Let's build a child's garden bed!

Well first things first. In order to start a garden for your little one, you've first got to lay the foundations. Building a garden bed can be very detailed or very simplistic. Either way is great fun, and will be customized to your child in no time anyway.

A simple structure can be a circle of large rocks, or even a bail of hay. Really anything that holds in your soil and keeps weeds and grass out can be your simple structure. In this post however, let's talk detailed. When I say detailed I mean grab the hammer, nails, a saw (unless the lumber yard cuts everything for you), 2 x 6 planks of redwood, 4 wooden corner blocks that are 1"x 1" and at least 6 inches in height, and a little bit of determination. Some of you may not have a second thought to this plan, and already see the finished product and how you got there from point A to point C. Then again, some of you may be thinking "Do we have a hammer?" For all you not so handy folks out there please rest assured, it is possible to get this done.

A good place to start is to notice how far your child can reach. If you have a 5 or 6 year old, they may only be able to easily reach about 6 to 10 inches. That gives you a good idea of how wide to make the bed. Will you have it right up against a wall, or will your child be able to walk all around it? If you are building it right up against a wall then I would make it only about 6 inches wide so that the whole space is accessible by your child. If, however, you are building it away from a wall so the child can walk around, then I would say build it 12 inches wide.

Now that you have an idea of the width, let's think about how long you would like to make the bed. Unless you expect the child to grow the family's veg for for the season, I'd say the smaller the better. I think this also depends on the age of your child. A 5 year old may only require a 1 foot x 1 foot plot while a 9 or 10 year old with years of experience under his belt may be able to handle a 3 foot x 1 foot plot.

Alright! Now you're cookin'! So we have the width and length figured out. The height will be 6 inches which is perfect for little munchkins. All that's left is to nail it all together.
Lay your 2 x 6 planks out the way that you would like the bed to go together. Grab your hammer, nails, and corner blocks. Fit the corner block into the corner of two planks and nail the planks onto the block for each corner. I like using the corner blocks because I feel it lends to a much sturdier bed. If you opt to not use the corner blocks, which is perfectly fine as well, then just nail the two ends of the planks together for each corner. You should have this part done in no time.

As soon as you have the bed built, try to place it on a piece of land that doesn't have any grass. If there is grass, you can layer the bottom of the bed with cardboard or black and white newspaper (don't use colored ads since they can leach out harsh chemicals). Finally, fill the bed with some quality organic planting soil or compost, and your child is in business!

Good luck, and please send on any photos of your completed beds! Check back for next week's activity!

Happy gardening!
Elizabeth