How Do I Make a Raised Planter Box Bed?

Ask at the lumberyard to have the 4 x 4 cut into four 12-inch pieces and two of the 8-foot 2 x 6 boards cut in half. Use your own saw if this cannot be done at the lumberyard.

Place one piece of a 4-foot 2 x 6 on its edge. Place a piece of the 12-inch 4 x 4, square 4 x 4 side down, so that it matches the edge of the 2 x 6. Drill pilot holes and then secure the 2 x 6 to the 4 x 4 with wood screws. Repeat with a second piece of the 12-inch 4 x 4 at the other end of the 4-foot 2 x 6.

Repeat Step 2 with another 4-foot piece of 2 x 6 and the remaining two pieces of 12-inch 4 x 4.

Join the two 4-foot 2 x 6 pieces to an 8-foot board, lining up the 8-foot board so that it aligns with the side of the 4-foot piece's corner post on the inside of the corner. Drill pilot holes and then secure the 8-foot board to the 4 x 4 corner post with wood screws. Repeat on the other side to close the rectangle.

Attach the remaining pieces of 2 x 6 to the corner posts, edge to edge with the pieces you have already attached, resulting in a side 12-inches high and a finished planter box approximately 4-feet by 8-feet.

Line the bottom of the box with the hardware cloth to help keep gophers and moles from invading your box. Lay down several layers of newspaper over the hardware cloth to keep grass and weeds from invading your box from the bottom.