Raised garden bed ideas, drawn to scale
Sixteen designs from a 4 × 4 box to a U-shaped walk-in bed, each with the boards or blocks to buy and the soil it takes.
Raised bed guides
Answers to the questions that come up between choosing a bed and filling it, each with the calculator that finishes the job.
Building and choosing a bed
Materials, the ground underneath and how to put a bed together.
Metal, cedar, composite or fabric raised beds?
Compare the wall material, bottom, joints and maintenance that change how a raised bed fits your garden.
How to prepare the ground for a raised bed
Work through the ground, level support, bottom barrier and drainage decisions before assembling and filling a bed.
How to build a 4x8 cedar raised garden bed
A 4 × 8 ft cedar raised bed built from six 8-foot 2 × 6 boards, one 4 × 4 post and 40 stainless steel screws: the cut list, the steps and the soil it takes.
Raised garden bed plans with cut lists
Five raised bed plans drawn to scale: a 4 × 8 ft cedar bed, a 4 × 4 square, a 3 × 8, a narrow 2 × 8 and a 4 × 8 bed 22 inches tall, each with its cut list, screws, steps and the soil it takes.
How to build a 4x4 raised garden bed
A 4 × 4 ft raised bed from four 8-foot 2 × 6 boards, a 4-foot 4 × 4 post and 32 screws: the cut list, the steps, and the 8 bags of soil it takes 10 inches deep.
How to build a 3x8 raised garden bed
A 3 × 8 ft raised bed you reach from both sides, from six 8-foot 2 × 6 boards, a 6-foot 4 × 4 and 40 screws, with the cut list, the steps and the soil it takes.
How to build a 2x8 raised garden bed
A narrow 2 × 8 ft raised bed for a fence line or the edge of a path, from five 8-foot 2 × 6 boards, a 6-foot 4 × 4 and 40 screws, reached from one side.
How to build a tall raised garden bed
A 4 × 8 ft bed 22 inches tall, four 2 × 6 boards high with a tie across the top: twelve 8-foot boards, two 4 × 4 posts and 84 screws, and how to fill it without buying 32 bags.
How to build a cinder block raised bed
A 9 × 5 ft raised bed from 40 concrete blocks stacked two high, with no saw and no screws: how many blocks, how to lay them, and the 24 bags of soil it takes 14 inches deep.
How to build a cheap raised bed from fence pickets
A 5 ft 10 in × 3 ft raised bed from six cedar fence pickets and one 8-ft 2 × 2, 11 inches tall: the cut list, the steps and the 10 bags of soil it takes.
How to build a stone raised garden bed
Pavestone’s plan for a 98 × 49 in stone-look raised bed of RumbleStone blocks, 10½ in tall: the 142 stones course by course, no cuts, and the 12 bags of soil.
How to build a salad table: a raised bed on legs
University of Maryland Extension’s salad table, a 58 × 33 in bed on legs with a mesh floor: the four 2 × 4s, the cut list, the steps and the mix.
How to build a U-shaped raised garden bed
A U-shaped walk-in raised bed on an 8 × 8 ft patch: three narrow beds around a 4-ft path, from 13 boards, with the cut list, steps and soil.
How to build a raised bed with corner brackets
A 4 × 8 ft raised bed from six 2 × 6 boards and four corner brackets: no posts, two saw cuts, the steps, the bracket heights and the soil it takes.
How to add a trellis to a 4 × 8 raised bed
A 6-ft trellis for a 4 × 8 ft raised bed from three 2 × 4s and a piece of netting: where it goes, the cut list, the screws, the steps and what to grow on it.
Cucumber and tomato trellises: four plans for raised beds
Four supports for cucumbers and tomatoes, drawn to scale: an A-frame, wire cages, a staked row tied with the Florida weave and a cattle-panel arch, each with what to buy and cut, the steps and the bed it suits.
Can you put a raised bed on concrete, a patio or a deck?
Yes, if it is deep enough and drains: 8 inches for greens, 12 to 24 for tomatoes and peppers, a soilless mix, a way out for the water, and what the bed weighs once watered.
What is the best wood for a raised garden bed?
Decay-resistant heartwood such as cedar or redwood for untreated beds; ground-contact treated lumber if you want the longest life for the money. How long each lasts and what extension services say about safety.
Lead in garden soil: what your test result means for raised beds
EPA’s soil lead bands for gardeners: precautions approaching 200 ppm, raised beds of clean soil from 200 to 400, no existing soil above 400, and why Maryland Extension's figures differ.
Do you need a liner, weed barrier or hardware cloth?
Most beds on open ground need no liner at all. When hardware cloth, landscape fabric or a plastic lining helps, and when it gets in the way.
Is galvanized steel or treated wood safe for growing food?
What extension services and the EPA say about zinc from galvanized beds, lead in some metal beds sold online, and copper from today’s treated lumber.
Soil: how deep, how much and what kind
Depth, filling, soil types and ordering.
How much soil do I need for a raised bed?
Measure the inside of your raised bed and choose a soil depth, then work out how many bags or cubic yards to buy.
Bags or bulk soil: what to compare before you order
Compare bagged and bulk soil for the amount you need, including minimum orders, delivery and getting it into the beds.
How deep should a raised garden bed be?
At least 10 inches of soil for most crops, 15 to 18 inches where nothing usable lies below, and the root depths of common vegetables, with what each depth costs to fill.
What to put in the bottom of a raised garden bed
On open ground, usually nothing but soil: no gravel, no plastic. What cardboard, hardware cloth and landscape fabric are for, and when a bed needs them.
Which raised bed soil mix should you use?
Extension services agree on topsoil plus compost, from two parts to one up to equal parts. The recipes side by side, what to avoid, and the bags each takes for your bed.
Topsoil, garden soil, potting mix or compost: which do you need?
What each bag or load actually is, which one a raised bed, a pot or a lawn needs, and the labels that do not mean what they seem.
How to fill a raised garden bed cheaply
Deep beds eat soil. What extension services say about filling the bottom with branches and logs, how much soil it saves, and the settling and nitrogen costs.
Can you reuse last year’s raised bed soil?
Yes: keep the soil and top it up with compost each year. How many inches extension services give, what that is in bags for your bed, and when to replace the soil instead.
What does a cubic yard of soil, mulch or gravel weigh?
A cubic yard of topsoil weighs 2,200 to 2,600 lb for the suppliers we list; mulch about 500 to 600 lb, gravel 2,440 to 2,700 lb. How many barrow loads and car or pickup trips that is.
Where to buy garden soil in bulk, and what to check
Bulk soil comes from landscape supply yards and nurseries by the cubic yard. What to ask before ordering, how to check a load, and why we publish no prices.
How deep should mulch be?
2 to 4 inches for beds and trees, 3 to 4 inches on paths, 1 to 2 inches of fine mulch in vegetable plots, and bare space around trunks. How much each depth takes per 100 square feet.
Size, paths and reach
How wide to build, how much room to leave and how to reach the middle.
Planting layouts by bed size
Four planting plans for each bed size from 2 × 4 to 4 × 12 ft, one with herbs, drawn to scale with every plant counted.
What to plant in a raised bed with legs
The crops whose roots fit 10 to 12 inches of soil, and the soil depth of every planter on legs we list.
How wide should a raised garden bed be?
Choose a raised bed you can reach across comfortably, with enough room to work from the sides.
How wide should paths between raised beds be?
Set path width from the person, cart, gate, and maintenance work that must pass through it, then check the clear space between the beds.
What height and width should an accessible raised bed be?
24 to 27 inches high for a wheelchair user, 3 feet wide if you can reach from both sides and 2 feet from one side, with 4-foot paths. The figures extension services and the ADA standards give.
Watering
Drip kits, parts and upkeep.
How to install drip irrigation in raised beds
Plan a drip system from faucet to raised bed, with the right tubing, fittings, pressure and parts for the kit you choose.
Raised-bed drip irrigation maintenance and winterizing
Find leaks and uneven flow, check the right kit parts, and prepare a small irrigation system for winter and restart.