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These are the most important tools at your disposal. Starting with a good design will make it much easier to visualize what you are building.

I started by drawing a rectangle.

Then I made it hollow.

Then I added some supports and lines for the boards.

After I finished drawing the box, I called out the important measurements (board width / height) that needed to be made. These measurements determine the total size of the box and what cuts need to be made.

Once the designs were complete, I loaded up my tool belt out outdoor screws, gloves, a tape measure, clamps, a speed square, pencil, mask, and level.

I picked a spot in the shade in the backyard to use as my workspace.

Then I found a piece of plywood and some 2x4s to make a worktable with.

I used two sawhorses to support my worktable.

I uncovered the scrap wood pile to begin the hunt for materials.

I found ~50 cedar fence boards that I had cut previously to build a compost bin.

Taking out the fence boards, I measured them. They are 5.5 inches wide.

And 22 inches long. Based on these measurements, and knowing I wanted the box to be as close to 4 ft wide by 4 ft long, I divided 48 / 5.5 = 8.72. I rounded down to 8 to determine that I would need 8 cedar boards per side, for a total box size of 44 inches wide by 44 inches long.

I loaded up the 32 cedar boards I needed for the sides, plus eight 2x3 boards used for shipping that I had saved from previous lumber deliveries, each longer than 44 inches. I also loaded up four pressure-treated 2x4s that I had previously cut to 21 inches long.

I got out my jigsaw, cordless drill, and a level.

I brought over the lumber, plus a few small pieces of scrap. The scrap is useful as you'll need something to use for clamping other pieces of lumber.

After getting all of the measurements I needed, I updated the designs and marked all of the cuts I needed to make. I like to label the boards in my designs with the corresponding pieces of raw lumber to ensure I make the right cuts.

Then I drew the labels on the correct boards to make sure I didn't get confused later.

After drawing the labels, I measured out the cuts. To do so, I make a mark at the correct measurement on the tape measure.

Then I line up the speed square with the edge of the mark I made.

And drag the pencil along the edge of the speed square to make a straight line across the board.

And just like that, we have a line to cut.

I like to mark the side that will be cut off. We'll have the blade of the saw cut into this side, ensuring that our cut does not shorten the final board's length.

After marking all the cuts that needed to be made, I set about cutting them to length. First, I clamped down each board.

Then, holding the speed square with my hand as a guide, I lined up the jigsaw with the line I drew earlier, making sure to line up the left side of the blade with the line.

After making all of the cuts, I started on building the internal structure. I lined up the pressure-treated 2x4s with the edge of my worktable, then used the speed square to ensure they were parallel to each other. Then I clamped them and measured out and marked 4 inches and 18 inches from the end of each 2x4. Then I lined up the long 2x3s with those marks.

Using the clamps and some scrap wood, I clamped the boards into place. This is necessary as the lumber was bent and needed to be forced into place.

Then I used two 3.5 inch exterior wood screws to join the clamped pieces together. Be sure to use an exterior wood screw as interior screws will corrode over time.

I repeated the process for each of the remaining joints and built the other wall.

Then I used scrap wood to clamp the lateral 2x3s to the walls and joined them using 4.5 inch exterior wood screws.

Once the structure became too large to fit on the table, I moved it to the ground and repeated the clamping-joining process for each remaining 2x3 board.

With all of the walls complete and joined together, I now had the internal structure of the box.

I propped the box up on its side, aligned the first cedar board with the edge of the pressure-treated 2x4, clamped it, then screwed it in using four 1 inch long exterior wood screws.

As I added more cedar boards, I switched to clamping only the bottom edge, then holding the top of the board with my hand while putting a screw through the top edge. This is much faster than clamping both sides of each board.

First wall complete.

Second wall complete.

Third wall complete.

Fourth wall complete.

First look at the completed box. At this point, I would recommend sanding and staining the box if you would like a stained look that will last longer. I elected to skip sanding / staining as I want an aged look to develop.

Fortunately, considering the size of the box, I was able to lift it myself to the installation location. If you don't think you'll be able to maneuver or lift the full assembly, you'll need to construct it close to or on its final spot.

I then proceeded to level the ground where the box would live. I did this using hoe and a level. Be sure to compress the pad using your feet or in my case a tamper. This will prevent the ground from settling, causing your box to lean to one side.

I then moved the box onto the pad I created and used the level to ensure it was plumb.

I had some left over 50-50 mix (50% topsoil, 50% organic matter) in the driveway which I used to fill the bed. Knowing the bed is 21x44x44 inches in volume, I needed 23.5 cubic feet of soil to fill it. Luckily for me, that's more or less exactly how much soil was in the driveway.

For dry loose soil, I like to use a scoop as its much faster to move dirt.

With the bed filled, now it was time for planting.

I selected some plants I grew from seed and some organic fertilizer to amend the soil. The plants are 3 Chinese five color peppers, 4 Jigsaw peppers, 1 Shishito pepper, and 4 Paul Robeson tomatoes. The fertilizers are fish bone meal, blood meal, and greensand.

Then I spaced out the plants and began planting.

I used a posthole digger to dig the holes for the transplants. If you do this process while the soil is barely moist, you'll have a much easier time of it as the walls of the hole will be firm enough not to collapse, while the soil is loose enough to fill all the gaps around the transplant without much trowel work.

This is an example of what you want to see when you pop a plant out of its pot for transplanting. The roots have just begun to reach the bottom of the pot, meaning the soil has been colonized (which will hold it together when you are handling it), but the roots have not started spiraling in on themselves (meaning it has become root-bound). Additionally, you'll notice that these roots are a nice white color. If you see browning or yellowing, it is an indication that there may be fungal issues.

Before placing the transplant in the hole, I like to amend the soil with about a tablespoon each of my selected organic fertilizers and amendments.

Then I take my trowel and mix the amendments into the soil. This is important as you do not want a layer of pure amendments directly under your transplant; that is a recipe for harmful fungal growth that will kill or stunt your transplants. By distributing the amendments, you cut down on their concentration. High concentrations are generally a recipe for disaster in organic gardening.

For the tomatoes, I dig a hole deeper than would normally be necessary. Tomatoes are members of the nightshade family (as are peppers, potatoes, tomatillos and many other edible plants). Nightshades can grow roots from any part of the stem that touches the soil, meaning if you bury them deep, you'll get more roots for absorbing nutrients and supporting fruit growth.

This is an example of a transplant that has started becoming root-bound. Knowing that these tomatoes were extras that I didn't have room for and intended to give away or replace any tomatoes in larger containers that died for one reason or another, I was not surprised they had reached this point.

After transplanting all of the starts, I moved applied a small amount of fertilizer (1 teaspoon) to the drip line of each plant.

The drip line is the smallest circle around a plant that would touch the tips of its outer leaves. Basically, if it were raining, you'd expect drops to drip off the outer leaves onto this imaginary line.

I then used a trowel to gently mix in the fertilizer to the top of the soil. Again, you do not want any clumps or concentrations of fertilizer sitting near your plant, so make sure you do a good job mixing it.

After mixing in the fertilizer, I watered in each of the plants. And that's it, now I can let them sit and water them in a couple of days and watch them grow!

I gave them another deep watering one week later.

After another week of hand-watering I connected it in to the automatic irrigation system and set up some adjustable sprayers. I also included a shutoff valve on the side of the bed to for the off-season.

Here they are 3 weeks after I transplanted them from pots into the bed. These are but the first of many crops to spice up our front yard!

Building a Raised Bed Garden Box Step-by-Step

Overview

Design

Prep

Construction

Installation and Filling

Planting

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