How to make a raised vegetable garden bed?

[amyshizzle]

Okay so the dirt in my backyard dog run where I am going to be doing the gardening is full of rocks and glass and is not suitable for gardening. Ive looked up about raised beds but all Ive seen is that you have to dig a trench and then put the bed in the trench is there another way? Do I have to dig a trench? How do I build a raised bed so the water drains properly and so I don't have to dig in my crappy dirt, or do I have to dig in the rocky, glassy dirt? Any info on raised beds would be greatly appreciated!

[rainbowgardener]

I don't even understand the part about the trench. You posted the video about building a box for raised beds. That would be fine - just don't put any bottom on it. Build your box sides, make sure the site for them is level, put the box down and fill it.

Think about how long you want these boxes to last. If you are moving in the next few years or don't mind redoing the boxes every few years the board ones like in the video are fine. If you want boxes to last for a long time, try ones like mine:

https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=105961&highlight=raised+beds+picture#105961

Either way no digging, just level.

[amyshizzle]

What do you mean don't put any bottom on it? Its probably going to have to go on my patio now that I think of it because like you said before the dog run looks shady and it is because my house and the neighbors house are close together and sun doesnt really get back there that much. So I think having the bottom is necessary so I don't get soil on the ground. I think my dad would have a fit if the soil got on the ground. I can get wood and stuff for free because my dad makes cabinets. So thats a good thing. I'm excited to build the raised bed.

Thanks!

[rainbowgardener]

Well, I have raised beds on my concrete patio. They don't have a bottom. When I built it, I put a lining of netting in to help hold the soil, stapled to the sides. Then I put a little layer of gravel in the bottom. Soil doesn't leak out. Water does drain.

[amyshizzle]

Where would I get netting for that? I think netting might be better than the plastic bag bottom.

[rainbowgardener]

What I used is sold in garden stores as deer netting or bird netting. It has openings a little bigger than you would want for this use, but if you double it over, that takes care of it. I used it because I had it on hand already and it is very strong.