Hi! Johnny L. Dose here with another contribution to The Garden Dreamer. Just a few words on raised beds today. The No. 1 aspect of a raised bed is that you can now take your soil blend and fill the box. The second nice aspect of a raised bed is that the ground level is a little closer to your face, less bending over, especially if you’re sitting on a 5-gallon bucket.
I use pressure treated wood. “Ahh! Not pressure treated”, you say. Yes, and get it now, so that the excess treatment washes out with the rain or snow this winter. I really don’t think that the chemicals used to stop bugs from eating your wood will ever end up in the edible parts of any crop that you wish to grow. That being said, I will research this safety question and report back.
Note: I have been using pressure treated boards for a while. So far, crazy to nothing has happened to me yet. Hey John, this is your co-author, I researched the topic of leached chemicals some years back and learned that bad characters (toxic compounds) were not detected in plant tissue. But I agree, we should take another look at this.
Basic dimensions using three – 2” x 12” x 16’ boards:
Two boards are the sides (16ft).
The third board is cut in half twice for four 4 ft sections. (box = 4 ft x 16 ft x 1 ft high)
Note: Two 4 ft pieces left over are for the next raised bed or could also be used to make a seesaw for your rabbits.
You will need eight (8) “L” shaped brackets. Ones with two holes on each leg and the leg isabout 5 to 6 inches long. Sixteen (16) carriage bolts are needed, two per bracket. I usually use a 7/16 nuts and two washers per bolt (outside and inside). You can also prop up the sides from bowing out by sinking two pieces of rebar (24 inch) per side for four rebar sections/ per bed.
Anyway, feel free to ask me any questions about my experiences with raised beds. I’ll stop now and save some material for my next post.
All the Best,
Johnny L. Dose
The Garden Dreamer 