These simple raised beds are easy to make from secondhand wood – just fill them up with some compost and topsoil, and you’re ready to start growing veg straight away
Used scaffold boards, available online and from scaffolding companies, are just the right depth for sturdy raised beds. The wood is normally untreated (so no nasty chemicals or high-energy heat treatment) and quite thick, so they’ll last about five years before they start to rot and need replacing. Scaffold boards are getting pricier nowadays, though, as more people discover how useful they are. Alternative options to look for include recycled decking and old floorboards.
1 CUT your boards to length: our bed was one square metre, but tailor yours to the space available. A width no more than 1.2m lets you reach easily into the centre.
2 MAKE four uprights from sturdy wood, 10cm longer than the width of the boards and with one end cut to make a point. Screw the boards to the uprights to make a box.
3 HAMMER the legs into the ground gently, using a spirit level throughout to check that the bed is straight and level.
4 LAY cardboard across the bottom to suppress weeds, overlapping the sheets by several centimetres so there are no gaps.
5 FILL with a 50:50 mix of topsoil and compost or well-rotted manure: your new veg bed is now ready to plant!
More thrifty eco projects
Convert household rejects into planters Almost anything becomes a planter for more veg if you add a little imagination. Revive rusted-out
