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35 DIY Raised Garden Bed Plans-Building Your Own Bed

DIY raised garden bed plans will show you how to create a productive garden that won’t create back pain. Growing a vegetable garden the traditional way requires a  lot of bending over, squatting down, and kneeling, but a raised bed garden does not require all of the physical exertion.

A DIY raised garden bed will allow you to stand up straight or sit in a chair while you tend to plants. Work the soil, plant vegetables and flowers, and harvest the produce without ever having to bend over when you use one of these 35+ DIY plans for creating a DIY raised garden bed.

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1- Raised Bed Garden With Bottom Shelf

A DIY raised bed makes gardening easier and a bottom shelf provides storage for garden tools.

These free plans will show you how to build a raised bed by loveandrenovations that is waist-high so you can garden without straining your back. The bottom shelf has ample room for hand-held trowels, snips, containers, and other gardening utensils.

The raised bed is simple to build from lumber and painted any color to match the exterior of your home. Keep all your gardening supplies and plants in one attractive location with this DIY raised bed.

DIY Raised Garden Bed Plans
Image via: loveandrenovations

2- Square Foot Garden Bed

Keep plants organized and stay off your knees with these raised bed garden plans on youtube. The bed is a little over 3-feet tall and is 4-feet square. The depth of the planting box is 16-inches so it provides plenty of room for growing veggie plants with deep roots, like tomatoes. There will be plenty of soil depth in this bed for growing root veggies like beets and radishes too.

The 4×4 feet size allows you to create 16 square feet sections for planting 16 different plants in each raised bed. These small beds are able to support healthy productive plants for an abundant harvest.

Ideal for gardening in a small space so you can maximize the amount of fresh food you’re able to grow.

3- DIY Raised Garden Bed With Landscape Timbers

Pre-cut landscape timbers are great for creating outdoor spaces, including building a garden spot.

Use long-lasting landscape timbers and these DIY raised garden bed plans by removeandreplace to create a spot to grow vegetables, fruits, and herbs. The landscape timbers will blend in with the rest of the landscape to help create a unified outdoor space.

DIY Raised Garden Bed With Landscape Timbers
DIY Raised Garden Bed Image via: removeandreplace.com

4- Pallet Raised Garden Bed Plans

Use these free plans to create cheap raised garden beds plans like this one by busycreatingmemories from recycled wooden pallets. Wooden pallets are usually free to obtain and this plan for a DIY raised bed won’t even require any digging. You may also like to see Waist high raised garden bed plans.

Pallet Raised Garden Bed Plans
Image via: busycreatingmemories

5- DIY Raised Garden Bed Frame

A garden does not have to be oblong, it can be square, round, or any shape you want. These DIY raised garden bed plans by lowes will show you how to create a frame for your vegetables or flowers in a shape the is best for your landscape.

DIY Raised Garden Bed Frame
DIY raised garden bed image via: lowes

6- DIY Raised Garden Bed With Trellis

This free DIY raised garden bed plan by weedemandreap will show you how to build a raised garden bed with trellis for climbing plants. The trellises are ideal for supporting tall plants like cucumbers, tomatoes, and beans.

Ideal raised garden bed idea for growing climbing roses or blooming vines. Easy and inexpensive to build.

DIY Raised Garden Bed With Trellis
Image via: weedemandreap

7- Simplest Lumber DIY Garden Bed

Below are step by step instructions to make this lumber garden bed.

  • Look for a lighter color, straight and smooth lumber hat can be easily cut into smaller slabs.
  • Fix them together so that you can attain a wooden bed, which is not very deep but has normal width and length.
  • Fix it on the place where you want the bed to be placed.
  • Add the soil and let it get settled for at least 5 days. You can start planting the crops you want, or simply use it for putting in plants.

For details, check out the detail plan by organicgardening

Simplest Lumber garden bed
Image via: organicgardening

8- Raised Garden Bed and Greenhouse

Extend the growing season with these free DIY raised garden bed plans by apartmenttherapy that include a removable greenhouse.

The attached PVC pipe create a semi-circle over the top of the raised bed to form a frame that plastic can be placed on. The plastic holds in heat and moisture, plus allows light to shine through so plants can grow.

Garden plants can be started earlier in spring and kept producing later in the fall with this raised garden bed plan.

Raised Garden Bed and Greenhouse
Image via: apartmenttherapy

9- Galvanized Steel Raised Garden Bed

Galvanized steel creates raised garden beds like this one by growfully that will last forever. Great for use on a homestead that grows enough fresh vegetables and fruits to feed the family years around.

Galvanized steel is long lasting and resistant to corrosion. It’s a readily available building material, versatile, and best of all it costs less than most other types of steel.

If you plan on growing food plants long term, investing a little money and time into building these galvanized steel raised beds is well worth it. The soil is easy to amend and control in raised garden beds and there is no bending over or getting on your knees with this type of gardening.

Use these free plans and start building your forever garden with galvanized steel this year. These raised beds are deep enough to grow dwarf fruit trees and fruit producing vines. Rats, moles, and rabbits won’t be able to chew through the steel so your plants are better protected than if they were planted at ground level.

Galvanized Steel Raised Garden Bed
Image via: growfully

10- U-Shaped Raised Garden Bed

Maximize growing space and make plant maintenance easy with this U-shape design. A sunny location, a few boards to build a raised bed like this one by brittanystager, and some fertile soil are all that you will need to grow fresh food in your own backyard.

These raised garden bed plans will show you step by step how to build this space-saving, efficient raised bed for growing plants.

U-Shaped Raised Garden Bed
Image via: brittanystager

11- Easy Raised Garden Bed Plans

Nothing fancy about this raised garden bed design but it is very efficient and will maximize your garden space. Easy to build garden bed design is a simple box that will keep plants and soil contained while keeping weeds and pests away.

Use recycled lumber for this easy DIY project and you will be able to build cheap raised garden beds like this one by gardenerspath and grow fresh food almost free. This easy build can be accomplished in just one afternoon.

Easy Raised Garden Bed Plans
Image via: gardenerspath

12- Concrete Raised Garden Bed

Use these free plans for building a raised garden bed like this one by lagunadirt from concrete and incorporating it into your patio design.

Grow vegetables in a stylish raided bed that is part of your home’s exterior design. Stylish year-around, the sides of this raised bed are used as extra seating for outdoor get-togethers.  This garden bed design will make your garden look stylish even in the winter when nothing is growing in the frozen soil. You may also like to see diy keyhole garden beds.

Concrete Raised Garden Bed
Image via: lagunadirt

13- Fenced Raised Garden Bed

Protect your growing plants from being eaten by wildlife with this DIY plan. Learn how to build efficient growing boxes and surround them with metal wire with these raised garden bed plans by thriftdiving.

This easy DIY project will allow fruit and vegetable plants to grow to reach maturity no matter how many hungry predators live in your area. Keep plants safe from squirrels, rabbits, raccoons, and deer by installing a wire fence.

Fenced Raised Garden Bed
Image via: thriftdiving

14- Tiered Raised Garden Bed 

These DIY raised garden bed plans by diyprojects.ideas2live4 create such a stylish growing box that it can be placed in your front yard instead of hidden in the backyard.

Use these free plans to create a corner-fitting, two-tiered raised bed that is ideal for placement in any angled location in your landscape. Add sun, soil, and plants and create a yard art with living plants in this attractive garden.

Tiered Raised Garden Bed 
Image via: diyprojects.ideas2live4

15- Trellised Raised Garden Bed Plans

Great design for growing vegetables and flowers in the same raised garden bed by emilyaclark. The oblong raised bed has a wooden trellis that fits across the backside to provide support for tall-growing plants.

Grow cucumbers, peas, beans, and flowering vines along the backside of the garden bed and plant short-growing plants in the front. Easy to build and long-lasting for years of plant growth.

Trellised Raised Garden Bed Plans
Image via: emilyaclark

16- Recycled Raised Garden Bed Plans

What do you have lying around the backyard that has outlived its original purpose? Chances are it just might be great for recycling into a productive raised garden bed by ponderedprimedperfected.

Many items can easily be recycled into something that can grow plants. Get inspired by these raised garden bed plans that show how to recycle a kid’s outdoor stage into something new.

Recycled Raised Garden Bed
Image via: ponderedprimedperfected

17- Pest-Protected DIY Raised Garden Bed

Keep chickens, cats, dogs, and other small animals out of your garden with this ingenious idea that protects plants.

The removable top gate is easy to remove when you need to do garden chores and easy to put back into place when done. Keep your plants safe even when you’re not at home.

These DIY raised garden bed plans by finegardening are easy to follow and the cost of construction is minimal.

Pest-Protected Raised Garden Bed
Image via: finegardening

18- Side Shelf DIY Raised Garden Bed

This design provides a narrow shelf on the perimeter of the raised garden box like this one by onelittleproject so that you will have a ledge to sit on and to place tools on while doing gardening chores.

Great design to help protect your back by keeping plants and tools at a more convenient level. Easy and attractive to construct, these garden boxes would look great in the front or backyard.

Side Shelf DIY Raised Garden Bed
DIY Raised Garden Bed Image via: onelittleproject.com

19- Wooden Planter Bed

This attractive tiered raised garden bed by gardenersworld is constructed with lumber and ideal for use on the corner of a deck or patio.

Flowers, herbs, and vegetables can grow together in beautiful harmony in this DIY garden box. Follow these detailed plans to build this raised garden bed in just the right size for your backyard deck or patio.

DIY Raised Garden Bed for Deck
Image via: gardenersworld

20- Octagon Raised Garden Bed

Let your garden be the focal point of your backyard by creating an octagon-shaped raised bed with these free plans by instructables.

Large enough to grow food and flowering plants in the same space, plus it’s easy to construct. Set the BBQ grill up nearby and get ready to grill freshly harvested corn and peppers from this productive garden bed design.

Octagon Raised Garden Bed
Image via: instructables

21- Cheap Raised Garden Bed

If you can get your hands on some old lumber that is still in good shape, then you can follow these plans to construct a very cheap raised bed garden by permaculturenews.

Recycled lumber and an afternoon of work can provide you with function growing boxes that will produce fresh food and flowers. Easy to follow instructions and placement ideas for the growing boxes can help you feed your family fresh, healthy, and free vegetables all summer.

Cheap Raised Garden Bed
Image via: permaculturenews

22- DIY Raised Garden Bed in a Tub

Anything that can hold soil can be used as a garden bed like this one by cynthiaweber, and a galvanized water trough used for farm animals can hold water and is just the right height.

Inexpensive, long-lasting, and attractive, these water troughs make great raised beds for growing food. Placement of the galvanized tubs can be used to enhance the curb appeal of a home while the tubs are busy at work growing food.

Create a low-maintenance, low-water garden by placing galvanized tubs on gravel or poor soil so plants can grow in barren locations.

DIY Raised Garden Bed in a Tub
Image via: cynthiaweber

23- Brick-Lined DIY Raised Garden Bed Plan

This kind of diy raised bed by gardendrum works best under all the tropical conditions. You can give these beds, independent look – use geo-textile fabric-lined steel wire for protecting the plants and soil. The mesh wire used in these beds gets fade over time; you can show your creativity to make them look lively again.

Brick-Lined DIY Raised Garden Bed Plan
Image via: gardendrum

24- Pressure Treated Wooden Raised Garden Bed Plan

This is a wonderful garden box idea you can use to raise all the desired plants you want. These beds can be used for growing edibles so redwood can be used best to avoid toxins.

Pressure Treated Wooden Raised Garden Bed Plan
Image via:

25- Untreated Lumber DIY Raised Garden Bed

If you want cheap-raised garden beds like this one by vegetablegardener, this option is certainly best for you.

Materials needed are:

1: Plank of wood (untreated lumber)
2. Furring strip wood
3. Electric drilling machine
4. Saw
5. Glue (used for wood)
6. Wood screws

The process requires expertise in cutting wood, so make sure you take professional help for that.

Untreated lumber bed
Image via: vegetablegardener

26- Redwood Simple DIY Raised Garden Bed

Interested in making raised garden beds like this one by vegetablegardener that are effective for plating edibles? The process of making this kind of diy bed requires only one an hour, if you have all the right material. The 3-feet depth is perfectly all right for medium sized gardening bed. The only tough part is fixing the wood planks together, once done with that, you would be left with filling soils and planting.

DIY Raised Garden Bed
Image via: vegetablegardener

27- Build DIY Raised Garden Bed With Recycled Material

Following are short steps to make this raised garden bed using recycled materials by survivethecomingcollapse.

  • Go and check out what is present in your storeroom.
  • Look for older wooden pieces, bamboos and plastic sheets.
  •  Form a typical 8×8 foundation. You can have plants placed there.
  •  For the upper structure and greenhouse effect, make a dome type structure and install the plastic sheets within it. Your plants would remain protected from intruders.
recycled raised garden bed
Image via: survivethecomingcollapse

28- DIY Lumber Raised Garden Beds

Lumber raised garden beds
Image via: anythingpretty

Lumber is considered as the best and the cheapest vegetables garden bed like this one by anythingpretty that is used widely in the world.  Join the wooden planks together and place in the position where you want the beds to be. Fill the wooden structure with fertile soil and place the desired vegetables. Do not forget to decor the garden bed area with flowers and other necessary accessories so that it looks appealing.

29- Planks And Pvc Pipe DIY Raised Garden Bed

This is another effective diy raised garden bed idea by growgardentomatoes that can help you attain the desired goal.

Here are brief steps to make this Pvc raised bed.

Planks And Pvc Pipe DIY Raised Bed Gardens
Image via: growgardentomatoes

Join the wooden structure, the basic structure remains the same. However, for adding the hoop, you need to work with PVC pipes. Once done with the attaching the pipes, you can simply put in the soil and let the bed settle for a few days. You can plant the desired vegetables and fruits easily.

30- DIY Sleek Wooden Garden Bed Plan

This type of diy raised garden beds by loonyville.wordpress is perfect for those gardens that lack proper space. They are lesser in width, but seem to cover a good wall space. However, you can increase the length up to whatever you feel like. They look gorgeous and look more appealing. You can make smaller wooden boxes within larger bed, fill it with soil, and add whatever plants you want.

DIY Sleek Wooden Garden Bed Plan
Image via: loonyville.wordpress

31- Sack Raised Garden Bed Plans

Surprisingly, you can plant different types of plant varieties in sacks – this is also a wonderful experience. You can place these sacks within the wooden block; surround it with flowers or stones to make it look more appealing. See more garden bed plans by webecoist.

Sack Raised Garden Bed Plan
Image via: webecoist

32- Wood and Metal DIY Raised Garden Bed

Building a raised garden bed like this one by familyhandyman with wood and metal is both attractive and functional. Transform your landscape with these plans that will show you how to make a raised garden bed with corrugated metal and treated lumber.

Wood and Metal DIY Raised Garden Bed
Image via: familyhandyman

33- Raised Bed Garden With Sleepers

Protect your DIY raised bed garden like this one by bunnings from long term decay and termite damage by using sleepers for the building material.

Sleepers are treated planks that resist rot and pests damage better than non-treated lumber. The planks are safe for human contact, pets, livestock, soil, and vegetation. Softwood sleepers are more affordable than hardwood and the planks will last for decades.

Sleepers are easy to work with and can easily be used to create any size or shape of garden bed. Follow this video and detailed raised bed garden plans so you can have a spot in your backyard for growing herbs, food, and flowers.

Raised Bed Garden With Sleepers
Image via: bunnings

34- Attractive Shape

Creating raised beds allows you to work with your landscape and build an attractive focal point in your front or backyard. These free plans will show you how to build a basic wooden bed by thepioneerwoman that can be configured into many different shapes.

Use these raised beds on a slope to create a stair step effect, or position them to form a star, a circle, a square, or any other shape. The basic building process allows you to create an attractive shaped raised bed that will fit into any landscape.

Ideal for uneven landscape areas or multi-function sections of the yard. You can create a lovely raised flower bed with seating as a place to enjoy your morning coffee while watching the butterflies.

how to build a basic wooden bed
Image via: thepioneerwoman

35- Cheap Raised Bed

Sometimes you don’t need it to look good, you just need it to work. That’s what these cheap raised garden bed plans on youtube will provide – cheap and easy raised garden beds that grow healthy plants. The finished raised bed also looks good and will grow an abundance of food and flowers.

Watch this YouTube video to learn how to build a raised bed and what to fill it with. This raised bed design does not have a bottom in it and that will save you money on the lumber. You will need to fill the raised bed with fertile soil to grow healthy, productive plants, and this video will show you what to fill the bed with before planting seeds.

36- Raised Planter Boxes

Raised planter boxes are easy to build and lightweight enough to be moved. You can use these wood boxes as DIY raised garden beds like this one by thediynuts for growing vegetables and herbs, or they make attractive planters for flowers.

When you construct and use raised planter boxes you never have to worry about weed growth again. The height of the planter boxes also keeps plants safe from most pests and small animals.

No bending, squatting, or getting down on your knees for gardening tasks when you plant vegetation in raised planter boxes like these.

Use these free plans for building some of the planter boxes for use on your porch, deck, along the fence, or anywhere else you want to grow plants the easy way.

DIY raised garden beds
Image via: thediynuts

37- Composite or Cedar Wood?

These instructions provide plenty of building tips to help you get the most from a set of raised bed garden plans like this one by homedepot. You will learn how to select the perfect location for a raised bed garden and what is the best type of wood, like composite or cedar.

The right size is also important. If the raised bed is wider than 4-feet it will be difficult to reach into the center for planting seeds and harvesting fresh produce.

These free plans are filled with good advice to help you construct garden beds that are just right for you and the flowers and vegetable plants that you want to grow.

raised bed garden plans
Image via: homedepot

38- Corrugated Roofing Beds

A few pieces of lumber and corrugated roofing material can quickly and easily be transformed into beautiful DIY raised bed garden boxes like this one on youtube.

Watch this YouTube video to find out to build these garden beds in under 5 minutes. They are quick to build and the corrugated roofing material will make them long lasting. If you have leftover roofing supplies, then this DIY project will be very cheap to build.

Raised beds like these also enable gardeners to extend the growing season by adding frost–proof coverage over the tops. Creating mini hoop houses over the beds with PVC pipe and plastic allow gardeners to plant earlier in the spring and continues growing food throughout most of the winter.

39- Cedar Planter Box

Cedar lumber makes an attractive and long-lasting planter box and is easy to work with. Cedar wood is versatile and resistant to rot and pests, making it an ideal building material for planter boxes.

If you want to start growing your own fresh vegetables organically, use these raised bed garden plans by realcedar to get started right. Raised beds enable you to control the soil conditions, help prevent pest infestation, and grow food for more months out of the year.

These free plans can be customized so you can build the sizes of planter boxes you need. The plans can also be modified so you can incorporate a bench for sitting or working while out in the garden. Seating near the garden is always a good thing so you can enjoy watching the plants develop and observe the pollinators at work.

Gardening is raised beds is kinder to the back and knees, plus more food can be grown in smaller spaces. Cedar planter boxes like these are great for use on apartment balconies or small common outdoor spaces of apartment buildings.

raised bed garden plans
Image via: realcedar

About Farhan Ahsan

My name is Farhan Ahsan,I am web enthusiast, writer and blogger. I always strive to be passionate about my work. I started my work at the beginning of 2007 by engaging myself with detail reading and exchanging information with others. Since then things and times have changed, but one thing remains the same and that is my passion for helping and educating people, building a successful blog and delivering quality content to the readers. I always love to write about gardening, sustainable life, off grid living and homestead farming.

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13 comments

  1. Simple lumber, sleek wood, plank, untreatedted lumber….
    sounds like diferent names for the same thing.
    I’d say you have 3, maybe 4 diferent kinds listed. Not 10.

    • The names may be look similar in terms of meaning but these’re 10 different ideas or plans for building raised garden beds by different gardeners,You may choose which ever sounds perfect to you.

  2. I just have one question. What do you do with the dirt after all the vegetables are out and you are done gardening? Better yet what if you moved, what do you do with the garden soil.

    • Beverly, they need to be covered or put to sleep for the winter months. I usually will take racked leaves from the fall and put over them, or you can ask your local garden supply for a good bed cover that will break down. The leaves are a double benefit, they will protect your beds from the elements as well as break down to replenish your soil for the following year.

    • In the off season, cover the garden with plastic so it doesn’t get overgrown with weeds. If you move, most people leave their garden behind.

  3. Another option is to use redwood fence boards. They need to be reinforced inside and out, but can save a lot of money in building higher beds by going 3 boards high. I also recommend looking into ‘keyhole raised garden beds’ for efficient use of space and being able to reach your plants.

  4. Many nice ideas here, thank you so much!

  5. I so want a garden/greenhouse, but have been unsuccessful as I live in Arizona where it is very dry, need to avoid direct scorching heat, hard to keep moist, and the cockroaches and scorpions are drawn to loose black soil…any suggestions.

  6. what ive seen so far, look very interesting would love too learn more 🙂

  7. Good article, I just had to make one comment. I notice a lot of people that build decks, benches, etc, use wood the wrong way. A perfect example is that small seat that’s built on the side of the raised bed above. The grain of the wood should be used like a rainbow shape, not a ‘U” shape or it will warp and the sides will fold up. If you use wood that way on decks, it will eventually curve up on the sides and start tripping you.

  8. Patricia Merewether

    I cover mine with cardboard (from all the amazon boxes) in the fall – keeps the weeds out – that cats out and break down into compost.

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