(This post was written in collaboration with Gardener’s Supply but all thoughts and opinions are my own.) If you are not excited about digging a new garden, consider a raised garden bed to grow vegetables and flowers. Wait until you see these amazing raised garden beds I’m using to grow vegetables and herbs!
Our raised bed vegetable garden by the shed was totally falling apart.
When we built our addition 15 years ago, my husband made my vegetable garden beds from cedar.
He built four 4×8 quads in directly in front of the shed and fenced it off.
I grew lots of veggies, herbs and strawberries but it never seemed like I had a lot of space.
And it wasn’t easy to access all sides of the garden because of the location and fencing.
As the years wore on, the beds started falling apart.
He temporarily braced them for me for a few years so we could delay doing something about it.
But it’s time for a change.
And after last year’s garden shed makeover, the vegetable garden looked like a huge eyesore.
After lots of garden planning, I decided to move the vegetable garden to the middle of the backyard where our kids’ play set used to be.
To learn how I started this new garden bed, CLICK HERE.
The new garden location is closer to the kitchen for easy harvesting and receives full sun all day long.
However, the new location is sited on a septic bed, so digging in the ground is not really an option.
So I decided to go with new raised garden beds from Gardener’s Supply.
And the best part about these raised garden beds?
Wait until you see how cool these raised garden beds are!
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My New Raised Garden Beds for Planting Vegetables
Now you can grow whatever you want in these self-watering raised garden beds, but I want to grow vegetables.
Don’t these look so cool?
We could have built raised garden beds again from cedar again, but I wanted to try something different.
I love the industrial look AND I’m hoping it will help keep some critters out because it’s made of metal.
I’d really love to keep out the chipmunks, who I’m hoping will have trouble scaling the sides of the beds.
Because they have been a huge nemesis for my strawberry patch.
They would climb in and take 1 bite from every newly ripened strawberries.
Every. Single. One.
For years!
The Benefits of Using a Self-Watering Raised Garden Bed
Because the garden will be sited away from a water source, I wanted to work with a self-watering bed to make it easier for me because I won’t need to water as often.
Just fill up the reservoirs and the self-watering system will do the work for you.
But more importantly?
It’s using a self-watering system is better for the plants.
Because having a self-watering feature means plants will get watered from the roots instead of watering overhead.
Watering from the roots is a huge benefit because water reaches the plant more efficiently.
By watering the roots, plants are less at risk for pest and disease problems.
Thus, plants and flowers will be happier, healthier and watering will be so much easier for me!
Easy to Assemble Raised Garden Beds by Gardener’s Supply
These raised garden beds were easy to assemble and come in a variety of sizes.
I wound up going with four 4×4 raised garden beds and one 2×8.
Before assembling them, I did not understand how the self-watering feature worked.
It is so cool!
Let me show you.
Since I’m not super handy, my husband assembled each of the beds for me.
He decided to make them in the flatbed of his truck so he was working at counter height.
I’m sure a table or setting them up on sawhorses would work too, but he loves his truck so that’s where he built them.
It probably took him about an hour to build each one.
Which worked out because I only had 3 of the 5 beds the first weekend we started making the new garden.
The other two beds arrived after the weekend so we built them later.
After building the first three raised garden beds, we assembled the self-watering system.
Note: It is important to level the ground underneath so the self-watering system sits flat.
Our new garden location is pretty flat so we made very minimal adjustments with some shims.
After it was level, we connected the hoses.
Then added the tops to the reservoirs.
And finally, we added the water spout.
This spout is where water goes in to fill the reservoirs.
After assembling each self-watering reservoirs, I filled each bed with about 20 cubic feet of raised garden bed soil mixed with some compost and hummus.
This will give the plants a great start in their new home.
And I love working with fresh garden soil, don’t you?
It’s so easy to plant in!
When the last two beds arrived, we assembled them and finished setting up the gardens.
Here’s what I planted so far:
- Green Bell Peppers
- Cucumbers
- Squash
- Zucchini
- Several Varieties of Tomatoes
- Lettuce
- Arugala
- Cilantro
- Rosemary
- Parsley
- Basil
- Strawberries
I plan to tuck in some marigolds and nasturtiums that I’m starting from seed as companion plants.
As I mentioned earlier, the new vegetable garden sits on a septic bed, so we are opting not to dig a fence around the bed.
So instead of fencing around the entire garden, I used 3/8″ pea gravel and landscape stone to create paths and a pretty border.
And yes, I moved all the pea gravel and stone by myself.
I love the look of these raised garden beds without fencing around them.
Plus I can access the garden from all sides of the beds much easier.
But I know this won’t keep the critters out.
To protect plants from my dogs and other critters, we are using this temporary fencing in each bed for the time being.
It is not a permanent solution.
And I’m netting the top to keep the deer out.
We are planning to make some temporary caging with chicken wire soon so it can be easily removed for easy access to better protect the vegetation.
But for now, this works for me.
Now that I have the raised garden beds filled, I was able to plant more than what I could before.
Plus I love the layout is better for me and it was easier to plant higher than ground level.=.
And I’m a huge fan of these beds!
Doesn’t it look awesome?
I can’t wait to harvest.
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Enjoy a beautiful day! xo
