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Grow to New Heights

Gardening by the Yard : Episode GBY-101 -- More Projects »
Although there's really no such thing as an ideal size for raised beds, it's a good idea to make the total square footage of the bed easily divisible by 100. That's because the application rates for most granular fertilizers and other store-bought products are ordinarily calculated for 100 square feet.

Paul James prefers to make his beds about 4 feet wide by 10 feet long. That way he can work the bed easily from either side, and he doesn't waste time walking down the length of each bed just to get to the other side. He also keeps the paths narrow--about a foot wide--because he'd rather devote more space to growing beds than paths. You may want them wider, especially if you want to wheel a garden cart between the paths.

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Step 1: To build a raised bed, excavate the soil around the perimeter of the growing area to a depth of six to eight inches below grade.
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Step 2: As you dig, throw the soil into the area you want to be raised: the process of constructing the paths creates the raised beds.
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Step 3: Level the tops of the mounded soil.
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Step 4: Use a hoe to neaten paths and the sides of the raised beds.
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Step 5: Do a final leveling of the soil, and leave the beds as is or frame them.
Also in this Episode
Gardening by the Yard : Episode GBY-101
•Organic Matter
•Grow to New Heights
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