Bethany's Garden: Variation on Planter Construction

Our friend Courtney has a friend in Texas, Bethany, who is on the gardening bandwagon this year.  She was able to convince her husband Joe and some friends to use their tractor, and dig out the area for the garden.  They tilled the soil from their last garden, and sourced compost locally to combine and create the soil for these planters.

The great thing about this design is that it factors in easy constructions methods and low costs, along with the versatility of perhaps recreating the garden again 5-10 years in the future.  While my personal choice with our garden has been to design and build for longer life, and perhaps an artistic aesthetic, this design is straightforward and functional.

In terms of keeping the costs low, the design uses the same basic materials of 4x4s and 2x12s, but instead of cutting the 2x12s to fit between the posts, they pass in front of the 4x4, and deck screws hold it in place.  For the purpose of creating a raised bed, this is totally functional, and dramatically lowers the cost, not to mention the overall labor.

This garden is not irrigated, and Bethany says she plans to regularly flood the boxes, which she estimates will save on the overall water usage.  Since it was 96 degrees on the April day when she mentioned this, I am imagining that this summer will be full of garden watering sessions!

I am hoping to get regular updates from Bethany and Joe on their garden this summer, and look forward to seeing what they grow!