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Raised garden bed plans with cut lists

Four raised bed plans drawn to scale: a 4 × 8 ft cedar bed, a 4 × 4 square, a narrow 2 × 8 and a 4 × 8 bed 2 feet tall, each with its cut list, screws, steps and the soil it takes.

Pick a plan by size

Every plan below is built the same way, so you can move between sizes without learning a new method: 2 × 6 boards on edge, the long boards used whole, the end boards fitted between them, and a 4 × 4 post inside each corner and at least every 4 feet. Each one lists exactly what to buy and cut, and how many bags of soil it takes.

The plans compared
PlanOutsideHeightBoards (2 × 6 × 8 ft)Soil, filled
4 × 8 ft cedar bed96 × 48 in11 in616 bags at 10 in
4 × 4 ft square bed48 × 48 in11 in48 bags at 10 in
2 × 8 ft narrow bed96 × 24 in11 in58 bags at 10 in
4 × 8 ft tall bed96 × 48 in22 in1232 bags at 20 in

Bags are 1.5 cubic feet, counted from the inside of each bed with the posts taken out.

4 × 8 ft cedar bed, 11 in tall4 × 4 ft square bed, 11 in tall2 × 8 ft narrow bed, 11 in tall4 × 8 ft tall bed, 22 in tall
Every plan from above at one scale.

Which one to build

Build the 4 × 8 if you can reach it from both long sides: the middle is 2 feet from each edge. The 4 × 4 is the same reach in a square that fits a small yard. The 2 × 8 is 21 inches across inside, within a 24-inch reach from one side, so it can stand against a fence or a wall. The tall 4 × 8 is for poor or compacted ground, where Washington State University Extension says the whole root zone should be in the fill, 15 to 18 inches deep.

The width and reach guide explains the one-side and two-side rule, and the path guide the room to leave around each bed. For an L-shaped corner bed, a U-shaped walk-in bed, a keyhole bed, a concrete block bed or the cheapest bed of fence pickets, see the raised garden bed ideas, each drawn to the same scale with what to buy.

What every plan shares

A 2 × 6 board is 1½ × 5½ inches when you buy it dry, and a 4 × 4 is 3½ × 3½ inches, the dressed sizes the American Wood Council lists.

The posts stand inside the walls, and no side runs more than 4 feet between them. The University of Georgia Extension asks for a vertical support about every 4 feet on boards only 1 inch thick; these boards are 1½ inches, and the plans keep that spacing anyway. Each plan ends with the diagonals to check the frame is square and the soil it takes at a depth most crops need.

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.

References