When I started to get down to business with planning how, when and where I was going to start my garden, one of the things that I needed to figure out was WHERE to put it. All of our "planter beds" that are already in the yard were either full of plants, full of shade, or baked to rock hard dirt. So after some research, I decided to put together some Raised Planter boxes, and just put them on top of the grass.
Not only do we not have any Dog, Cats, or Kids, but the Grass is a HUGE drain on our water resources, as well as a drain on our time (since it needs to be weeded, mowed, and fed from time to time). And to be honest- we never go out in the backyard, and so it was not doing us any good.
So after reading about planting on top of grass (without even needing to pull it up first!) I decided that I would go for it, and just plop them out in the lawn. (NOTE: if you suffer from Crab grass or other hard core weedgrasses, read up on how to distroy them first. Regular happy sod grass will just die and turn to mulch under there, but weedgrasses will continue to grow up into the planter and try to choke out the plants!)
Mr SuperChicken is also excited about the idea- since that now cuts his mowing by 1/3 and I am now in charge of keeping that area weed and grass free. (I will get into how i do it, and what I have planned, at a later time).
I decided that I would build 4 beds. (2) of them would be 5x4 feet, and the other (2) would be 5x3 feet. I had full intentions of having a "herb bed" a "veggie bed" and so on- but I learned how that was not the best Idea when trying to grow a Organic garden, but more on that later.
I did some research on how to build beds from some books and mags, (Better Homes and Gardens had a great article in the Magazine- you can find a ELink Here ) and the Pioneer woman has a how too on her site Here. (she uses 2 sets of smaller boards, and I use 12 inch, but it it really up to you!)
I learned that in order to keep the beds strong and to keep the boards from bowing or cracking under pressure, that you need thick lumber. So I went to the Home Depot and purchased all my wood as 2 inches thick, and 12 inches tall. I could have used 4 inch, 6 inch, 8 or Even 10 inch, but I wanted tall (and sturdy) beds, so I went for the 12 Inch. I had them cut the lumber for me there at the store- and I have to say- if you do not have a saw that would handle the 12 inch wood- just have the store do it! Yes, they give you 2 free cuts, and then charge a $1 for each extra cut- but I went home and all I had to do was get started. No measuring the wood, setting up a saw, cutting it, cleaning the sawdust.... and all that jazz. (And it didn't hurt that I was a girl and the guy decided to not charge me anything for the cuts!) But my take on it is- Just pay your extra $5-$10 and save yourself a headache of work once you get home. (Plus I drive a Honda Accord and all the wood fit MUCH better than if I had to haul 10 foot planks around!)
I then Mapped out in posts and surveyors string.
And then had Mr SC hook up his air compressor for me, and I used a Air Nail-Gun to put it all together. You can see that I used 4x4's in the corners for support, and this made the beds really, really sturdy (also VERY heavy). I would advise getting some help if you were to do this alone. I was sore for a few days since I made those boxes all by myself (little pat on my back here) so I would try to get a friend to help you out if you can!
Here are the boxes in progress. The large one above is the 5x4 and you can see the start of the 3x5 in the left of the photo. Also- ignore all that brush on the lawn above. Mr SC was doing some pruning of the bushes the same day so I ended up taking pics while he was still doing cleanup.
(now thats better! cut grass and no bush residue)
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