Below I list the supplies (both necessary and optional) for building raised garden beds. Many will be obvious, but one may surprise you: "pruning saw." So let me explain.
My own situation offers a great example of how useful a small pruning saw can be for such jobs. Years ago, I had a large tree removed from my yard. As you may know, it seems to take old tree roots forever to decompose! And for any project that involves digging, old tree roots present a formidable obstacle.
Well, the present project does involve digging. Many a time, my shovel encountered a stubborn old tree root. Pruning saw to the rescue! When digging post holes in yards such as mine, there's virtually no other way to get past the roots manually. So although I list the pruning saw as "optional," it's hardly optional if your yard is anything like mine!
Supplies to Build Raised Garden Beds
- Lumber
- Power saw
- Carpenter's square
- Carpenter's level
- Drill, drill bits
- 4" screws, 1" screws
- Metal braces
- Landscape fabric
- Tape measure
- Wheelbarrow (for transporting compost)
- Trowel
- Steel rake
- Safety goggles
- Face mask
- Gloves
- Post-hole digger (optional)
- Small pruning saw (optional)
- Old lumber for temporary bracing (optional)
- Flat stones for shims (optional)
- Wood preservative (optional, to make the wood last longer)
Using the shovel and steel rake, prepare the ground for the raised garden bed by evening it out (see photo above), so that you'll have level ground on which to work.
In Step 3 I'll have a bit more to say about one of the above supplies: the lumber....