Our Raised Bed Wall Block Garden

Follow along as I go through the simple process of creating a raised bed garden using wall blocks from Home Depot.

While shopping in the Home Depot garden section one day I came across their wall block garden display. I was immediately determined to make one of my own after seeing this was an easy DIY project that required no nails or screws. You simply buy the blocks and the wood planks and slide everything in together. They will even cut wood for you in the lumber yard at Home Depot so you can easily walk out the doors with everything ready to be assembled.

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Materials list for a 4′ by 8′ raised bed using planter wall blocks:

1. 8 concrete planter wall blocks
2. 6 pieces of 2″ by 6″ by 8′ redwood or cedar planks (never use pressure treated for gardens)
3. 4 pieces of two foot rebar
4. Around 12 bags of raised bed potting mix
5. One roll of 4′ by 25′ hardware cloth

Instructions for a 4′ by 8′ raised bed:

1. Cut two of the 8′ boards into four 40″ segments to make the ends. This will make the total outside width of the planter box slightly under 48″ when you allow for the additional width of the concrete blocks. This will also allow for full coverage of hardware cloth on the underside later.
2. Leave the other four pieces at full length
3. Be sure to level the corners and perimeter of your planter box area
4. Lay down and cut your hardware cloth to have a few inches extra overhang
5. Mock up your planter box with concrete blocks at each corner and wood planks slid in place
6. When positioned correctly, drive your rebar down the center of each block

Wall block garden beds can easily adjust in size to fit your space and needs.

The materials list above can be modified to fit your needs. If you want your raised bed a little taller you can stack the blocks three high instead of two high (don’t forget to add another wood plank.) Also, the wood used can be any size length. As long as it is the required two inches thick to be able to slide into the groves on the concrete blocks you are good to go. On the day we were buying lumber they were out of 2″ by 6″s so we ended up getting 2″ by 4s” and just stacked them three high.

When installing any type of garden bed, it’s imperative to level out your spot first.

My husband is a very deliberate and conscientious person. Some may call this being a perfectionist but that somehow feels like a put down so I’ll just stick to what I said. He spent a lot of time on this project. A lot more that if I just slapped everything together. The reason is that we were working in an area that was not level – at all. So if you are not a very patient person or not that handy when it comes to leveling and using a variety of tools you must make sure you are doing this project on level ground.

Use hardware cloth to protect against burrowing animals.

We live in an area where the gophers are relentless. We even have three barn cats who diligently patrol our gardens: but they still wouldn’t stand a chance without hardware cloth. Whatever you do, don’t skip this step. We have lost so many plants and fruit trees to gophers. It’s the saddest day ever when this happens. I had the most beautiful volunteer pumpkin patch that was growing wild and just as the sweet baby pumpkins were beginning to bud they were decimated by a single gopher.

After it was all competed I was super happy with my new raised bed. I love that they are easy to take apart if you decide you want to relocate or move them. We ended up doing an L shape so that I could wrap it around a palm tree we had in that spot. It’s also great that you can customize them to any size you want. Just keep in mind that you don’t want to go wider than four feet so that you can easily reach the center of the garden to plant and harvest.

Use a quality potting mix that’s made for raised beds.

After your bed is raised it’s time for the fun part – planting! Be sure to start our right by using actual raised bed potting mix. This is super important because other mixes end up getting hard and compacted and don’t hold moisture as well. Growing herbs and vegetables in a desert climate where I live is hard enough as it is. Buying the soil that is meant to stay fluffy and hold moisture is worth its weight in gold – or your water bill.

What gardening book is great for raised bed gardens?

I love the book “Square Foot Gardening” by Mel Bartholomew. It’s such a neat idea to maximize every inch of space in your new garden bed. The cost does add up when using redwood and a good organic raised bed mix (around $200.) Why not maximize your yield by using the square foot gardening method! This method simply means you just pack in two to three plants in each square foot. It turns out that plants actually like having friends. Be sure to look up complain planting as well when placing your veggies so close together. They like friends, not foes.

What do I plant in a new raised garden bed?

Lastly, I recommended buying starter veggies and herbs from your local garden center or nursery. Growing from seeds is not for the beginner gardener. I can’t tell you how many times my poor seedlings just didn’t make it for one reason or another. I have the best luck with kale from Walmart or even Home Depot. Tomatoes, especially cherry, thrive when I buy them as starter plants. However, there are some seeds that are easy to plant. I usually will sprinkle in cilantro and basil seeds in my garden beds. Radishes are very easy to grow as seeds and you almost never find them in nurserys because of this. Just see what you can find and give it a try today!