Our Best Raised Bed Layout

Now March is here, the days are finally beginning to get longer and the feeling of spring is in the air. We had some very rainy days but decided it was time to start building our raised beds. Over the winter we spent many hours debating how we would best layout the raised beds in the garden, providing us with the perfect layout for the summer. We decided that the only way to know for sure would be to build the beds, put them in the garden and move things around until we found our best raised bed layout.

Assembling and Situating the Raised Beds

We had purchased 3 Vego Jumbo 17” raised beds. Each took about an hour to put together, using the supplied bolts and wrench. The hardest part was removing the protective film that covered the metal. We didn’t realize it was on both sides and had already started constructing the pieces, so we did have to take them apart and start over. Once one was built, the remaining two were much easier.

We moved the beds to the garden and started moving them into place until we found our ideal configuration – three in a row along the backside of our garden space. This would allow for the best access to the long sides of the beds, and be the prime location for sunlight. Spacing them evenly apart would also allow us to place our existing trellis between them.

Our garden area is very sloped, so before we could fill the beds, we needed to level them. We used dirt and rocks with a level to get them pretty much aligned.

We then filled the bottom with old logs, leaves and leaf mulch. Adding this layer reduces the amount of soil we needed to add and also provides nutrients and drainage. Over time the logs will decompose while feeding the soil.

Filling the Raised Beds

Once the three beds were situated and partially filled with debris, we shored them up. By adding dirt to the back corner of the garden and around the outside edges of the beds, it helped with levelling. We used a tamper to tamp down the loose soil, and ensure the ground was level.

We ordered 6 cubic yards of bedding soil from a local nursery. The bedding soil is a mix of screened topsoil, compost, and sand. It took about 50 wheelbarrow loads of dirt to fill the beds. The garden is looking great.

We had a lot of excess soil after filling the beds, which we expected, so we spread the excess throughout the garden to continue to level the ground. We seated two trellises which will eventually grow cucumbers, straddling the beds. Lastly we filled the grow bags which we will be using for potatoes.