Heh, I'd doubt you could be any worse at carpentry than I am! There are alot of answers to your questions. I had a friend with some leftover 2x12's (is that what they're called? 2" thick by 12" tall?) who let me have them and I cut them into the lengths I needed for the boxes. I didn't know to cover them with linseed oil, so they're in the backyard getting yucky, even now. If I could afford it, I'd definitely do the white boxes that Bartholomew sells on his site, they're just lovely. In our case, I'll just get more wood from a neighbor and build the new ones. I just drill a pilot hole (like a pre-hole where I want the nails) and nail the boards together. Many folks use those pieces of corner hardware like hinges only without a moving part. Uh, yeah, this post makes me sound like a dingbat, so you should realize there isn't a high iq threshhold for this project, lol. Good luck and have fun!!

I went with pressure treated wood, but most would tell you to avoid it due to unknown leaching of chemicals into the soil. Living in the very wet Pacific NW, it was a matter of necessity to go with something that wouldn't rot every five years.

But if you want to go something that won't leach, cedar is great, but expensive. Pine or douglas fir is cheap but will rot quickly, but linseed oil or something else non-toxic will help prolong it's use.

Don't worry about being a non-carpenter, so am I. My biggest problem was cutting my boards 4 feet long, not taking into consideration the width of the boards (1 and a half inches for a 2x). So my beds aren't precisely 4 feet wide for growing purposes. I deal with it though.

I agree that the brackets work well to make the beds sturdier. I also used regular 2x4s at regular intervals to strengthen the boards, since I went 3 2x6s high. You wouldn't need the added 2x4s if you only went one board high, unless you went very long (over 10 feet I'd say).

Of course EG will have great advice on this. He's the hands-on guy.

Good luck with your project and let us know how it goes!

Here is a link that might be useful: Sinfonian's garden adventure

I cut the lumber (did the same thing Sinfonian did though, so my interior measurements aren't exact)and rather than using the brackets, I just used a piece of 2x2 or 2x4 inside the corner to hold it all together. On the 10' long beds, I attached a piece of 2x4 as a brace in the middle to keep the boards in line and add strength (but not the smaller beds).

Because my garden area is on a slight slope (and I'm not the most skilled builder), I put them together in my garage and (took them apart and) moved them to the site. Then I dug out underneath the high side to level them (ok, that took a while by myself). Don't forget to check to see if they're (somewhat) square before you fill them, just measure diagonally corner to corner, and push them into place to where the measurement is (pretty close to) the same for each diagonal. I only mention this, b/c I almost forgot to do it.

Since mine are built from used lumber (old redwood decking mostly), no matter how hard I tried, they're still "off" a little, but really doesn't matter in the end. I think that garden carpentry is a lot like baking for dogs, if it's not perfect, it doesn't make too much difference.

I'm sure some of those real builder-type guys might cringe at that last part... :-)

Here is a link that might be useful: post -My 2008 Garden Story (lots of pics)

WE USE THE DECKING MATERIAL THAT LOOKS LIKE WOOD BUT IS NOT
Our pavers and bricks are peoples toss outs.
The beds are raised but we added the pavers later so they don't look raised in this photo except the blueberry bushesSome are double high and eventually they all will be. Little at a time and eventually we will get there.
{{gwi:792007}}

Linda - i'll be happy to assist you with your carpentry! Give me a few details of how you would like for it to be, and i'll tell you how to build them.

I constructed my largest box from cedar, but think that pressure treated wood is fine, too.

Greenbean - I feel that what's most important about any garden construction is that you try your best, and it performs as needed. Perfection is pretty good, too though...heh.

Goldenpond - I really like that construction from pavers! I bet it took a long time to put together...whew!

EG

Linda, don't even worry about having to cut the boards. I made my first two beds by buying 12 foot boards from a hardware store and they cut them in three foot sections for me. I drilled them together and presto! Instant 3x3 box. This last time I tool two 12 foot boards and cut them 9 ft and 3 ft and put those together for another box.

Beautiful paver pathways goldenpond!

We used leftover brick to build sections in our garden at our first house in Texas. Turned out, the little holes made a wonderful home for fire ants. Every summer, they took over the garden. Rotten ants.

This is the way I build my raised beds and they work great. I use pressure treated lumber and some of them are 10 years old.

Here is a link that might be useful: Raised beds

Giant Tomato Trellis

My giant tomato trellis is constructed on a 4-foot square raised bed. In this bed I plant four tomato plants spaced 2 feet apart giving each plant 4 square feet of space. A 4-foot pathway covered with wood chips separates each 4-foot bed. The beds are filled with a special growing mixture consisting of 1/3 compost. 1/3 peat moss and 1/3 vermiculite. DonÂt use ordinary dirt ¾ too many weed seeds.

I have devised a novel way of connecting the corners of the raised bed by using 1 ½ inch PVC pipe. The PVC pipe corners serve a dual purpose. They not only hold the boards together but they also serve as sockets for the insertion of 1" plastic pipe 4 feet long for the trellis. The tops of these four corner posts are connected together in a square using angles and tees. None of the connectors are cemented, just jammed together. This makes for easy assembly and disassembly for winter storage.

In order to support the 6-foot indeterminate tomato plants, I use the Florida weave between the diagonal posts, spacing the twine every foot up the 4-foot posts. Only one variety of tomatoes is planted in each bed.

The corner sockets can also be used to construct a fence by inserting 2 foot pieces of 1 inch PVC pipe in each corner fastener and wrapping it with plastic netting 2 feet high. A frame for a canopy can also be built by inserting flexible ½ inch water pipe 8 feet long in diagonal corners. This could be covered with plastic sheeting for a miniature green house to prolong the gardening season a few more months.

The raised beds are constructed of 2 X 8 pressure treated lumber. To make the plastic pipe corners, I cut the 1-½ inch PVC pipe into 7 ½ inch pieces. I then drill four 1/8th inch holes clear through the pipe at right angles to each other opposite to where they will be screwed to the board sides using 2" deck screws. In order to insert a 2-inch deck screw, the two holes on one side have to be reamed larger with a 3/8th inch drill bit. These holes are drilled an inch from both ends of the PVC pipe corner.

beeziboy - Now, that's different! I like seeing other people's bed/trellis constructions, cause it gives me new ideas. Your setup looks great!

EG

Here is a link that might be useful: EG's garden blog

greenbean I plan on filling the brick holes with cement and adding a flat marble, coin, or piece of broken plate for an artistic look. I agree fireants can be a pain ANYWHERE in the yard.OWCH!

ribbit32004 is right. Most lumber yards will cut and deliver whatever lumber you need. I even lucked out and found a locally owned lumberyard that cut my lumber to my specifications and delivered it to my back yard for a $10 surcharge. It sure beat hauling and cutting the lumber myself. It's funny I have a lot of woodworking equipment, but the time and money I would have spend hauling it to the shop, cutting it, and bringing it back to my house would have cost me more than the $10.

I'm looking for replacement parts for corner connectors. They're plastic & brown. Does anyone have a source? One phillips screw per board. Adjustable. Need the circular caps?

Beezi -

You're not worried about the chemicals from the pressure treated lumber leaching into your soil? I've wanted to use PT, but am afraid of the consequences...

PT lumber contains arsenic

Here is a link that might be useful: EPA

PT lumber (around here at least) used to contain arsenic more than a decade ago, but the switched to copper. There are many potential concerns with pressure treated, but arsenic isn't one of them.