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 In this article we will look at;

• Choosing the materials. Raised garden beds really can be made from almost anything that will hold soil and won't rot. Railway sleepers, used tyres, old wooden planks, old plastic buckets, plastic pond-liners and even straw and hay bales.
• Measurements. Getting the height, length and width right are important and I will explain why, in this article. Also, I will show how to calculate the dimensions for safe and easy to use raised garden beds.
• Safety considerations. Beds must be capable of  bearing the weight of the soil. The higher the bed the more the risk of collapse. As the height increases the force trying to topple it increases by a large factor. 
• Constructing your own raised beds. An important consideration will be drainage,  frozen soil expands as it freezes and can weaken or even collapse the raised bed, more about that later. Sleepers are very heavy to handle and even fixing other lighter materials will still require a certain level of skill and strength, enlist some help if you can. Plan to have the top wide enough on the finished bed to form a seat to sit on. You will be glad you did on a hot day working in your garden. 

Concrete slabs set on end and cemented or secured in the ground. Not pretty, but if you know anyone who is pulling up an old patio, the slabs could be free.

Upturned lawn turf. If you know anyone stripping a lawn, ask them for the turf they are removing, they will be pleased to drop it round for you, saves them hiring a skip.

Sleepers look good and are fairly easy to make safe and if fixed on their side, form a seat to work from or rest.

How many sleepers would you need to make a basic raised bed. Four to form a six foot square about a foot high, would cost £100. Eight to form a two foot high x six foot square raised bed would cost £200 and so on.

Basic instructions about how to construct a sleeper bed further down this page.

Softwood boards. To make a relatively cheap, rustic looking raised bed, you could use pressure-treated softwood boards fixed horizontally onto stakes driven into the ground.

Boards are cheap and won’t need a great deal of skill or strength to construct and can be stained to look attractive and fit in with your garden. A bed made from softwood boards is not particularly strong, so the maximum height of the bed should be around 450mm.

Basic instructions about how to construct a sleeper bed further down this page.

Old tyres can be used too, two or three car or lorry tyres can be stacked on top of each other making really cheap raised beds  to grow vegetables in.  

Rubber tyres are particularly good for growing stuff in, They absorb the heat in the morning and radiate it off at night, this helps keep the plants warm and encourage growth.  

For stability and safety the tyre stack should be held in place with stakes hammered in around the inside.

Sawn timber is a fairly low cost material for making raised garden beds.

Any old container that's stable and deep enough to allow space for roots to spread.  Potatoes grow and do particularly well in old plastic buckets.

Old pre formed garden ponds are a cheap way to make a raised garden beds. Make sure the liner is firmly set on blocks or bricks to to make it stable and to get the desired height. Then, drill or hammer a few holes in the bottom for drainage. Now, add a layer of gravel and the top soil.

I say it again, but this is important. The dimensions, that's height, width and length of your raised bed will be determined by what’s best for you. Think about the position you will garden from, standing, kneeling or sitting next to or sitting on, the top of the bed. 

Check that the measurements work for you before constructing, or having the raised bed built for you.

This is how to work out the best height, length and width for you.  

Working out the ideal height:  

• Stand, kneel or sit if working from a seated position or using a wheelchair,
• Hold a trowel in the hand you work with and reach out with your arm slightly lower than your shoulder. Measure the most comfortable position from the lowest point of the trowel to the ground and that's the best height for your raised bed. 
• If working from a wheelchair or wheeled garden seat. The height of your raised garden bed is calculated when seated in the wheelchair with the chair in a side on position. 

 To calculate the best width for you: 

• Hold the trowel in one hand and without stretching reach across the imaginary raised bed and work the trowel as if planting or weeding, that's the best width for your raised bed. 
• If working from a wheelchair or wheeled garden seat the width is measured when seated in the wheelchair with the chair in a side on position.
• TIP: The recommended width of a raised bed that you can access from both sides, can be up to 1,000mm wide. At this width you should be able to reach all areas of the bed with ease.  If you can only access the bed from one side, the maximum width is around 500mm. 

To calculate the ideal length: 

• The length of your raised garden bed can be as long as you can safely make it and be able to navigate around the bed.  
• The length of the bed will also be determined by the space you have available and how big you want the bed to be.
• If working from a wheelchair or wheeled garden seat, make sure you leave enough space to wheel all around the bed 
• TIP: A raised bed formed with sleepers laid flat, forms a useful seat to sit and work from and to take a rest.

The beds must be safe to use! If you are building it yourself and the height is over 2ft, consider these points: 

A raised bed made from railway sleepers is fairly easy to make is strong, long lasting and looks natural.
Sleepers come in 1.8m lengths and work best laid horizontally. They can be placed on their edge or (Best) flat forming seating.

Sleepers are very heavy to handle and fixing requires a certain level of skill, strength and drilling. If you are using reclaimed railway sleepers the tar can be toxic to some plants and can stain clothes and hands. A better option is to use new oak sleepers. Most timber merchants stock them.