As I said before, I decided on waist-high raised beds. After planning out how much of what vegetables I wanted, I took a trip to Home Depot for wood. A LOT of wood. Instead of the 4'x4' beds suggested in the SFG book, I opted for 2'x4' beds. That lets me still reach everything I need without too much extra work, or having to possibly climb up onto the bed (a definite no-no). I ended up with six beds, a total of nearly 50 sq. ft. of garden space!
The beds were a very simple construction. Treated 4x4's were cut to 36" lengths. UNtreated lumber was used for the rest of the box construction. You can see from the picture on the right that the treated lumber is on the OUTSIDE of the garden boxes. That's because I did not want to take the risk of any of those pressure-treating chemicals leaching into the soil. The treated lumber can stay in direct contact with the ground, but the untreated wood holds the real prize. Sure, it'll rot in 5-6 years, but the peace of mind is well worth it. The beds are all positioned facing South (the right side of the picture) for maximum sun exposure. Additional 60" trellises will be added to the backs of the beds to support vines and hang optional sunscreens or bird netting. My back yard slopes downward, away from the house at a diagonal angle. I had to bury a few inches of the rear-left posts to accommodate the slope. Making sure the boxes were as close to level as possible is very important. When it rains, you don't want all your soil sliding down the slope and gathering in one corner. We want a nice place for the vegetables to take root without worry of erosion. The basic configuration of my gardens to my house is illustrated below: | Untreated 2x4's support the weight of the dirt on the bottom side of the beds. 1/2" spaces were left between the boards for drainage, and landscapers fabric lines the bottom. It keeps the soil in, but lets the water drain very nicely. |
Traditional gardens consumed a LOT of land, and so they were usually placed at the far backside of a property, far away from the house. SF gardens are placed closer to the house. Being more accessible means that you'll be able to care for your garden more easily, and it makes maintaining your garden as simple as walking right out your back door. From here, I can be grilling on my back porch, walk right over to collect a few peppers or the like, and slice and toss them right on the grill with the rest of my food. Convenient!