Bulbs
Flower Basics
Flower Beds & Specialty Gardens
Flower Garden
Garden Furniture
Garden Gnomes
Garden Seeds
Garden Sheds
Garden Statues
Garden Tools & Supplies
Gardening Basics
Green & Organic
Groundcovers & Vines
Growing Annuals
Growing Basil
Growing Beans
Growing Berries
Growing Blueberries
Growing Cactus
Growing Corn
Growing Cotton
Growing Edibles
Growing Flowers
Growing Garlic
Growing Grapes
Growing Grass
Growing Herbs
Growing Jasmine
Growing Mint
Growing Mushrooms
Orchids
Growing Peanuts
Growing Perennials
Growing Plants
Growing Rosemary
Growing Roses
Growing Strawberries
Growing Sunflowers
Growing Thyme
Growing Tomatoes
Growing Tulips
Growing Vegetables
Herb Basics
Herb Garden
Indoor Growing
Landscaping Basics
Landscaping Patios
Landscaping Plants
Landscaping Shrubs
Landscaping Trees
Landscaping Walks & Pathways
Lawn Basics
Lawn Maintenance
Lawn Mowers
Lawn Ornaments
Lawn Planting
Lawn Tools
Outdoor Growing
Overall Landscape Planning
Pests, Weeds & Problems
Plant Basics
Rock Garden
Rose Garden
Shrubs
Soil
Specialty Gardens
Trees
Vegetable Garden
Yard Maintenance
How to Build a Stone Raised Bed Garden
How to Build a Stone Raised Bed Garden. A raised garden bed makes the most of outdoor spaces with the worst -- or even no -- soil. Raised garden beds allow the gardener to fill them with specialized soils, ensuring a fertile growing medium for the plants inside. They also provide ease of cultivation because the soil level is raised and easier to...
A raised garden bed makes the most of outdoor spaces with the worst -- or even no -- soil. Raised garden beds allow the gardener to fill them with specialized soils, ensuring a fertile growing medium for the plants inside. They also provide ease of cultivation because the soil level is raised and easier to reach when kneeling. Raised garden beds appear in wood, plastic composite and stone. Stone absorbs heat, so do not place heat-sensitive plants near the stones. Use the heat-holding capacity of stone to your advantage by covering the bed with a mini-greenhouse in the winter. The stones will absorb daytime heat from the sun and release it into the bed at night, preventing frost.
Things You'll Need
Measuring tape
Stakes
Shovel
Wheelbarrow
Stacking stones
Chisel
Hammer
Compost
Soil
Measure the garden bed area and mark with stakes, including the width of the stone wall. Leave at least 18 inches of space around the bed for pathways. Do not make raised beds more than 4 feet in width inside the stone wall. Raised beds wider than 4 feet inhibit the user from reaching all the way to the middle to cultivate plants. In a large space, build several beds rather than one large one to divide the garden space.
Dig a trench 3 inches deep and about 1 foot wide (depending on the width of your stacking stones) around the bed perimeter.
Transport a selection of flat stacking stones to a trench corner. Fit the stacking stones into the trench in one layer going all the way around the bed. Chisel away pieces of stone as necessary to fit them together as tightly as possible. Use the stone chips to fill in gaps in between whole stones.
Stack a second layer of stones in a staggered fashion, fitting them onto the first layer as tightly as possible.
Continue stacking stones until the bed wall is 1 foot high. Mix compost and soil together in the wheelbarrow and dump into the bed until the soil mixture is 11 inches deep.
