Wow this video rules! I made FIVE of these for my garden this week. It took me about three days and maybe $200 worth of supplies. I'm really pumped about how great they look. We ordered a bulk order of 5 cubic yards of compost for the garden this year, and I'm excited to fill these beds! I even made a video of me making the beds. I did sadly break THREE drill bits in the course of making them... haha. Totally worth it. Thanks for the great video James!
Great video... Thank you so much. I'm making my first ones here in a few days and this has helped very much! And I love Tuck! I have an Astro... He doesn't much like being outside with me on the heat though... Lol. Thanks again for the video! Great job
We have Bermuda Grass, which gets into everything. I ended up doing the cardboard layer underneath, but added a cement board on top of that! The raised bed is slightly smaller than the cement board and sits on top. The bed has a liner to try to stem the flow of nutrients. We use coir instead of peat.
Update 2022 raised bed cost 300 bucks due to wood prices 🤣🤣 Sorry...oh and treated wood is no longer treated with chemicals . Treated with copper. Carpenter bees love treated wood and don't die so safe to use.
My husband & I have been living at our home for 30 years. Trial & Error on gardening beds. Now we're age 60 with aches & pains, and purchased 2 Keter raised beds (on legs), but I still wanted a home-made ground raised bed for growing squash. After seeing this video, I finally got hubby to go to Home Depot today to "get the goods"! So this is how we'll be happily spending our 31st wedding anniversary today! (Great "quarantined" project!).
@@medotaku9360 That's quite judgmental on your part, especially since we don't even know each other, and you don't even know what the "plague ridden" stats are where I live. Still, I wish you a Safe Memorial Weekend.
Just a heads up if you are planning on constructing this with the ledge -- he mentions at the 5:00 mark that it requires an EXTRA 2x4 in order to construct the support pieces. This is not included in the earlier list he mentions at the 1:56 mark, citing (3) 2x4s and (3) 2x10s. Just trying to save you an extra trip to the lumberyard like I had to do!
My husband just built this, it's awesome and feels super sturdy. Thanks again for the video and instructions, it turned out great! In case anyone needs it here's a list of materials: 3pcs 2x10, 8’ * 4pcs 2x4, 8’ * 64 Deck screws 3” * For the wood: Douglas Fir, not pressure treated
Yep. The powers that be are determined to destroy the economy. Now they're considering laws to stop back yard gardening, because ya know growing vegetables is bad for the environment. 🙄
One 2x4x8 at Home Depot $7.98 each and one 2x10x8 is $24.52 for this bed would cost $97.50 today plus the tax if you have to pay tax. But on a good note, if the bed last for five years that is only $19.50 a year plus look at all the great vegetables you can grow. Great video thanks.
@@RonInAVan probably a lot longer than 5 years. I have a really crappy bed build in 2018 with half thickness wood. And no support like his. It is still standing on the 4th year right now. I will probably need to replace it next year. And I just built two beds like his. They are much stringer looking and I won’t be surprised if they last twice longer.
James, I appreciate your attitude, energy and the fact that you get down "into the weeds" use terms we can relate to and use your hands. Also - Tuck is cool. The Garden State rules.
I built my first garden bed 3 years ago due to this video. I’m now in the process of building my 3rd (1/year till I run out of space). I just want to say thank you. Your food forest inspired me to start gardening and it’s been incredibly fulfilling and empowering.
I'm so glad this video popped up, I just watched it with hubby twice, we are up to making raised beds for our new garden, we both love this idea & will be making the same, love that little xtra timber to sit & reach. We have just recently lost our fur best buddy of 14yrs, he too enjoyed gardening with us. I love watching Tuck enjoying his food forrest environment, supervising his buddy & just for being so adorable. Thank you both for so much valuable info & sharing your paradise with us :)
Seriously? And I am looking at this now 😂. How much did he say it cost him for the whole thing in the video? I had build one in 2018. 12x4x1. One inch thick (too thin). Aside the four sides, I only used six wooden sticks to strength the bed. It cost me $70 or so for everything including the screws. Now I want to build a few more. Good ones like his. Better looking, and can last longer. did I just pick the wrong time?
@@VashtheStampede007 lol no, 2x10x8 is about $22 at the home center. So this build would still be below $100. Not as cheap as the video but not bad at all.
@@looksgoodtous hi 👋, what do you mean by 2x10x8? When I mentioned 12x4x1, I meant 12 L x 4 W x 1 H. I wanted to maximize planting area with the messy amount of material lol
@@looksgoodtous I just went to a local store today. They told me the price is $167 for the whole thing (like the bed in the video, but 12’x4’ instead of 8’x4’). Pine tree wood though. They don’t have any cedar at the store. What is the type of wood in the video?
I just wanted to say thank you so much for making this such an attainable and well explained tutorial! I’m feeling very proud of myself at the moment as today I started and completed making this garden bed on my own and she looks fabulous! I have named her Eddie 😊 thank you!
I just love Tuck❣❣❣❤❤❤❤ He is the cutest ever❣ Would love to see more of him in the videos. Thank you James for all to great gardening tips and treats. I love watching your channel. Keep up the wonderful job!
Thank you so much for making this video! I made two of these in three hours and they look amazing. I’m 56 years old and I’m so proud of myself that I can make something that looks that good!! Thank you again
Dude, you're awesome and you inspired me to finally build some beds! Completed four big mamas in just a few hours with your simple directions and advice. Thanks for sharing and spreading the knowledge!
I don’t know who would give this a thumbs down. I just finished mine and it looks great. It’s easy to make, cheap, and looks great. Thank you author for posting this!
Or, just use a material that isn't going to rot out in a year or two and have to do it all over again. It shows when first timers try to tell you how to do something.
@@arthurayers5044 I've been gardening and building beds for almost 30 years. While I've never lived anywhere more than about 10 years, I've also never had to replace a bed I built and treated with linseed oil and food grade paraffin wax. I do re-treat them every few years, though. While it may not be worth the effort to you "experienced" gardeners, it is to some of us.
dumping the wheel barrow would mean that it would have to rest against one of the sides of the raised bed and I dont believe it is going to handle that much weight.
Also using the shovel allows people to see that mixing the soil and other supplements are important and crucial for an evenly well balanced raised bed garden for distribution of nutrients and minerals.
I followed your video verbatim and built two raised beds, and still have all my fingers and toes (thanks to your suggestion of having the big box store cut the wood for me). It was incredibly easy following your step-by-step instructions. Thank you so much for the video!
Here in the South, that wood would be rotted in one year, and my termite inspector would be going nuts.. I just use concrete blocks, They last forever, are easily moveable, are about the same price as wood, are super easy to set in place, and, when filled with soil are very stable and can be planted with small plants in the voids. I like marigolds. As your soil builds up over years, just add another layer. Sometimes used ones are free. In the winter I cover them with old sliding glass doors, and have a mini green house to start plants. The blocks have great thermal mass.
Great video. In a thousand years if aliens see your videos, they will definitely think Tuck and dogs are the master being. As James works hard, Tuck is lying comfortably close by supervising and making sure the job is done correctly.
How much did this cost you total? It would be helpful to just post the full materials in the details. Sounds like: Three 8 foot 2x10s ($34) Four 8 foot 2x4s ($8) Soil (maybe $40?)
Just got it today..... 3pc 2x10x8. + 3 2x4 x8 ( measure when at store ) they are not always 8 ft. At Lowe's in Jenson beach , FL. Inc. Tax $ 52.00. + $ 12.00 FOR GPX FASTNERS (SCREWS) BUY THEM , YOU DON'T HAVE TO DRILL .... COMES WITH THE BIT 3 1/8 TH NO SPLITTING SELF TAPPING & COUNTER SINKING.. ! DOES NOT RUST WORTH THE EXTRA MONEY ! , HAVE FUN
The dirt is the killer. That is where it gets expensive. Bagged is ridiculous, so expensive. If you have a pick up truck you can usually find mushroom compost at about 40-50 per cubic yard but you have to pick it up and deal with it at your site. You can have it delivered but the delivery charge is around 100 bucks. Mulch is the same situation, depending on your preference is 20-60 bucks per cubic yard. If you live near a mushroom farm (not gourmet) you can usually go get as much as you can haul for free but you have to load it yourself and unload it. You can rent a small dumptruck for around 200-300 bucks per day. Chip drop is a service that connects people needing woodchips with local arborists but I recommend really looking at it as it is not right for everyone. For me, building a food forest it is great as I just want to kill grass and build foresty floor, let it sit, no hurry but really fresh chips are not the same as mulch so keep that in mind. Finally, mixing your own from peat, worm castings, compost, vermiculite, perlite and greensand, oyster shell etc.. is great but is a lot of work. A small hand cement mixer is helpful for that but, it is quite physical. Hope this helps. Happy growing!
Totally loved this vid. James is such an enthusiastic, practical guy, with some great ideas for creating a raised bed, that really does work!!! james, you've inpsired me to go ahead and get cracking on my own raised bed for our veg patch. perfect Coronavirus lockdown activity!!!
In one of the first vids I watched of yours, you said you have a standard 40 hr per week job. Would you tell me what you do? I’m just curious. You seem very handy so you might work in construction or labor but I have you pegged as maybe an IT guy haha.
I just used this tutorial to make a raised bed and it turned out so great. Your channel has really helped me through this quarantine with positive distractions.
For the record: Pressure treated wood is now OK to use for raised beds. In the 'old days' they used arsenic but now the wood is injected with copper sulfate, which is safe. Stringent tests have been done by gardeners, sending in soil samples to testing Labs with no evil chems found present in the samples.
@@VeronicaGonzalez-hj3qo Pressure treated only costs a little more than "just any type of wood" , which lasts about 4 to 5 years before you have rebuild all the raised beds again.
Jim's very nice raised bed. You provided lots of great information. One thing that we do differently is that we put the ledge of the bed on the outside. We find slugs and other non-beneficials like to hide under the ledge. It does force us to get a little bit longer piece of wood for the ledges though. Additionally, we have found that decking wood makes a nice ledge although it is a little bit more expensive than a 2x4. The only other thing we do differently is to use a 4x4 or 2x4 at each of the corners and rising vertically. Then we7 screw them in to make the corner a little more secure. It also helps to keep the outside corners dryer and therefore less likely to rot. Because when it rots the screws tend to pull out of the wood. But those are all small issues. Your bed will be fine and you and Tuck will grow a lot of great herbs and vegetables there.
James, thank you for the many great videos you constantly put out. I’ve watched at least 20 of your videos since finding your page 6 weeks ago. This year will be my first attempt a growing a garden. Living in a city in NJ, my yard is small, but I hope to still plant at least 10 different vegetables (in small quantities). I will be using many of your tips, advice and expertise in my 1st attempt at growing my own veggies. A small suggestion: I see you doing a lot of work move dirt from piles into your wheelbarrow and then into your beds. Why don’t you build (or buy) a small ramp so you can just tip the soil into your beds. Something like car ramps would be great, Harbor Freight has very inexpensive ones… save your back
Thank you for this! I know how to do this theoretically but having the visual where someone explains what and why they're doing what they're doing is so helpful for a beginner with wood. Hope to see more now that I've found you :)
Playing the commercials through for you my friend! I am establishing a permaculture garden this Fall with the hope of planting next Spring. However, I have raised beds now and I want to keep and replace them, so I am so pleased you posted this. I also love your grape trellis and greenhouse construction. Hi Tuck!
Hey! Thanks so much for your speedy dude and I've just been to our local Builders Provider this morning and now have my Veggie Bed cut and assembled. My son Zach had a super time assisting me, as he has woodwork lessons in High School. The experience he gained can't be measured with money. Not to mention the bonding session it created for us both. Again, many, many thanks! Kind regards, Murphy
Thank you for the design. I made one the same day. I couldn’t find 2x10x8, so I went with 2x12x10. Looks good. The only problem is it’s super heavy, and I made it about 50 yards from where it’s going. Thanks again!
Anyway I could get a list of the material and the dimensions of everything in this video? I'm wanting to build this for my wife next week and it would be very helpful to be able to use this video as an exact blueprint and just built this exact bed, and to be able to have Home Depot cut everything to the right dimensions and just screw everything together when I get home with it. I'm not very experienced in doing this stuff so it would be every much appreciated. Thanks!
Fantastic as usual...love how you show everything you make from scratch. I learn something new each time I watch your videos. Thank you so much for sharing...love from Australia...
You’ve got to be the most inspiring gardening channel there is. For me at least. It’s 37F degrees outside and drizzling but you’re positivity has got me outside planning and building soils for the spring! Thank you for sharing your passion with the world
I line the inside of my raised beds with 6 mil contractors plastic. Helps to reduce the amount of moisture the side walls have to come in contact with to prolong the life of the bed.
@@accrualworld318 if you were to build that directly on top of a lawn or weeds , you could line the bottom with cardboard before you put your soil in and that will break down the sod and weeds
Outstanding video ! Making raised garden beds this year in my yard - so happy you posted this 💕💕love for Tuck too ! Our soil is super rocky here , can’t wait to plant 🌱! Thank you 😊
I made this bed last year, it is great. The only modification I will be making as I build new ones this spring is putting the cleats on the outside of the bed and having the side rails "hang" more to the outside, as the side rails take up space needed if doing square foot gardening.
This does seem like the design I'll use, thanks so much. Note: Based on your video and final bed, you need FOUR, not three...2x4x8ft boards. This was not clear in the first part of your video, but became self-correcting via demonstration later. NOTE: While using treated wood was bad IN THE PAST due to arsenic chemicals being used, THIS IS NO LONGER true; wood treated with copper is NOT hazardous to your garden. Using safely treated wood may be the most economical way to extend the longevity of the bed built. SUGGESTION: While a video is great for demonstration, recommend you attach a PDF file that gives written steps with images, because the novice will want to have such a printout next to them when building. Thanks again for making this video.
Kudos on the raised bed. That's awesome that you are incorporating it into the Food Forest. Tuck looked plain "tuckered" out! LOL. Way too hot for our furry friends these days. Many blessings from NE Missouri and ♥♥♥TUCK♥♥♥ too!
Just built very similar raised beds today specifically because I have a bad mole/vole problem. Curious if that method is more effective than using chicken wire on the bottom or that 1/2 in hardware cloth?
Bill Cozad I can’t tell if 1/2 “ would work as I never tried it. Chicken wire will rust through and when you dig in the bed you may cut it as I often. Hit the screen when digging. Also I have to remind my self that the raised bed will dry out much faster than what I am used too with ground level . Good luck have fun.
Hello. From 3.46, you discuss a counter sink drill bit. What size is this bit and how different do you drill this bit in, compare to standard drill bits?
I wil only get dirt from Lowei what kind of dirt would you get. Iam getting older so I can't do that much. I really want to do this. Thank you so much.
James, we watched your video and built one right away. Your raised bed is simple and sturdy. We love it, and look forward to many years of growing food. Douglas Fir is easy to work with and I am going to take the idea from an earlier comment about treating it with linseed oil. Thank you! Enjoyed meeting Tuck too!
💕💕💕💕💕💕 Tuck is such a cutie. Another good video, James. Ive used a 4x4 cedar beam that I cut to tuck into the corners on my raised beds then rest the cap on it. I’ve found that not only is it rot resistant but it helps to keep the unwanted insects out.
