This is a blog post that goes in tandem with our YouTube video on building our winter garden beds. We choose to use an untreated pine raised garden bed system for both our winter and summer crops. Check out our YouTube video to see the construction in action, or read on below for a verbal breakdown.
Building Winter Garden Beds
This weekend I set out to build a container for our new composting adventure. I had big plans to use the wonky discounted lumber at Home Depot. But alas, it was all pretty picked over by the time I got there. Instead of paying full price for compost lumber, I decided to get to work building our winter garden beds, instead. And not a moment too soon, either, since seeds for the winter garden need to be going in the ground in a few weeks. We choose to use an untreated pine raised garden bed system for all our raised beds.
Why Choose An Untreated Pine Raised Garden Bed?
We’re not environmentalists, but as we delve deeper into this adventure of self-sustainability, we grow more aware of the toxicity surrounding us. All too often, harmful materials are claimed to be “safe” before studies reveal their toxic, carcinogenic nature down the road. When it comes to growing our own food, we want it to be as clean as possible. Treated lumber and organic garden just don’t go together, plain and simple. The chemicals in the lumber are right next to the roots of the plants that will grow our veggies. No, thanks. An untreated pine raised garden bed is much closer to mother nature’s way of growing, so it’s what we opt for as well.
What We’re Growing This Winter
This is our first year attempting winter gardening in frigid Wisconsin, so our hopes aren’t too high. We’re trying to start out with the easiest winter crops possible. We’re in zone 5, so we’re talking real hardy. Below are the crops I ordered from Johnny’s Seeds.
- Tatsoi
- Arugula
- Kale
- Spinach
- Claytonia
- Pac Choy
I’ve read that certain root vegetables like carrots, beets, and turnips can do well in a winter garden, as well. However, I have yet to grow these very successfully even during peak growing season. In the spirit of trying to master each step at a time, I’m going to go ahead and just try to grow the “easy” ones first. Maybe when we have more infrastructure in place, we can go ahead and tackle the root vegetables, next.
Will An Untreated Pine Raised Garden Bed Last?
Most people gravitate towards “treated pine” lumber for its ability to stave off decomposition. As we are learning with composting, decomposition is a natural part of any earth-derived material. As such, it’s natural to be concerned that an untreated pine raised garden bed will deteriorate. While I’m sure they will deteriorate eventually, so far, we’re two years in with other untreated pine raised garden beds, and they’re holding up just fine. I’m not sure exactly how many years will last, but for the foreseeable future, they will continue to serve our family’s needs. Even if we had to replace them every 6 years, keeping harmful chemicals out of our home-grown food is worth it. (What’s the reason we grow our own food in the first place, right?) And that being said, I think our untreated pine raised garden beds will last much longer than that.
How We Built Our Pine Garden Beds
If you want to build these untreated pine raised garden beds yourself, fear not. It’s incredibly easy! Each bed cost us less than $25, and about 20 minutes of work. Here is what we did:
- Purchase Lumber. For each bed, you will need about 8 96″ 2×4’s & some construction screws. (About 20/garden bed.)
- Set aside 6 2×4’s for the long sides of the bed. Cut the remaining 2×4’s into 48″ sections. These will be the short sides of the garden bed.
- Shape the first layer of the garden bed, to be about a 2’x8′ rectangle. (There will be some overlap of boards, which is why I say “about”.) Level as need-be.
- Place a ~10.5″ 2×4 or 4×4 in each corner of the bed. This is where you will screw the vertical boards going forward. (We used scrap wood for this step.)
- Screw the first layer together, and add 2×4’s on top of each other. We stacked 3 vertically to create a bed about 10.5″ high on the low end.
(Don’t forget to check out our YouTube video to see these directions in action.)
This is by no means the fanciest garden bed, but it is the easiest, quickest, cheapest, and most functional design we’ve used yet. The 1×4 and 1×6 lumber tends to warp something awful when filled with dirt, so we use 2×4’s now. By stacking 2×4’s instead of using 2×12’s or 2×6’s, we save a ton of dough, too.
I hope this untreated pine raised garden bed summary helped a bit! Have you ever built a garden bed? What are the pros and cons, in your opinion?
Disclaimer: We’re not professionals or experts on this topic, so all we can do is share our own personal experience in hopes that it helps you in your journey! We always recommend consulting with the pros directly.