Park Seed Garden Journal

Raised beds are a great way to have a healthy garden. Think container
gardening on a much larger scale. You build a box and you control
everything that goes in. This is a great method for controlling pests
and disease, especially if you are an organic gardener and other means
of controlling pests are limited.

Raised beds can be built out
of all kinds of things, wooden planks, tractor tires -i've even seen
boats and old bathtubs sunken into people's yards (remember, we are
locating in South Carolina – People can be more than a little
"resourceful" when it comes to landscape design). I personally prefer
the railroad ties because there is very little actual construction
involved and they are fairly inexpensive, usually around ten dollars
each.

If you use Park's Space Saver Garden Corner Joints, you
can easily attach 2X6 planks any way you want. They make great raised
beds, and they come in pack of 4 or 6 flexible hinge joints, so you can make any
design with the angles that you need. They also make it easy to follow
the curve of a drive or the contours of your landscape. These corner
joints are stackable and require very little construction, just two
screws per joint.

Constructing a Raised Bed

It's as easy as making a child’s sand box, just hope your cat doesn't notice the resemblance.

• The
  depth will be the trickiest part, but you can’t really make it too deep
  (just keep in mind that you are going to have to fill this with soil).
  However, if you make it too shallow, the soil will dry out too fast and
  will need constant watering, so shoot for at least twelve inches.
• It’s a good idea to lay some landscaping
  fabric or screen in the bottom to keep out critters and unwanted
  growth.
• Add about an inch or two each of sand and gravel for
  drainage.
• Now
  fill with your soil of choice; if you are planning a
  large project you may want to order it to be delivered in bulk,
  especially if your vehicle is not really equipped for carrying dirt.
  Call around, this is usually a lot cheaper than you'd expect.

This
is would be a great way to get into organic gardening, as it will
reduce your need for chemical fertilizers and pesticides, for more
about this you should check Planning an Organic Garden – this article
is part of Park Seed's Online Gardener's Handbook.