Raised beds are one of the best ways to grow your vegetables, herbs, and flowers. They can be built to any size, using a variety of materials. For our project, we’re building a 4-foot x 4-foot raised garden bed, using untreated wood. The 4-foot-square size not only complements the square-foot garden method, but is also a good size for a starter garden or for gardeners with limited space.

Raised beds have other advantages, too. They warm up quickly in spring and they drain more efficiently than an in-ground garden. And you can have the proper soil right from the start, so you don’t have to deal with whatever tough (or unusable) soil your yard may have. They are readily accessible, good-looking, and you can place them where you want.

The materials and tools you’ll need to build a raised bed:

• Two 2×10 wood boards, 48 inches long
• Two 2×10 wood boards, 51 inches long
• One 2×3 or 2×4 wood board, 4 feet long (for the corner posts)
• One box of 3-inch deck screws
• Waterproof wood glue
• Hand saw or jigsaw
• Tape measure
• Square
• Permanent marker and/or pencil
• Sandpaper and/or sanding block
• Drill, with various drill bits

Skill level:

Easy to intermediate, depending on your woodworking/cutting skills.

Watch Building a Raised Bed, Part II (assembly)