We needed lumber to build the beds so off to Home Depot. We chose Redwood planks and post because it looks nice, ages well, is naturally rot and insect resistant and doesn't have all the chemicals that are in pressure-treated lumber. We planned on (2) 8‘x4’ beds, 12 inches high. We left with (12) 8’ 2x6 planks for the walls and (2) 8’ 2x4 for the posts.

Before planting, we cleared the grass underneath the beds. While the step may have been unnecessary, it allowed us to level the ground and break up the earth underneath. We have hard packed clay soil and knew drainage was important for a successful garden. This was the hardest part of building our garden. It took a lot of digging and picking and raking to get everything level and clear.

Using the old adage “measure twice and cut once”, building the beds was easy. With a few cuts, I had the lumber ready to assemble into 4x8 beds. I built the boxes and secured them with treated screws to resist rust. I stacked one frame on another, squared them up, pounded the posts into the corners and screwed the boxes to the posts. Nice and secure, and also empty.

Time to move the four yards of soil into the boxes! To make it easier, I removed the end boards of the beds so we could maneuver the wheelbarrow in and dump the soil. I have a confession to make, I had to teach that evening, so I moved one wheelbarrow full just to say I helped. The rest of the work was done by Queenie and her mom.

When I returned, the beds were filled and looked amazing. Queenie screwed the end boards back on (she's very handy like that) and the soil was level and ready for planting. An added surprise was a ceramic cat placed in the bed. The purpose I was told was to keep real cats from using it as a litter box.

One would think two 4x8 beds would be enough. But Queenie and I had the same thought; We needed more. We had two yards of soil left so why not. That next morning while heading to an appointment, I saw a sign for Berco Redwood out of the corner of my eye. Thankfully the street was clear as I cut across several lanes and turned in. I talked to the helpful staff and placed my order. (An aside, the lumber was better quality, lower priced and the best part, they cut it to length!) Twenty minutes later, my CRV was packed to the brim with freshly cut Redwood and smelling like a forest. I continued on to my appointment.

Once home I prepped the rest of the yard. Where these beds were going the ground was much firmer and required a fork to even break up the soil to get a shovel into it. But once that was done, everything went smoothly. With Queenie’s help we built four 4x4 beds, lined them up with the existing beds, leveled and filled them with soil.

We knew we wanted berries so in addition to the materials for the beds I picked up (4) 7’ 4x4 posts. I sunk two into the ground along our fence and between them I amended the soil with good quality topsoil, chicken manure and loam. I strung wire between the posts for our future berry branches to climb. With any luck, we’ll have berries in the spring.

Was it hard work? Damb straight! But as you can see from the photos, we went from a barren backyard to six raised beds and a trellis. We believe it a much more responsible and enjoyable use of land. The best part is the fun was just about to begin, deciding what to sow and plant in our new beds.