Simple Garden Boxes even YOU can do!

Article by Kathy Gean

Home Depot carries these nifty cross shaped blocks ready made to slide wood slats in the slots for easy garden Boxes. The amount of bricks you need depends on how deep you want them to be. 

cross shaped blocks
garden bed four blocks high

Start with a nice level area. Figure out your width, length and height. I went with redwood so they would last a long time. I also found that buying the wood in wider lengths was cheaper than stacking a bunch of 2×4’s and also made leaks less likely.

The simplest box is if you decide to stay under 6 feet long. You won’t need any additional support. You can buy the wood in a variety of lengths. You will also need heavy ribar to secure the blocks. Home Depot will cut everything for you.

Stack the blocks to the desired height and slide the wood into the grooves.(insert f and r) Using a level, make sure your boxes are level. It’s better to dig out a little dirt from under the blocks than to add dirt.

If you want longer boxes the center needs to be reinforced. Using screws instead of nails, screw 4×4’s to the wood sides at the center length and then screw the cross slats to the 4×4’s. This will keep the sides from spreading out with the weight of the soil. 

Once you’re happy with the position of the boxes, take a small sledgehammer and hammer the ribar down through the middle of the blocks. They come with the appropriate holes. You should hammer them at least a foot into the ground.

Now for the gopher insurance. Run lengths of small opening wire (Chicken wire is too big) down the length of each box overlapping slightly. Make sure the edges tuck under the wood.

 If there ANY opening the little monsters will find it! When laying the wire down you can secure the wire with staples to prevent any openings. 

If you want you can brush boiled linseed oil on the wood before assembly to help preserve the wood. 

Sometimes the blocks will start to shift.  To remedy this there is a slot to insert wood to stabilize. 

Fill with soil and water.

I am fortunate in that my hubby helped and even made little end benches which I find useful.

See also: Growing Tomatoes in Your Backyard

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