While I love the fresh veggies we get from our garden every year, I was not thrilled about the amount we were losing to rabbits, deer, and other critters who were helping themselves to the fruits of my hard work! I began looking at my local garden supply stores for a solution and came across a great idea – an elevated garden bed. This takes the idea of a raised garden bed one step further and puts it at waist level. Not only does this deter rabbits, deer, and the like, it also makes weeding a snap as you don’t have to bend over.
I found this VegTrug elevated bed at a local store and fell in love. When I showed Jay, he winced at the price and assured me he could build me a bigger one for a fraction of the cost.
We headed to Home Depot where we bought everything we needed for the project. We got:
Twenty 2″x 4″x 8′ cedar boards
One 1″ x 2″ x 8′ cedar board
A box of 2 1/2″ screws
We had the following already at home:
A miter saw (If you are not able to cut your wood, a Home Depot employee will be able to cut them to the needed sizes)
A drill and drill bits
A tape measure
Here is how Jay went about building the elevated bed:
1) Cut the 2′ x 4′ pieces (or have them cut) to the following sizes
- 8 pieces cut to 3 feet, 11.75 inches (long side bed pieces)
- 8 pieces cut to 3 feet, 4 inches (short side bed pieces)
- 4 pieces cut to 36 inches (long leg pieces)
- 4 pieces cut to 23 inches (top short leg pieces)
- 4 pieces cut to 9.25 inches (bottom short leg pieces)
- 2 pieces cut to 36.75 inches (leg supports)
Jay stacked the boards according to size to keep them straight.
2) Begin with the legs of the bed. Screw together the long leg pieces and short leg pieces so that they are flush on one end. You should end up with four legs.
3) Take two of the completed legs and fasten them to one of the support leg boards. Repeat with the other two legs.
4) Attach the bottom short leg pieces just below the support board and screw into place on both sets of legs.
5) Stand the legs up so that they form H’s with the cross piece toward the top. Take a long side bed piece and use it to connect the legs together as shown in the picture. Repeat all the way around the bed.
6) Continue building the sides of the bed by placing the remaining side pieces around the outside of the bed.
7) Once the sides are built, screw the 1″ x 2″ piece along the inside, bottom of the sides to form a lip which will act as a base for the bottom.
8) Cut the remaining pieces to fit inside the bed and form the floor. The measurements do not have to be exact – small gaps will allow water to flow through.
And voila!! You now have an elevated garden.
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Diana Rodriguez - Entre Compras y El Hogar says
Love it! I need one for my tomatos!
Kimberly Grabinski says
We have low raised beds but this looks great! Do you have a rough idea of how much you spent on it?
Maureen Fitzgerald says
Hey Kim – I think each bed ran around $65 to $70.
Michael says
A 2X4X8 is $7.98 a board at Lowes in Maine. For lumber and screws the total is $167 before tax. However, if you don’t use Cedar and use fir it is $100 cheaper, but fir is not as rot resistant as the cedar is.
Maureen Fitzgerald says
I made mine a few years ago and from the messages I’ve been getting, I’m guessing lumber has increased in price since then. I’d still make it again even with the increase in price since I have been able to harvest so much more without the rabbit and deer issues!
Stace says
Do you still use these? How does it keep the deer out?
Maureen Fitzgerald says
Yes – we now have 3 of them. Maybe our deer are lazy, but they don’t bother with the greens in the boxes, only the ones on the ground. We also have these fairly close to the house, so maybe that is part of it as well.
Candace says
Your hubby did an amazing job on your box!!
Maureen Fitzgerald says
Thanks Candy – I thought so too!!
Kathleen says
Thanks for the design Maureen, your husband did a terrific job. I was also looking at the Veg Trugs but thought the prices were high for what you’re getting. The angled design of the VT is nice and I think the idea was for people in wheelchairs but making it square allows for more root veg. Leaving slight gaps in the wood is also good as even cedar will expand and contract a little over winter. Only one thing though, I don’t know if you are aware but VT uses a liner so the wood doesn’t rot over time.
Maureen says
Thanks for your comment Kathleen! I’m not sure how the liner might affect drainage – it seems like anything that “protects” the wood from moisture might hinder full drainage. I guess we will see how it holds up as time goes by! – Maureen
Joe says
Saw this on Pinterest and had to comment. Great job on the planter. Please note the VegTrug liner allows moisture one way and aeration through from the outside. That is why we allow gaps in the sides of the VegTrug. The other reason for the V shape is to allow both deep rooted and shallower crops to be grown without the need to ise so much soil. Have fun growing everyone! joe (founder VegTrug)
Maureen says
Hey Joe!! Thanks so much for chiming in and explaining about the shape and liner. I’ll admit that I was hesitant in the beginning to invest too much money into gardening without knowing if I would be successful at it. Now that I have fallen in love with growing my own food and the whole elevated bed experience, I will definitely look into VegTrug as we add to (or replace if rotting becomes an issue with no liner!) our beds. – Maureen
Gunnar Isaacson says
I very much appreciate your design and instructions. I did the project this weekend, and it was a success. I like (nay, LOVE!) how I only had to buy 1 size material and 1 size screw. I am a very inexperienced “do-it-yourselfer.” Random thoughts:
1. A flat surface is ideal for the actual putting together of the sides with the “long” side piece. Put another way, if you don’t have a flat surface you might have trouble. My garage was “kind of” flat, but it was my only option.
2. The screws took some real strength to drive (I used SPF lumber.) I pre-drilled the holes about 3/4″, but it was still a hump.
3. Ended up with around (2) 8’ers left over. Optimizing a little differently, I perhaps could have saved one or two more.
Lot of fun!
Maureen Fitzgerald says
Glad you had success with building it! Hope your garden grows big and lush as well 🙂
Art says
I just did the planter box too. It cost me about $175 for materials (October, 2015, Pierre, South Dakota). A couple of comments:
1. In addition to the tools mentioned in the article, at a minimum a single board needs to be ripped to fit the bottom (I actually ripped 3). So a table saw needs to be added to the “tools needed” list.
2. Only 19 2x4x8′ cedar boards are needed.
3. With a slight bit of reconfiguration fewer boards than 19 would be needed but the overall configuration of the box would be slightly narrower.
Still, a nice and very useful design. It took me about 3.5 hours to build including setting up my miter saw and clearing a few things off the garage floor. Thanks for making the plans public!!
JT says
Is the bottom constructed with the 2×4 material?
Using the 1×2 to support the bottom of the planter, are there any issues when you fill the planter with soil due to excessive weight once the soil gets wet? (and heavier)
Do you have a download that contains the plan and photographs? I am new to this exciting hobby and need all of the assistance I can get.
Thank you!
Maureen Fitzgerald says
JT – This is my third year using the ones shown here. They stayed filled with dirt and the additional weight of Wisconsin snow over the winters and there have not been any issues. Sadly, I do not have a download for plans but that is something I will look into making. Thanks for the suggestion! – Maureen
Michelle says
Found this blog recently and fell in love with this design. I asked my husband to make it and in one afternoon he had created this amazing box. Thank you so much for the detailed instructions. I am so excited to start planting!
Kelly says
This is great! I honestly never realized that they had elevated garden beds. This will definitely help keep the critters out. Thank you for sharing.
Barry Roberts says
Hi Maureen, as you might tell from my email address I am from the uk or as I like to say England, and no i’m not 72 I am 51. I saw your waist high raised bed and liked it a lot, both my wife and I grow fruit in raised beds (Strawberries, Raspberries etc) as we don’t have any grass in our back yard.
What I use to make them is Decking Boards which are pre-treated and can withstand the English weather we have. What I do is give them a quick sanding and the paint them with fence paint, (whatever colour is available) then put 2×1 (1×2) slats inside leaving a small gap for drainage. Next we line them with some Weed Fabric, which stops any weeds from coming through our flags and into the beds, but fine enough to help with drainage. Next it’s filled with a mixture of Compost and Manure and jobs done, all fruit were thriving but now the plants are asleep for the Winter.
Take Care Barry from England.
Tim L says
Probably a bit too late, but for anyone doing this project, I would avoid using pressure-treated wood if you plan to grow edibles. The compounds used to treat the wood for rot resistance are quite toxic and will leach into your planter soil which, in turn, will get taken up by anything growing in them. Just a word of caution.
Melissa Crossland says
How many raised beds does this make? Are the materials listed just for one?
Love the design!
Maureen Fitzgerald says
It makes one (like the one pictured). We did decide to make two and I plant leafy greens in one (spinach, romaine, kale, etc) and herbs in the other. I put my tomato plants in containers on my patio.
Matthew Grof says
Hello,
I would suggest using weed Barrier fabric to line the elevated bed. That will do a couple of things: 1) will help prevent dirt from being washed out due to water drainage. 2) help the wood from rotting as fast as it would if the wood did not have the barrier.
I plan to build a couple of these.
Stephanie Troyer says
Is this a 3×4 foot bed that you ultimately create? =) just wanted to make sure because your bed looks huge and measurement says not so huge.
Maureen Fitzgerald says
Yes – those are the measurements. Not sure why the picture makes it look so big but I get why you are asking!! 🙂
nancy cannon says
thanks so much for these instructions etc. My only question, did it really keep deer out? i figured the deer would still eat them?? are you in the city or country? i want to make them with the legs inside buckets to drown away any slugs that would climb the legs. any trouble with slugs?
Maureen Fitzgerald says
Hi Nancy –
I’m in the burbs but we have tons of deer, rabbits, and even coyote. I most grow greens (lettuce, spinach, and kale) and have not had any deer or rabbits eat them – I think it is just high enough to discourage them. I haven’t seen any slugs, but will keep the bucket idea in mind just in case! – Thanks,Maureen
Jessica says
Oh, the slugs! Buckets are a great idea, I hadn’t thought of that! My mother-in-law wraps all of her raised beds with 1/2″-3/4″ sisal rope, at least three times around, and the slugs hate the sharp fibers in the rope. It keeps them out of the boxes! That may be something to wrap around the legs a couple of times, if slugs are still a problem… Thanks for reminding me to do something about those slimy little guys! 🙂
Maureen Fitzgerald says
That is a fabulous tip Jessica – thank you!!
Ruben Martinez says
I built 2 planters using your design this past spring (2016), but made a few changes. I left a 1/4″ gap on the bottom boards, use a weed liner all the way around for protection and to retain the dirt. I also installed a removable trellis on one end for my cucumber plants.I also used 4X4 for the legs and the best change I did was I installed pivot wheels on all 4 legs so I can move them around. I used redwood instead of cedar and spent around $300.00 on both.
Emily says
What are the sizes of the boards on the floor of the bed? I don’t own a saw so I want to get them cut for me! Thanks!
Blake Olson in San Antonio says
I built a 2′ x 12′ elevated bed several years ago (4?) and have enjoyed it tremendously. It is anchored in the ground because I don’t have a big patio. I had a crummy little raised deck and took it out and used the lumber from it to make my first one.
I am building my second now and have enjoyed reading how other folks have made them. The board left from the deck were rough enough to leave plenty of drainage area so I just lined it with filter fabric. The current one will have to be made with new material (cedar) and room left for drainage.
Lynn H. says
Love this bed. I have the materials in our garage ready to go. We live in ND so was good to hear the snow doesn’t bother the bed! Did you put any rock on bottom for drainage? Thank you for sharing your design!
Mitch L says
How did you attach the bed floor to the rest of the board? Did you use screws or wood glue, or something else?
Maureen Fitzgerald says
Hi Mitch –
I didn’t attach it. I just laid the boards down using the lip around the edge of the base to hold them up. This allows me to adjust them to get the amount of drainage I need. (I did go back and put down some thin mesh to keep the dirt from falling through the cracks.) Hope this helps! – Maureen
jerry blankinship says
A suggestion for strength: adding two 20″x1-1/2×1-1/2 pieces atop the bottom board ends, positioned over the six center boards and screwed both into the long side bottom 2×4 and the underlaying 2×4 will act as a brace that prevents the long side bottom boards from bowing outward, potentially dumping the soil load.
A suggestion for longevity: at the end of season, attach two narrow boards on both short ends so that they form an inverted V at ends the bed. Next, add a ‘lodge pole’ piece horizontally between where they cross at the apex. Then cover with a tarp and tie it down. This will prevent a saturated, very heavy dirt load, reducing strain on the structure during the winter months; this also will allow the wood to dry somewhat, further preserving the structure.
Great design, I built it! Thanks.
Jer
Hong L. says
Hi Jerry,
Can you take a picture of what you did for the extra support?
Thanks,
jerry says
I beefed up the original as described above, but to make it clear, think vertical sandwich of 2×2, 2×4, 2×2. The upper 2×2 is screwed (1 per 2/4) to the end of the 2/4 AND the side of the frame. This will prevent the sides bowing out and dumping the dirt. Note that I have changed the spec for a 1×2 rail inside the frame to support the floor to a 2×2. see attached photo to see some other mods I made to 1. strengthen the floor supports
2. the pvc pipes support clear plastic for both warming the soil and keeping rain out during the winter. , to preserve the wood and cut down on moss growth. The plastic lasted all winter my first winter(this one). good luck!
jerry
Hong L. says
Hi Maureen,
Thank you for posting this. Did you cut the 1”x2” piece in half and attached it along the long side of the bed to form the lip for support?
Maureen Fitzgerald says
Yes – I believe that is the piece he used.
maria says
Hi Maureen,
Thanks for this! Great job.
Was thinking, can you use cheaper material for the legs to save money? Or would there still be rot concerns?
Hoping to make this next weekend, will share a pic when I do!
Thanks again.
Liz says
Hi Maureen:
I am going to attempt to build your raised bed this summer. I had a wooden privacy fence installed last fall and I wanted to build something out of the planks that were left over. I saw your raised bed as the ideal project for me to try my hand at.
I have one question. In the first picture where your husband installed the legs did he cut out a section of the legs to attach it to the sides.
I can’t really tell if the legs are cut to fit the sides or if the legs and the sides are flush against each other.
Your husband did a great job.
Thanks for sharing the instructions and step by step pictures.
Maureen Fitzgerald says
Hi Liz – He actually just nailed the legs inside the box structure.
Roger Contreras says
looking at the measurements for the long & short side, why didn’t you adjust the measurements so you could use a full 8 foot piece?
Maureen Fitzgerald says
The first one we made was with leftover pieces and they were shorter. When we made this one (to document) we wanted it to match the one we already had. We now have 3 at this size.
Daren says
We took this project on today. As Wisconsinites, was nice to find something sturdy to withstand the winters here.
Good plans and easy to follow.We had the two leftover 2×4’s and are thinking about adding a shelf under as someone else has.
Thanks for the post.
Clay says
Hey Maureen,
As a northern New Englander we also get a lot of snow. I’m curious if you’ve seen any sagging in the center? Enough to warrant a cross brace? I finished the construction but haven’t dumped in the dirt and was wondering if it’s something I should put in now.
Thanks!
Maureen Fitzgerald says
Hi Clay – I’ve had the original one for about 5 years now and we’ve had plenty of snowy winters and there’s not a bit of sagging, so I’m thinking you should be fine. Thanks for stopping by!! – Maureen
Kim says
Just made 3 of these yesterday for our roof deck using your basic idea and 2x4s for the legs, but reclaimed wood from pallets for the sides and bottom. They look great and because the pallets were free I saved a bunch of money. Lumber is very pricey these days. A 2x4x8 of cedar in Baltimore runs about $14.50. Yikes. I went with fir.
vegtrug says
This is really helpful.
Bob says
I built this today with help from my teenage grandson. The design is excellent. I used treated 2 x 4’s for the legs as illustrated. However for the sides and the bed I used 5/4” x 5” treated boards. I left a half inch gap between the boards in the bed. I lined the bed with a black garden cloth material to keep the dirt in but allow water to flow through. Kudos to the designer!
Joey says
Just made this. Supeer easy and awsome. Looks so nice. Thank you very much.
Sarah F Angello says
We built one like this and used a topsoil compost mix and it doesnt seem to be draining well. We put landscape fabric on bottom. Is there anything you could recommend to help with soul drainage. I’m new to this and we are trying to grow veggies.
Maureen Fitzgerald says
We have not had any drainage issues, but our wood has expanded and constricted in the extreme WI temperature swings so the spaces in between slats has grown a bit. Maybe try drilling some holes if water is collecting at the bottom. If the water isn’t getting that far down, it may be that your soil is too dense. If that is the case, peat moss can help to lighten up the soil a bit.
TLC says
I love that you did this and wrote it all out. My hubby is not handy and we don’t have all the tools, so it is likely the build of one of these and the cost of a VT would be close to the same. For ease, I will probably get the VT but I did bookmark this site so if I ever get my act together and have a good setup of tools and area to work, I can build one like yours. Thanks so much!
Nita C says
April 2021 — looks like lumber prices have gone up considerably since this was first posted. I just bought 20 pieces of 2″ x 4″ x 8′ cedar for a grand total of $316.00. I need 5 more boxes to replace in-ground beds but not at this price. Will need to find a way to make it more cost effective.
Maureen Fitzgerald says
Nita – you nailed it. Lumber prices have risen at a record rate over the last 3 months and it is affecting the cost of all types of construction.