Raised Garden Beds
I started planting a cut flower garden this year and knew I wanted raised beds. Raised beds seemed easier to maintain weeds and grass, check irrigation and plant development, and inspect for pests. After looking at many raised bed designs, I decided on using 2x6x8 treated lumber lined with planting tarp. I know there are many views about what products to use but this is what I ended up trying mainly because of cost along with the outdoor resilience of the treated lumber. This is not something I wanted to have to change in a short period of time. After laying the lumber out in place and getting a feel of the size I ended up with 2 beds that are 3 feet wide by 8 feet long and 18 inches high. I also did add a cap overhang on top making it a tad higher. I am very happy with all the dimensions especially the height and cap.
Each side of the raised bed was made individually with the 3-2×6’s before connecting them together. Two 2×4’s were placed inside the bed holding the two sides together to help them from bowing outwards. Each corner piece of lumber is screwed to one another twice holding them together along with the cap on top.
I lined the inside of the beds with garden bed tarp as well as weed tarp on the bottom. I ran an irrigation line to the beds and installed drip irrigation to the beds.
Lessons Learned
Start earlier!
Change drip irrigation to something easier to control and regulate by plant type. I am thinking about the adjustable spray emitters for next year. There were times that one type of plant needed less water than others. To get by I decreased the timer and hand watered the plants that needed extra water.