Whether your soil is too rocky, too sandy, or has too much clay, raised garden beds are the answer. Once built you can improve the soil, reduce weed pressure, enjoy better results and even make the process of gardening easier.

What you’ll need to build a raised garden bed

Decades ago, when I bought my first place, one of my initial tasks was to build the garden. I picked the spot, jumped on the shovel, and teetered back and forth. Where I live, the glacial till, which is basically rock held together with a little duff, is not conducive to gardening. So, I popped the rocks out of the ground. Within several years I constructed 220 raised beds out of the native stone.

You can edge a raised bed with bricks, lumber, logs, or even plastic commercial kits. All perform well. I’ve even used an old metal stock tank. If you’re using lumber, opt for untreated options. Here in Montana, we use standard cheap pine. It lasts 5 years because we have low humidity. Use wood that doesn’t rot quickly.

Wood from cedar, Douglas fir, black locust, or redwood lasts the longest. If you do treat the wood with something to make it last longer, use linseed oil since it is non-toxic. Do not use railroad ties. While they make terrific beds, they are often treated with chemicals that can leach into the soil. That may either stunt plant growth or kill plants outright.

Raised garden bed – photo by Amy Grisak

Deciding how big a raised garden bed should be

The size of your raised bed needs to be what is most convenient for you. You never want to have to step inside the bed, nor do you want it so large that it takes a lot of extra time to walk around it.

The most efficient beds are typically 2-3 ft. wide and 6-12 ft. long. Once in a while, wider beds, no more than 4 ft across, are used to plant spreading crops, but you need to be able to reach to the center without kneeling inside of it, compressing the soil.