There has always been one kind of garden or another here at the Cottage. We liked the idea of the ease of care and wanted to work smarter at our gardening and weeding while replacing what we are buying at the grocery store with what we could plant and eat at home. We tossed around different garden designs for a while before we decided on a raised bed garden design.
The History of the Victory Garden
These gardens started during World War II. The government approached the public with the plea to begin a garden in their own backyard to help with the war effort. People that were self-reliant were not dependent on the government to care for them jumped on the bandwagon.
People were urged to take care of themselves and to do their patriotic duty “Victory Gardens” began to spring up all over our nation. Popular magazines of the day like the “Saturday Evening Post” and “Life” printed stories about them. Women’s magazines gave instructions on how to grow and preserve garden produce as a result of this there was a rage in the purchasing of canning equipment across the U.S. Americans purchased 249,000 more pressure canners in the year 1944 than they did the year before.
They were serious about their gardens. The USDA estimated that there were 20 million Victory gardens planted here in America. Now that is a lot of produce! Fruit and Vegetables harvested in these home and community gardens were estimated to be 10 million tons of food. Even if you don’t think that you have the time, you have less than a green thumb, you CAN do this. Let us help you with great ideas for your own raised bed garden.
Why Start A Raised Bed Garden
With all the other types and ways to garden out there, maybe you are wondering why you should try a raised bed garden. A raised bed garden is a GREAT option for people with:
- very little time.
- poor soil.
- less than a green thumb.
- Have trouble bending over
We chose to add a raised bed garden to our yard several years ago. Our soil was horrible clay which made amending it a pain. We also were really busy which meant we were struggling to keep our garden weeded. Raised bed gardening helped to really cut back on the amount of weeding we were doing every year. And using raised beds instead of growing in the ground meant we had better control of our soil which in turn meant our plants did better.
Weeding A Raised Bed Garden
The weeds were controlled for the most part by the shade cloth that we used for under these boxes and the trellis kept it all up off of the ground. As a result, we have a large garden area that is pretty simple for us to have control of.
You could further add a drip watering system to reduce the time you have to care for the garden too (we don’t go into that here but there is a link to purchase a system at the bottom of the article). Read on and see how simple these beautiful raised bed gardens are to make to begin your garden and take a step toward food independence (besides, there is nothing like a little dirt to make you feel good).
Raised Bed Garden Layout
How To Build A Raised Bed Garden
- 2x12x8 untreated lumber
- decking screws
- heavy duty metal staples to hammer into the wood to attach the cattle panels.
- Electric Drill
- Weed Barrier
- Staple Gun
- Staples (to attach shade cloth to the bottom of the box)
- Cattle Panels (also called hog panels)
Preparing The Lumber For Your Raised Bed Garden
- Weed barrier
- Cattle Panels
for climbing vegetables and tomatoes
- Garden Staples
- Twine
- Garden shears
- Plant Ties
- Garden Lights
- Garden Oblesks
- Garden Trellis’
- Wheelbarrow
- Shovel
- Garden hoe
- Hand trowel
- Garden Apron
- Garden stool
- Garden Gloves
Garden hat
- Garden Boots
- Garden Hose
- Garden Sprinkler
- Watering Can
- Drip Watering System
Purchase Other Options For A Raised Bed Garden
- Cattle Watering Trough As A Raised Bed
- 3 – 4×4′ Raised Beds
- 5 Tiered Raised Bed Garden
- Garden Towers
- Galvanized Raised Bed Garden
- Vegepod Raised Bed Garden
- Keter EZ 31 Gallon Raised Bed
- Gadi Galvanized Metal Oval Raised Bed Garden Surround
- Glowpair Self Watering Urban Planter
- Sunnydaze Raised Garden Bed Garden Cart
- Yaheetech 3 Tier Raised Garden Bed
- Amerlife Raised Garden Bed
- Cedar Raised Planter Bed With Legs
How To Make Raised Bed Garden Soil
Accessories For Your Raised Beds
- Sunnydaze Mini Cloche Greenhouse Cover
- Mini Greenhouse
- Adjustable Mini Greenhouse
- Vivosun Waterproof Seedling Electric Heating Mat
- Vivosun Waterproof Heating Mat and Thermostat
- The Beginners Guide To How To Start Seeds For Your Garden
- How To Start A Homestead
- How To Start An Orchard | A Beginners Guide To Growing Your Own Fruit
- How To Propagate Mint In 4 Easy Steps
- The Ultimate Guide How To Grow Peppers
- Where To Buy Seeds For Your Garden
- DIY Tomato Cages
- How To Start An Herb Garden
- Crafting A Beautiful Kitchen Garden From Scratch
- How To Plan A Garden In 4 Easy Steps
- The Best Tips For Desert Gardening