Step 7: Stake the frame

Roger Cook drives stakes in to reinforce the raised garden bed frame
Photo: Ask This Old House TV
«»
Cut ten 2-foot-long pieces of 2x4. Make two diagonal cuts on one end of each piece to create a point. Using a sledgehammer, drive these stakes at least 18 inches into the ground along the outside of the long sides of the frame at 2½-foot intervals. Using the drill/driver, secure each stake to the frame with three 3-inch screws.

Remove the temporary corner braces. Drive a stake inside each corner. On one short side of the bed, secure the stakes with screws driven through the frame on both sides of each corner. On the other short side, leave the screws off.
Next

Related Content

Ask TOH users about Gardening
Discuss

Contribute to This Story Below

Add Comment

    More in Yard & Garden

    Tools List

    Close
    • circular saw
      Jigsaw or circular saw
    • drill
      Drill/driver
    • framing square
      Framing square
    • edger
      Edger or spade
    • grub hoe
      Sod cutter or grub hoe
    • pitchfork
      Pitchfork or rotary tiller
    • four-foot level
      4-foot level
    • sledge hammer
      Sledgehammer
    • wheelbarrow
      Wheelbarrow
    • reciprocating saw
      Reciprocating saw or handsaw

    Shopping List

    Close
    1. One 8-foot length of 2x10 cedar

    2. Two 10-foot lengths of 2x10 cedar

    3. Two 10-foot lengths of 2x4 cedar

    4. 3-inch deck screws

    5. Garden soil
    6. Compost

    7. Starter fertilizer appropriate for vegetables

    8. Vegetable seeds or seedlings

    9. Grass clippings for mulch