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Shade cloth underneath and netting above created a fantastic environment to grow vegetables from seed in this raised garden bed.
The project
I built a 2400 x 1000 x 600 raised garden bed using Sienna treated Pine sleepers.
All materials were purchased from Bunnings and came to around $300. I used carriage bolts, galvanised screws, irrigation tubing, bird netting and vegetable soil.
I put some old shade cloth across the bottom and it seems to have kept the grass from growing up through to the top.
This is my first time growing anything from seed and, to my surprise, I have seen sprouts! I planted broccoli, snow peas, Japanese turnip, bok choi, garlic and bitter melon.
Tips for growing in a garden bed
Community members and our resident D.I.Y. expert Mitchell contributed the following advice to Meling's discussion.
- "It's good practice to thin (the sprouts) out. Just be careful with the roots and the seedling itself as they are such delicate little things. I've thinned a couple of things out so far and transplanted them where there's more room in the bed or into another container." – rattle
- "We have a range of sleepers which are CuAz (Copper Azole) treated and suitable for vegetable and herb growing beds. These products are Ironwood 200 x 50mm 2.4m Sienna Treated Pine Sleeper, Ironwood 200 x 50mm 3.0m Sienna Treated Pine Sleeper and Ironwood 200 x 75mm 3.0m Sienna Treated Pine Sleeper. We also have hardwood sleepers available through our Special Orders which have no treatment at all." – MitchellMc
- "If the soil is 200mm or deeper then most grasses won't grow back up. Some of the more vigorous and persistent varieties like couch or kikuyu may still punch through. You can use a geotextile weedmat barrier. Just make sure it's one made for the purpose and never use builder's plastic. Only problem with these types of fabrics is that you are restricting your root depth to whatever point the barrier is at so this may be a problem with root vegetables like carrots.
Another option is to use cardboard or newspaper. Never use glossy of either as they don't breakdown as well. With cardboard, you'll only need one thick layer (make sure you remove any staples or tape) or use 6-8 layers of newspaper.
Wet the soil or grass, lay the cardboard or paper right up to the edge, or poke under if you can, then water until saturated and back-fill with soil. Either will persist long enough to prevent grass getting through and then they'll breakdown to good organic matter." – Adam_W
How to build a raised garden bed
Grow your own garden in raised garden beds by following this step-by-step guide to building a raised garden bed by Horticulturist and Workshop member Adam Woodhams.
For beginners, Adam has also shared a step-by-step guide to building a simple raised bed, while MitchellMc shared how to build a raised garden bed using pallets.
More garden bed projects
A raised garden bed can help improve the quality and quantity of home-grown fruit and vegetables. Find great ideas for your D.I.Y. raised garden bed in our Top 10 most popular raised garden beds.
