My Newly Constructed Raised Garden Bed......"

My oldest son, Patrick, drove up from Brethren on Friday to help me build a new raised garden bed.  I had drawn up plans and bought materials, so we had everything we needed.  He brought along some of his tools, which are much nicer than what I have here.  Admittedly, I was more of a "hands on helper" for him.  ;)

We set up our saw horses in the garage and went to work.  In these next couple of photos, Patrick is joining 2- 1"x12"x8' cedar boards to make one of the sides.  The finished raised garden bed would be 8' long, 4' wide, and approximately 22" high (12" wide boards are not truly 12" wide anymore).

I did get to do a little of the work, but I mainly held things for Patrick while he secured the pieces together.

We used Patricks truck bed as the "construction site".  ;)  The 8' long sides are done with one half of one end completed.

After securing the ends, we added 2"x4" supports securely attached across the inside to help keep the sides from bowing outwards after soil is added into the garden bed.

After the raised bed had been put together, I told Patrick that I thought it looked like a wagon bed from earlier times.  After adding the interior supports, I said it looked like a waterbed frame, minus the horizontal plywood piece to support the waterbed mattress.  But as we began attaching the PVC pipes to create a "hoop" so that I can add plastic sheeting in the Spring, changing the raised bed into a "mini greenhouse", it became VERY apparent that the raised bed really looked like a covered wagon bed, minus the canvas! Especially sitting on saw horses at this height!!!!

After adding the rest of the PVC pipe "hoops", we carried it over to the other side of the house and set it in place.  Now it is ready to be "filled" with organic materials and planted in the Spring (with its plastic sheeting it will look even more like a stationary, although transparent, "covered wagon".  ;)