I recently built a box garden from scratch. I was surprised how easy it was to build and trust me I have virtually no skills when it comes to carpentry. I really didn’t keep a list of how much the items cost. If you are worried about cost you can always price the items out. I shopped at Home Depot for my box garden construction materials.
My box garden is 8 ft long x 4 ft wide. I chose this because it fits into the space on my yard perfectly and you can’t build it too wider of your won’t be able to reach into it to tend to your plants. At 4 ft wide I will be able to reach the middle from either side.
Supplies Needed:
1 – 4x4x12 Fence Post
2 – 2x8x12 Boards
1 – Box of Deck Screws (44 screws used)
Tools Needed:
1. Power Drill
2. Level
3. Square
4. Skill Saw or Table Saw
Building the Box Garden:
A picture says 1,000 words. By looking at the picture below you should be able to see how easy it is to construct your box garden. Cut the Fence Post into even 2 ft pieces. I used left over pieces from another project so that is why mine don’t look even. You want the posts a little longer because you are going to sink them into the ground to give your box garden some stability. Next cut the Boards at 8 ft so you have 4 – 8 ft pieces and 4 – 4 ft pieces.
It’s just as simple as attaching your boards to your 4 corner posts. I used 2 screws on each board. Then attached the two inner posts to make the frame more sturdier and you have good to go. Notice I used smaller pieces on the end as my “outer” piece. Use your level and square tool to make sure everything is square and level (nice sentence).
With your frame constructed dig out holes for your corner and middle posts so you can firmly attach your box garden to the ground. You want to make sure that’s its level again once you put your posts in the ground. This is what mine looks like.
This is the finished product after filling it up with soil and getting my tomatoes and peppers planted. If you are worried about using treated wood you can build with natural wood. I did much reading about leaching and I am not concerned. It’s a personal choice.
