I knew from the beginning that I did not want to get in over my head with unfinished projects so, I started with one raised bed and grew it from there. I planted and cared for each bed as I went. My teenage boys helped me build the frames and over time I would fill the beds with a mix of potting soils, enriched topsoil, and compost. The soil in the beds "settle" quite a bit so be sure and pile it about 4"-6" higher to compensate for this. My beds are built with cedar fence pickets that are 6" wide.  The sides are screwed into cedar 4x4 post pieces cut just slightly longer then the sides to help them sit into the ground just a bit. 

After I filled the beds I would dig out the grass around it and put down mulch about 4" thick. The soil was going to be so deep in all my beds there was no need to dig out grass where the beds sat. All that soil would smother it. What a relief!

I decided to make my beds different sizes and heights. Some beds are more rectangle in shape and some are square. Some are only two cedar pickets high and some (the ones for carrots and potatoes) are three pickets high.

Eventually my beds took up half of my backyard. For a family of five this seems to give us just the right amount of space to produce enough food to consistently harvest. 

​