For the largest modular layouts
Birdies Jumbo Modular Raised Bed
Birdies’ largest kit, in five layouts from 8 × 2 ft to 6 × 6 ft, 15 or 29 inches tall. Birdies sold it as the Large bed before renaming its sizes.
10 sizes and layouts
Each size drawn from above at the same scale, with the maker’s listed capacity.
- Listed capacity
- 19.2 ft³
- Soil to fill it
- 13 bags of 1.5 ft³
For the largest modular layouts
The 6 × 6 ft layout puts the middle 3 feet from every side. Check the reach you need before choosing it.
- Style
- Open-bottom bed
- Material
- 24-gauge steel, 0.50 mm before its zinc, aluminum and magnesium coating (ZAM 100)
- Warranty
- Limited lifetime warranty on beds bought direct from Birdies: repair or replacement at no cost for 5 years, then replacement at 50 to 75 percent of the current retail price.
- Bottom
- Open to the ground
Choose the size or layout
Use the widest outside footprint to plan paths. For a soil order, measure between the inside walls after assembly and choose your filled depth; advertised dimensions can be rounded. Rectangular sizes below read length × width × height.
Birdies doesn’t publish inside measurements or an outside size for these beds, so the soil figure below is the maker’s own stated capacity. If you’ll fill it less deep, measure between the inside walls once it’s built.
| Size or layout | Advertised size | Listed capacity | Bags of 1.5 ft³ for that capacity | Plan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 × 8 ft, 15 in tall | 96 × 24 × 15 in | 19.2 ft³ | 13 bags | Plan this size: 2 × 8 ft, 15 in tall |
| 2 × 10 ft, 15 in tall | 120 × 24 × 15 in | 24 ft³ | 16 bags | Plan this size: 2 × 10 ft, 15 in tall |
| 4 × 6 ft, 15 in tall | 72 × 48 × 15 in | 28.8 ft³ | 20 bags | Plan this size: 4 × 6 ft, 15 in tall |
| 4 × 8 ft, 15 in tall | 96 × 48 × 15 in | 38.4 ft³ | 26 bags | Plan this size: 4 × 8 ft, 15 in tall |
| 6 × 6 ft, 15 in tall | 72 × 72 × 15 in | 43.2 ft³ | 29 bags | Plan this size: 6 × 6 ft, 15 in tall |
| 2 × 8 ft, 29 in tall | 96 × 24 × 29 in | 38.4 ft³ | 26 bags | Plan this size: 2 × 8 ft, 29 in tall |
| 2 × 10 ft, 29 in tall | 120 × 24 × 29 in | 48 ft³ | 32 bags | Plan this size: 2 × 10 ft, 29 in tall |
| 4 × 6 ft, 29 in tall | 72 × 48 × 29 in | 57.6 ft³ | 39 bags | Plan this size: 4 × 6 ft, 29 in tall |
| 4 × 8 ft, 29 in tall | 96 × 48 × 29 in | 78.8 ft³ | 53 bags | Plan this size: 4 × 8 ft, 29 in tall |
| 6 × 6 ft, 29 in tall | 72 × 72 × 29 in | 86.4 ft³ | 58 bags | Plan this size: 6 × 6 ft, 29 in tall |
Where the maker’s figures disagree
- At 29 inches, 8 × 4 ft is given 78.8 cu ft; the other four equal length × width × 2.4 ft, which would give 76.8. The 15-inch figures equal length × width × 1.2 ft.
- The pages name the coating both Zincalume and ZAM 100.
Measure the inside of the assembled bed before ordering soil.
What to plant in it
Four planting plans drawn to scale, a salad bed, a kitchen bed with herbs, tomatoes and peppers, and roots and onions, with every plant counted: 2 × 8 ft bed · 4 × 6 ft bed · 4 × 8 ft bed.
Questions about this bed
Does it have a bottom?
No: Birdies leaves it open so the bed drains. If gophers or prairie dogs dig in your garden, it suggests galvanized steel mesh across the bottom. What to put in the bottom.
What does Birdies fill it with?
A complete organic soil from a landscape supplier, or no-dig layers of hay or straw with manure and compost. In the 29-inch beds Birdies fills the bottom 15 inches with garden waste or logs (hügelkultur); the 15-inch beds take soil all the way up. Either way, it tops the bed with at least an inch of mulch. Filling a deep bed for less.
Does the ground need to be level?
As close to level as you can get it, Birdies says, especially for the 29-inch beds, with the bottom edge set on 1 to 2 inches of drainage stone where the soil is clay. On a slight slope, run the bed lengthwise down it; across a slope, Birdies sets steel fence posts (star pickets) inside the bed 3 ft apart and bolts them to it.
Can it go straight onto lawn?
Yes: cover the grass with whole wet newspaper or thick cardboard, overlapped by 4 inches. Birdies scatters blood and bone fertilizer and lime on the lawn first, so the grass rots quickly. Preparing the ground.
Can it go on concrete or paving?
Yes, with geotextile fabric laid inside across the bottom and up the sides before you fill it: it lets water through and holds the soil. To protect the surface, Birdies lays builders’ plastic under the bed and trims it once the bed is full, but the fabric still goes in. Before you fill it on a patio or deck.
Birdies’ answers, from its questions page.
Prepare and assemble this bed
Compare the material, bottom and care choices if you are still deciding between families. Follow the site preparation and liner checklist for the supporting surface.
- Choose the exact configuration and lay out its parts. Check the required tools in the selected kit instructions.
- Prepare a stable, level position and confirm the outside footprint with working paths.
- Check corners, fasteners, protective edging and any layout-specific braces against the kit instructions before adding fill.
- Measure the finished inside and outside separately, then update your plan. Preserve the maker’s fill restrictions.
Mark the outside footprint on the ground before assembly, including any legs or protruding corners. Leave a route for carrying bags, reaching the plants and maintaining nearby beds.
This bed is open to the ground. Check the soil and drainage where it will sit before adding fill. Its wall height is not a prescription for how deep the growing mix should be.
Choose a reachable widthMeasure for a soil orderCompare the cost of building one
Product specifications
- Jumbo Modular Steel Raised Garden Bed 29" Tall, Birdies
- FAQ, Birdies