The plan at a glance
This bed is six 2 × 6 boards 8 feet long, two boards high, held at the corners by four aluminum corner brackets. The long sides are whole boards and the ends are two boards cut in half, 47⅞ inches each. The brackets hold the boards in slots and are screwed to them, so there are no posts to cut and no corner joints to make. The bed stands 11 inches tall and about 8 by 4 feet.
The plan follows Gardener’s Supply’s Lifetime raised bed corners, because the maker publishes which boards fit each of its heights: its 12-inch corner is 11 inches tall and takes two 2 × 6 boards a side. Other slotted corners for 2 × lumber work the same way; check that the slot takes a board 1½ inches thick before you buy the boards. Brackets that screw to the boards’ faces, with no slots, make a different joint: the boards butt together, so the ends are cut to another length and this cut list doesn’t fit them.
Boards and materials
A 2 × 6 board is 1½ × 5½ inches when you buy it dry, the dressed size the American Wood Council lists, and Gardener’s Supply sizes its corners for milled boards of that thickness, not rough-cut ones. The end boards allow ⅛ inch for the saw cut.
| Part | Cut from | Length | Pieces |
|---|---|---|---|
| Long sides | 2 × 6 × 8 ft, used whole | 96 in | 4 |
| Ends | 2 × 6 × 8 ft, two boards cut in half | 47⅞ in | 4 |
| Corner brackets | 12-in corners for two 2 × 6s a side, screws and caps included | 11 in tall | 4 |
| Soil | 1.5 ft³ bags | 10 in deep | 18 at most |
Build it
- Choose a sunny, level spot about 8 by 4 feet. On lawn, Gardener’s Supply’s instructions say to remove the sod and loosen the soil first; the site guide shows how.
- Keep four boards whole for the long sides. Cut the other two in half, 47⅞ inches each, for the four ends.
- Stand a corner bracket at each corner of the spot. Slide a long board into one slot of two brackets and an end board into the other slot of each, so the bottom row makes a rectangle. The instructions ask for every board fully seated and level: push each one all the way down.
- Screw each board to its brackets with the Phillips screws that come with them.
- Seat the second row on the first in the same slots and screw it in.
- Measure both diagonals, corner to corner, at the same point on each bracket, and nudge the bed until they match, so it is square. Expect about 107 inches: the diagonal of the boards’ own lengths, give or take a little for where you hook the tape on the brackets.
- Tap a cap into the top of each bracket with a rubber mallet, or with a hammer on a block of wood.
- Fill the bed 10 inches deep, an inch under the top.
How much soil it takes
The boards are 96 and 47⅞ inches long, and the inside of the bed is a little smaller, because each board’s ends sit in the brackets’ slots. Filled 10 inches deep, it holds at most 26.6 cubic feet: just under 1 cubic yard, or 18 bags of 1.5 cubic feet. Once it’s built, measure between the inside faces and open the soil calculator, which starts from the boards’ lengths, to type in yours.
At this size a delivery is worth a quote: the bags or bulk guide compares the two.
Pricing it? The build or buy calculator sets this plan’s list against a kit you could buy instead, soil included, at the prices you are quoted.
Taller beds from the same brackets
Gardener’s Supply makes the same corner in eight heights and lists the boards each one takes. Built 8 by 4 feet from the same board lengths, this is how tall each corner from 12 inches up stands, and the most soil the bed holds filled an inch under the corner’s top.
| Corner | Boards a side | Corner’s height | Soil, at most |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 in | two 2 × 6s, or one 2 × 12 | 11 in | 18 bags |
| 16 in | two 2 × 8s | 14½ in | 24 bags |
| 24 in | four 2 × 6s, three 2 × 8s or two 2 × 12s | 21¾ in | 37 bags |
| 32 in | four 2 × 8s | 29 in | 50 bags |
| 36 in | three 2 × 12s | 33¾ in | 59 bags |
Bags of 1.5 cubic feet, counted from the boards’ lengths and filled an inch under the corner’s height; the inside is a little smaller. A cap adds 3/16 inch to each corner. A few of the maker’s board choices stand a little above their corner: one 2 × 12 by ¼ inch in the 12-inch corner, four 2 × 6s by ¼ inch and two 2 × 12s by ¾ inch in the 24-inch one.
Taller walls hold more soil against the middle of each 8-ft side, and these brackets hold the boards only at their ends; Gardener’s Supply adds in-line connectors only for sides longer than 8 feet. For a bed 22 inches tall with a post every 4 feet and a tie across the middle, follow the tall bed plan.
Longer than 8 feet
For a longer bed, Gardener’s Supply joins two shorter boards with an in-line connector in the middle of each long side, to help keep the side from bowing: for a 12-ft bed, two 6-ft boards a side. Keep the bed 4 feet wide, so the middle is in reach from both long sides; the width and reach guide explains why.
Wood
Gardener’s Supply suggests cedar for its natural insect and rot resistance; the best wood guide compares it with the other choices.
What this plan does not cover
This is a plan for a bed on open ground. It is not an engineered design and makes no load rating. For a bed on a patio, deck or roof, read the hard-surface guide and have the surface assessed for the filled weight first. To build the same size with posts instead of brackets, the 4 × 8 cedar plan uses the same six boards.
Try it with your numbers
Open the raised bed soil calculator with this guide’s bed filled in, then change any figure to match yours.
Open the raised bed soil calculatorReferences
- 2" Lifetime Raised Bed Corners, Set of 4, Gardener’s Supply.
- Raised Bed Corners / In-Line Connectors (instructions, Rev 01/2026), Gardener’s Supply.
- Span Tables for Joists and Rafters, 2024 Edition, American Wood Council.
- Raised Garden Bed Dimensions (Circular 1027-4), University of Georgia Cooperative Extension.