This post is a joint effort by Jeromy and I. As he did the majority of the work to build the raised beds {think 90-10 in terms of splitting the work} he can provide much more information than I can. Thanks for the help on this one, honey!
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We have always loved to garden and when we lived in our townhouse, we had a pretty impressive spread of herbs and flowers growing in containers. We even made our own topsy-turvy hanging tomato planter once. It worked out well until the plants grew too heavy for the container and it fell to the ground. Oops.
Anyways, one of the big draws for us when we were looking for a house {2 years ago! Can hardly believe it} was a backyard where we could plant a garden and grow our own vegetables. Our first summer in the new home we were preparing for Caroline to enter the world, so we did not even touch the part of the yard the previous owners had clearly used as a garden. The original garden was planted directly into the ground and had become overrun by weeds. We wanted to garden in raised beds, using the “square foot gardening” technique. So last spring, Jeromy got to work! Here’s a step by step photo tutorial!
First we mapped out the best spot and angle for the boxes, marking the location with marking spray paint. Then Jeromy prepped the soil by tilling it.
We decided we had space for three beds—one for wildflowers and two for vegetables and herbs.
Jeromy chose to build the boxes out of Cyprus because it grows in swamps and has many of the same durability characteristics of cedar or redwood, but at a fraction of the cost. We bought nine “6/4” boards (1.5” thick) from a lumber supplier. The boards were generally 8”+ inches wide and 12’+ long. When you buy from a lumber supplier the “stock” is not finished (it’s not smooth, with uniform thickness and square corners), but the rough look suited our needs just fine. When cut, the boards yielded six 8’ lengths and six 4’ lengths—2 long sides and 2 short sides for each of three beds. These boards were attached to form rectangles using 3.5″ #10 coated deck screws.
Our corner posts are made from pressure-treated 4 x 4’s, cut to 10″ longer than the desired height of the bed (purists may wish to find Cyprus 4 x 4’s, or make their own by laminating two 2 x 4 boards). Jeromy used the level to attach the rectangles a few inches below the top of the end posts. The posts needed to be longer so they could be embedded about 10” into the ground (checking for level every handful of hammer whacks) to provide additional stability to the finished box.
When these steps were done, only a few boards were touching earth due to the site’s slope. You might be tempted to dig into the slope to level it, but it’s a lot less work to build down to the existing soil. Towards this end, the extra 12’ lengths were laid on their side along the ground, right next to the “floating” boxes so Jeromy could use a pencil to trace the necessary taper. A couple of minutes of sawing, and he was ready to complete the side by anchoring the tapered piece to the full piece above it using a “mending plate”.
Once the boxes were built, Jeromy laid chicken wire along to bottom to keep burrowing critters from getting into the garden and eating all the tasty roots. One 3’ x 25’ roll of the “poultry netting” provided just the right amount of material. He used a staple gun to secure it to the insides of the boxes. 
As a decorative flourish, Jeromy trimmed each of the posts to reveal just a half inch, then used caulk to attach copper post-caps.
Next, we mixed up the soil. After doing some research, Jeromy decided to fill the boxes with a combination of vermiculite, peat moss and manure. Vermiculite is used to lighten soil and helps to retain moisture; it performs the same function as perlite (the white stuff found in garden soil), but it’s not buoyant so it doesn’t all rise to the surface after a heavy rain. The peat moss and manure provide organic nutrients. We tried to get a 1:1:1 ratio, but vermiculite is expensive. Jeromy worked the mixture into the existing soil using a dirt rake and shovel.
This is pretty much the only time I can say “we” in the building the boxes process. It was Mother’s Day and after a delicious brunch, Caroline played in the pack n’ play in the backyard while we fixed up the garden. It was a lot of fun! {I despise blurry photos, but it’s the only one I have to prove that I helped!}
Finally, when the soil was combined and leveled, we made a grid out of some twine and sticks so we could practice a very lose interpretation of square foot gardening.
We transplanted sage, rosemary, thyme, and Russian tarragon (that had been living in containers) into the beds. We kept the mint in its container—we know better than to put that weed in a situation where it can take over!
Then we added tomatoes, squash, basil, cilantro, chives, lavender, parsley, cucumber, jalapeno, bell pepper, lemongrass (which got absolutely huge) and marigolds. {Links are to a recipe that uses that ingredient.} We also spread an old bag of wildflower seed in the third box, but unfortunately last year that box didn’t produce any flowers. We are trying again this year and our fingers are crossed!
A couple of months later, this is what one of our raised beds looked like:
Helpful resources:
http://eartheasy.com/grow_raised_beds.htm
http://eartheasy.com/blog/2010/04/how-to-build-a-raised-garden-bed-on-sloping-uneven-ground/
That was our adventure into gardening! It turned out really well last year so we’re hoping for the same result this time around. But tell us, how does your garden grow?
Other How To posts: How to French Press Coffee, How to Roast a Chicken
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