Square-foot garden taking shape

Debbie and I assembled the raised bed boxes for our square-foot vegetable garden yesterday and today. Here’s what we used:

1. Eight 8′ rough sawn 2x8s. Cost: $54.00
2. 32 galvanized lag bolts. Cost $21.00
3. 17′ of 48″ wide hardware cloth (wire mesh). Cost $34.00
4. 34′ of 36″ wide landscape fabric. Cost: $16.50

Total cost was $125.50. Of course, this is part of the first year start up, so we’re spending more this year than we will in subsequent years. We bought rough-sawn lumber because it is larger and heavier than dressed lumber — a 2″x8″ board is really that, not 1.5″ x 7.25.”

I had to square the ends of the 2x8s, then cut to 4′ lengths, which I did with a circular saw. I wanted to do all this by hand, but don’t have the time or the right saw. Maybe next year.

Then we drilled two 1/4″ holes about 1″ from one end. I used 1/4″ x 4″ galvanized lag bolts to join the boards together. Lag bolts are better than long screws on heavy wood, in my estimation. These cost $.67/ea, but I can drag the boxes around without the corners pulling apart. A socket wrench comes in real handy to tighten them down. Plus, rough-sawn lumber is not true, so lag bolts allow you to torque a crooked board into shape (if it’s not too crooked).

We then put landscape fabric on the bottoms of the frames, and covered that with hardware cloth, which is not cloth at all but wire mesh. We have a nasty mole/vole problem, so we wanted to keep the little pests from eating the roots of our veggies. (Last year they ate the roots off full-grown nandina bushes, so I know they can eat wood.)

Next: fence the garden. Although we live in town on Main Street, we have deer come up in our backyard and eat things. We do not want them eating our garden, so fencing is next. To see the entire slideshow of the frames being assembled, click here.