Making our own Cedar Raised Beds

So I've always wanted a garden. Not really one with beautiful flowers, although that'd be nice, but one that grows food!  I love the idea that I could grow my own food right in my own back yard.

After last year's attempt to grow berries in the flower beds at the rent out... This year after buying the house, we decided to go ahead and try our thumbs at real gardening this year. I found these plans (her link is down right now for some reason) by Ana White to make cedar beds out of cedar fence planks to cut the cost. We took her advice and mixed it with this guy's advice (because of his use of posts for corners and great idea to keep the moles out of the garden)...

First we cut the ends off the 6 foot fence planks to make them square. (Don't you like our straight edge?)

My cute handyman!

Per box we used 6 fence planks. Our boxes are about 6 foot by 3 foot by 1 foot. We simply cut the fence planks in half for the ends, and used the full length for the sides. The planks are 6 inches wide so we stacked 2 high to make 1 foot high beds. Check it out. We made the support posts a little longer so we could dig holes and bury the posts.

Then Kyle added the chicken wire to keep the moles out. Lindale is known for all the moles :) Note: the wire was added to the bottom while the frame was upside down. AKA wire goes on the bottom.

We layed a sheet at the bottom over the wire to keep out the weeds. Mostly because we didn't want to go back to the store for the black landscape stuff.

Then the organic compost filler!

TA DAAA!

We're real excited to get the plants in! Then get the irrigation system setup!

But I'm also trying to keep up with the money we spend for our garden this year to see if we save any money by gardening.  We also love the adventure, the fun, and the fact that we get to grow our own food so if we spend a little more, we're okay with that.

Money Spent:
12 Cedar Fence Planks ($2.50 each)
1 Cedar Post
Galvanized Screws
Chicken Wire
30 Square Feet Organic Compost
6 Square Feet of Mulch
(We already had the tools and 2 2x4s for the extra supports).
TOTAL $112.

So we'll see if we come out on top. We're planning an irrigation system and getting the plants in soon. Stay tuned :)

What are your spring projects this year?