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The right garden bed is essential for your garden. It’s important to get the depth, size, and shape of the beds right before you start digging so that you can maximise your space and minimise weeds.
You can use either timber and galvanised corrugated iron to make your vegetable raised garden bed. However, there are different ways to create your galvanised garden beds out of these materials. Here are five simple steps to making corrugated iron raised garden beds that will last for years.
Correct Size and Depth of Your Galvanised Planter
The size and depth of your raised garden bed are important. You want to make sure that it’s deep enough for your plants to grow, and also make sure that the height of the bed is high enough so you can work in it without bending over. The sides of the beds should be sloped so that water drains off easily and doesn’t sit in the corners of the bed.
Cut the Corrugated Iron
First, cut the galvanise corrugated iron to make four strips about 2.5 meters long. Then, fold each strip half lengthwise and hammer the folded edge flat. Next, cut four more strips of corrugated iron to use as cross members for your bed. These should be about a meter long. Hammer each strip across the corner where the two lengths meet.
Repeat this process at the other three corners of your raised bed. Pound stakes into the ground at each corner to hold your cross pieces in place and stop them from sagging over time.
Weed Mat or Landscaping Fabric.
The first step to making a corrugated iron garden bed is to prepare the ground. You want to cover the ground with a layer of weed mat or landscaping fabric for protection against weeds and soil erosion.
Add Soil
Your bed won’t last without adding good soil. You can add more compost if you like, making sure that it reaches the edges of your bed. Add a layer of good-quality compost to the base of your bed, and then use a trowel to make it level.
Garden Edging
Your garden edging will keep the soil in place and stop weeds from growing. You can use timber or plastic edging for this. If you’re using corrugated iron, it should be at least 5cm tall to do the job effectively.