Excavated at least four inches deep will. Then the Ground sockets rammed into the ground and set the posts on top. Without ground sockets, the posts should better be buried 30 centimeters deep.
  3. The side walls must now be screwed to the posts horizontally and at least five centimeters above the ground. Once the first two rows have been installed, comes the Wire mesh for use.
  4. The wire is cut and bent so that it still overlaps the two lower planks by at least 25 to 30 centimeters when it lies on the floor of the raised bed. Then the bent sides must be stapled to the wood.
  5. After the remaining boards have been screwed together, you can the whole construction With Pond liner be lined and stapled. The film can protrude up to 20 centimeters towards the floor.

Tip: If you do not have your own garden, you can also create a mobile raised bed on stilts on the balcony or terrace. For example, you can get the complete kit here.

After filling, the raised bed is planted with seeds

The selection of plant seeds for the raised bed in the garden is huge

© private

Filling the raised bed correctly: you have to pay attention to this

The correct filling of the raised bed is crucial for a successful planting. For this reason, the following components should be layered at least one meter high in the correct order:

First place coarse material such as tree or hedge cuttings (twigs and branches) on the bottom of the raised bed, it serves as a kind of drainage. Thereon layer a thick layer (about 20 centimeters) of chopped wood such as branches or bark mulch. After that pour your garden waste on it, for example grass clippings and leaves – you can also use the sward dug up here. About it Now layer semi-ripe compost (about 15 to 20 centimeters) and last but not least the planting layer follows. It consists of humus-rich soil that is mixed with ripe compost. Now you can plant the raised bed. At this point, too, you should choose the seeds carefully.

tip: In the first year, especially heavy eaters – i.e. plants that remove nutrients from the soil as they grow – are suitable for sowing. These include in particular peppers, leeks, potatoes, cucumber, tomatoes, zucchini and celery. After three years, however, other plants such as spinach, salad and radish or strawberries.

You might also be interested in:

This article contains so-called affiliate links. Further information are available here.

branch

source site