How to Build a Super Easy 4x8 Raised Bed

How to Build a Super Easy Raised Bed

Make this 4x8 easy raised bed. The design uses easy-to-find materials. Get our video and instructions to learn how to build this raised bed garden.

Make this 4- by 8-foot easy raised bed from 3 8-foot boards that you can have cut to size at the store. One 8-foot board needs to be cut into 2 4-foot sections. (To reduce the size to a 4- by 4-foot raised bed garden, simply have 2 8-foot boards cut into 2 4-foot sections.) To build it, all you do is screw the boards together at the corners. We used 2×12 boards for beds 12 inches deep, but 2×10 or 2×8 boards will also create beds deep enough for planting.

Download a printable pdf guide to building a Super Easy 4×8 Raised Bed and watch the how-to video below.

Step 1. First, mark off a 4- by 8-foot rectangle where you want your bed. Take up the grass and make sure that the ground is reasonably level. (Some people don’t take up the grass, figuring that it will die eventually, but this risks a source of weeds later on.)

Step 2. To build the bed, simply fasten the boards at the corners by screwing together in 3 or 4 places with 3-inch deck screws. Predrill the holes to make it easier and prevent splitting.

Step 3. When the frame is complete, check to see that it fits level on the ground and doesn’t rock. If it does, move it aside to shave off any high points in the soil with your shovel.

Step 4. Put the frame back in place and fill it with good soil. You can buy garden soil or potting mix in bags, or economize by mixing your native soil with homemade compost. Mix half compost and half soil.

Step 5. Wind a 25-foot soaker hose up and down the bed for easy watering. Hold the soaker in place with pins used for landscape fabric or make your own pins from 1-foot lengths of bailing wire folded in half.

Step 6. Plant your veggies and herbs alongside the soaker hoses. Mulch the bed with an organic mulch to keep the soil moist and prevent weeds; avoid a fine mulch such as compost, though, because it can clog soaker hoses. Turn on the soaker to water deeply. You may need to use a sprinkler the first time to make sure that all the soil is evenly moist. Your new garden is now finished. Enjoy!

List of Materials

2 8-foot 2×12 boards
2 4-foot 2×12 boards
3½-inch deck screws
22 bags of Miracle-Gro® Raised Bed Soil
shovel
cordless drill

To help ensure you get a big, bountiful harvest from your new raised bed, be sure to feed plants with Miracle-Gro® Shake ‘n Feed® Tomato, Fruit & Vegetable Plant Food throughout the season.

Gardening How-To How-To Projects New Gardeners Raised Beds