Building a loft bed is a great spring project. We'll get you started with our step-by-step guide on how to build a simple loft bed from scratch. No special DIY skills required! Learn what wood or material to use, how big the bed should be, how to clear the site, and how to build the bed. Then, we discuss how to fill raised beds and soil mixes!

What are raised garden beds?

But let's start with a scratch and a definition. When we say a "raised garden bed" or simply "raised bed" we mean a freestanding box or frame - traditionally without a bottom or top - that sits in a sunny location and is filled with good quality soil. Raised beds are usually open at the bottom to allow plant roots to access nutrients from the subsoil.

Of course, raised beds can be simpler than this: You can build a raised bed without a frame by simply mounding the soil 6 to 8 inches high and leveling the top. This requires no additional materials (other than soil).

Benefits of Raised Garden Beds

There are many reasons for gardening on a raised garden.

They drain well and help prevent erosion.

They heat up earlier in the spring and give you a longer growing season because the soil above ground heats up faster.

Raised beds allow you to control the soil you put into them, allowing for dense planting; plants that grow densely in raised beds mature faster.

They prevent weed takeover because the seedbed is free from surrounding weeds and filled with disease-free, weed-free soil.

Since you're not walking on the bed, the soil doesn't compact and stays loose, eliminating the need for strenuous digging every spring. A raised bed helps keep everything organized.

Garden chores are easier and more comfortable due to less bending and kneeling. Save your knees and back from the labor and pain of tending the garden!

Raised beds are perfect for small spaces where traditional row gardens can be too wild and bulky.

Easier to separate and rotate crops each year.

Raised beds make square footage gardening and companion planting easier.

Choosing the Right Material for Your Loft Bed

You can choose to furnish your loft bed with whatever material you have on hand (wood, stone, brick, cement block). Stay away from painted or pressure-treated wood, which can leach chemicals or cause chemicals in the soil. The bricks can be placed end to end on the edge of the bed, or if you have enough bricks, stand them up to create higher sides for the bed.

Bury the bottoms a bit to stabilize them and keep weeds from slipping under and between the bricks. I was lucky enough to get enough roof slates a few years ago and used them to trim a raised bed on a slope. Cement blocks can be used to create beds for heat-loving plants. Here is a list of possibilities:

Untreated wood. Pine is the cheapest but will rot after a few years, as will many untreated lumbers. Hemlock will live longer. Rot-resistant woods such as cedar, redwood, or locust will last longer; they are expensive. Cedar is preferred because it is both decay-resistant and durable, lasting 10 to 15 years. It also repels insects thanks to the oils in the wood. Reclaimed wood made from plastic bottles is also a bit more expensive, but lasts indefinitely. Another option is to simply choose thicker, untreated planks. For example, a 2-inch-thick larch plank can last ten years without treatment.

Modern treated wood contains chemicals that prevent decay. However, unlike in the past, studies have shown that any leached compounds are within safe levels set by the EPA. Some gardeners are still uncomfortable with treated wood. One option for those concerned is to line the inside of the bed walls with polyethylene.

Railroad ties (treated) are easy as you just place them in the ground and nail them down. Old railroad ties treated with creosote don't seem to cause any health problems because most of the creosote is gone.

Pallets can be an inexpensive source of garden bed material, as long as you know where they come from. Pallets were developed for transporting materials. Avoid trays that have also been treated with methyl bromide, a known endocrine-disrupting chemical that may affect your reproductive health. Most pallet manufacturers stopped using the chemical in 2005, but many old pallets still exist. Look for the "HT" or Heat Treated marking on the pallet. Do not use pallets in the garden without a stamp or if the HT of the surface cannot be verified.

Concrete or brick can be used. However, keep in mind that concrete will increase the pH of the soil over time and you may need to alter the soil.

Composite wood is a new product made from recycled plastic and wood fibers. It's rot-resistant and long-lasting, but also very expensive.

Cinder Block: The extra heat gathered from the concrete is perfect for Mediterranean-type herbs like rosemary and lavender. Their holes can be filled with soil mix and planted with herbs or strawberries. Each piece measures 16 inches long and 8 inches high; the price is the most reasonable for the large box.

Certain areas have large amounts of rock and stone that can create nice free edges. You can build beds around the mound you've already started. Once it's closed, you can fill the sides with more soil and add compost, chopped leaves, manure, etc. Rake the top and let it sit until next spring, ready for planting.

The bottom two beds were built from a "second" pile of Trex lumber from a local lumber yard. It's too twisty for building a deck, but works great for garden beds. The bottom is lined with a 1/4 inch stiff cloth screen to keep voles from eating the precious bulbs.

How wide should your loft bed be?

Garden beds should be no more than 4 feet wide so that you can access the garden without stepping outside. Fortunately, lumber is usually cut in 4-foot increments.

Going to bed is taboo. It compacts the soil, making it harder for plant roots to get the oxygen they need. A bed that is too wide can also make the middle difficult to reach, which also makes weeding and harvesting difficult.

If your raised bed is built against a wall or fence, we recommend setting it less than 4 feet (2 to 3 feet wide) since you can only access the garden from one side.

Length is not that important. You can make a 4x4 or 4x8 or 4x12 bed. Feel free to do whatever you want, but I find it easier to make several shorter beds than one very long bed. Also, many crop families are best divided into beds.

How deep should the loft bed be?

Generally, the standard size for wood such as cedar is 6 inches high. In other words, the dimensions are 2 inches x 6 inches x 8 feet. (Note that planks purchased at lumber yards are actually 1.5" thick x 5.5" high.)

You can also stack two planks. The height of two stacked "2x6" boards is 12 inches (technically 11 inches).

You can certainly go higher (18", 24", 36"), but be aware that adding soil weight will increase the pressure on the sides. You'll need to add cross braces to any bed that's taller than 12 inches. consider

What you might grow. The depth of the soil itself is very important, depending on how deep the crop needs in the ground. For example:

Root crops such as carrots, parsnips, potatoes, tomatoes, and squash need a soil depth of at least 12 to 18 inches. If the plant doesn't have loose soil this deep, the roots won't be able to absorb nutrients as deeply.

Shallow-rooted crops such as lettuce, vegetables, and onions require a soil depth of at least 6 inches.

To be on the safe side, you just need to make sure the bed is 12 to 18 inches deep. No matter what height you choose for your frame, you will need to loosen the soil below the ground accordingly. For example, if you have a 6-inch high bed, we recommend loosening the ground soil an additional 6 to 9 inches if you want to grow root vegetables. This is not necessary if you only grow shallow-rooted crops.

Loft bed location

Loft beds need to be placed in a sunny location! Here are the requirements:

Most vegetables need 6 to 8 hours of direct sunlight (“full sun”) each day, especially around lunchtime.

Level, flat ground.

Close to the house for easy weeding and harvesting

Do not place the bed in a windy location or in a freezer bag.

The soil needs to drain well, so avoid any wet or swampy areas.

Preparing the Site: Option 1 (Basic)

To make a basic loft bed, use string to outline where you want it. As above, keep it between 3 and 4 feet wide so you can still easily reach the center.

This will help smother the grass in the area, but if there is sod or grass, trim it short and dig it out, leaving the grass to one side.

Loosen the soil in the bed, turn the grass over, scrape the soil from the path outside and add it to the bed, along with any other amendments you wish to use to improve soil levels.

You can log out here if you wish.

Preparing the Site: Option 2 (No Excavation)

Some gardeners are too lazy to dig sod. Because as long as the layer is thick enough, the soil will block the grass and weeds below. Gardener Charles Dawding invented the "no digging" method. His philosophy is that digging brings more weed seeds to the soil surface, which leads to more weeds and more weeding. Digging also speeds up nutrient loss, so you need to fertilize plants more often, and it disrupts the complex life and structure of the soil, reducing its ability to drain properly and retain water.

Here's how to build a raised bed using the "no digging" method:

Trim grass or weeds as close to the ground as possible. Then cover the area with cardboard, this will suffocate the grass/weeds and eventually rot into the soil.

Make sure to overlap the cardboard/newspaper (about 6 inches) to ensure weeds don't slip through the gaps. They will seek any sunlight they can find.

Add a thick layer (4 to 6 inches) of compost on top of the cardboard. This will be your growing medium.

After setting, you can immediately get on the car and plant. By the time the root reaches the cardboard, it has already begun to break down, and the root will be able to search deeper beyond the cardboard layers.

The compost you add on top should gradually combine with the soil below through the action of worms etc. The beds need to be filled with fresh organic matter (an inch or two) each fall/winter, this will help to gradually improve fertility as well as the health of the soil, including the soil beneath the raised beds. This means you should be doing well with root vegetables such as root crops.

For those with compacted or poor soil

Soil, damaged by compaction or otherwise problematic, often requires digging above ground, but only once. This is most important for deep-rooted crops, such as carrots, because they grow better in soil that is loose and amended to 10 to 12 inches to allow air and water to reach the plant's roots.

After the grass has been cut short and dug up, remove the top layer (about shovel depth or 10 inches); working in rows is probably easiest.

Remove all rocks, old roots and plant debris.

Dig a little more (a few inches more) with the shovel to loosen the soil.

Mix the soil with organic matter such as compost. We recommend composting 25% of the soil.

Then go back to the top layer and mix the soil layers together.

How to build your garden beds!

Let's make the bed! You're just building a box - like a sandbox - so it requires minimal DIY skills. Buying commercially grown garden kits is fine, but their prices can be daunting.

tool

Drill/screwdriver and drill, screwdriver

If you are cutting the boards yourself (compared to a lumber store): handsaw, tape measure

Material

For a 4x8 foot bed, prepare three 8 foot pieces of 2" x 6" lumber. Even better if they have 2"x8" or 2"x10" lumber. For a 4x4 bed, 2 pieces of wood are needed.

If you don't have a saw, have someone at the lumberyard cut the block in half. For a 4x8 foot bed, cut one of the pieces in half to provide two 4 foot lengths for the ends. For a 4x4 bed, cut the two sections in half.

Deck/external screws

To make it stronger, use a piece of 2X4 or 4X4 nail or screw in the corner to provide some stability instead of the end grain of the board.

make the bedside

If your two 8' boards were not pre-cut at the lumber store, mark the midpoint and cut each board in half to get a 4' x 4' bed. Then you will have four planks.

You will use the trim screws to screw the boards together. Two holes at the end of each plank are sufficient. Use a drill bit that is thinner than the screw itself to drill the pilot holes. One end of each plank will overlap and screw directly into one end of the next plank, so position the pilot holes accordingly. It's easier if you have a helper to hold it while you fix the corner.

If you want extra support and a stronger frame, cut pine stakes into four pieces and use them to nail planks in the corners to provide support.

Assemble the loft bed

Once all the wood has been cut to size and drilled, we can start assembling the bed.

Put down the bed. The layout of the walls requires that each plank overlap the next, with pilot holes at the overlapping ends.

Screw the walls together with long screws so that each wall can be secured to the other

We want a snug, tight fit.

padded loft bed

The most important part of any garden is the soil, and the more organic matter the better. Soil microbes are fed, oxygen and water easily reach the roots, so plants thrive. Here's the balance to strike:

40% Compost: Compost is rich in plant nutrients. While you can compost at home, you can also buy bagged fertilizer from your local garden center. Aged fertilizers can also be used, but fresh fertilizers should not be applied directly to the garden. Learn more about fertilizers.

40% Topsoil: In terms of topsoil, we're not talking "potting soil" because it's too loose for raised beds. You can also find bags of topsoil at a garden center or at your local farm supply or lumber store.

20% Aeration: For aeration, many bagged soil mixes already contain some perlite, pumice, or rice husk. If not, you need to add something to drain. Lava is also a good drainage aerator.

If you are filling a large number of raised beds, we recommend finding a local landscaping company to build a soil and compost mix, which should be less expensive. But if you're just filling up a cot, bags are the way to go.

There are two methods of packing the bed:

Some people pour in the compost (or compost) first and then add the topsoil (as shown in the video above).

Others add toppings in layers like lasagna, stirring as you eat.

Do whatever is easier for you!

At the end of the growing season, in fall or winter, fill your raised beds with more compost. When it enters the soil it improves fertility,

and plant in spring.

Raised Garden Bed Soil Mix

Here are the best recipes we've developed for garden beds over the past decade.

A 4x4 foot loft bed. (Multiply by filling larger beds.)

4 cubic feet of topsoil

3 cubic feet of coconut palm (Note: Peat moss is traditionally used as part of garden soil, but since it is not a sustainable material, we recommend using coconut palm instead.)

2 to 3 cubic feet of compost or compost

2-inch layer of crushed leaves or grass clippings.

If you use grass clippings, make sure they are not from a lawn that has been sprayed with herbicides or fed a food that contains granular herbicides to kill weeds. Both persist and kill plants for up to three years after the initial application.

Mix all ingredients with a hoe or tiller and water. Be sure to mulch well with organic matter, such as more leaves, clippings, or straw.

During the first year, you may not need to add much plant fertilizer or reduce the amount of fertilizer used. But over the next few years, as your food crops soak up all the nutrients, your soil will need some improvement with a balanced slow-release fertilizer (or more compost). Learn how and when to fertilize your garden.

After planting, you'll want to spread some mulch (leaves, straw, pine needles, or more compost) over the bed to retain moisture and suppress weeds. Read all about coverage here.

what to plant in raised beds

If you are a beginner gardener, we recommend that you start with raised beds and try growing some of your favorite vegetables. Eventually, four or five raised beds are combined to create a decent sized garden.

The plants you grow are only limited by the depth of the soil—this is the depth of your raised bed plus the depth of the soil you dug and loosened in the ground.

Plants that grow well in 6 inches of soil:

Lettuce, salad greens, spinach, onions, leeks, radishes, strawberries, basil, chives, cilantro, dill, mint, oregano, parsley, thyme, marigolds, and other annual flowers

Crops that grow well in 12 inches of soil depth:

Beans, beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cantaloupe, carrots, cauliflower, kale, cucumbers, garlic, kale, zucchini, Swiss chard, radishes, lavender, rosemary, sage, borage, Calendula, cosmos, lantana, nasturtium, snapdragon, alyssum (and everything on the 6-inch list)

Plants that grow well in 18 inches of soil depth:

Eggplant, okra, peppers, squash, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, watermelon, and winter squash (and everything in the 6-inch and 12-inch lists)

If you are a beginner gardener, we recommend that you start with raised beds and try growing some of your favorite vegetables. Eventually, four or five raised beds combine to form a decent-sized garden.

The plants you grow are only limited by the depth of the soil—this is the depth of your raised bed plus the depth of the soil you dug and loosened in the ground. what is

Grows well in 6 inches of soil:

Lettuce, salad greens, spinach, onions, leeks, radishes, strawberries, basil, chives, cilantro, dill, mint, oregano, parsley, thyme, marigolds, and other annual flowers

12" Soil Depth:

Beans, beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cantaloupe, carrots, cauliflower, kale, cucumbers, garlic, kale, zucchini, Swiss chard, radishes, lavender, rosemary, sage, borage, Calendula, cosmos, lantana, nasturtium, snapdragon, alyssum (and everything on the 6-inch list)

Plants that grow well in 18 inches of soil depth:

Eggplant, okra, peppers, squash, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, watermelon, and winter squash (and all the plants in the 6-inch and 12-inch lists) for

Ideas, we have some sample raised bed vegetable garden plans - complete with plant list!

Note also that many vegetables grow best from seed, but some vegetables grow better as seedlings (especially tomatoes and peppers). Learn how to start growing seeds or plants.

Once you've built your raised bed and filled it with soil and compost, you're ready to start planting and growing your garden!

Here's a handy tool: The Old Farmer's Almanac Garden Planner! In minutes, you can create garden plans on your computer. GardenPlanner will show you how many crops are suitable for each space so you don't overbuy or waste seeds. Test our garden planner with a 7-day free trial - plenty of time to play and plan your first garden!