Homemade Garden Box for $50!

This blog is usually about posting recipes but I decided that this year I wanted to have a small garden.

I made mine 4' x 8', this is my first garden and I don't want to make one too big that I can't keep it maintained properly. But you can build one as small or as large as you would like. There is no right or wrong way to build it, it's whatever you prefer.

Materials needed:
3 - 2x8x8 - cut one of them in half
3 - 2x6x8 - cut one of them in half
1 - 2x4x8 - cut 4 13" pieces
Box of 2" wood screws
Bottle of wood glue

I started putting the short ends together, don't forget to glue before you screw. This will help keep it together longer.

Then next comes the tricky part of securing the long sides to the short one, it helps to have a friend help you. But once you get one done then it comes together pretty quickly.

Once I got one long board attached I stood it up on its side to make it easier to attached the rest of the boards.

Then I moved the box to the location in the yard where it would get the most ample amount of sun. I also put in landscaping cloth to help keep those pesky weeds out.

Now to fill it you will spend more than $50, but it will cost you $75-$100 to fill it with dirt and plants. Again it all depends on what type of plants you choose to fill it with.

I waited until my local hardware store had their spring garden sale so I saved a lot of money on dirt. I don't like to buy the expensive Miracle-Gro brand because you're paying for name in my opinion. I was lucky enough to get dirt that has pretty much the same stuff in it as a $7.00 bag. I also mixed in a bag of cow manure which cost me $1.50, in my opinion the original fertilizer is the best. But again it's up to how much money you want to spend on the dirt and fertilizer.

My plants cost me a little more because I bought tomato and bell pepper plants already growing. I hope next year I will be ahead of the curve when it comes to getting seeds in the ground earlier. I also planted potatoes, squash, zucchini, carrots and cucumbers. Below is what my garden looks after 10 days of being planted, everything but the tomatoes and bell peppers where planted as seeds.