Building a Raised Bed from Old Scaffold Boards

Our soil is heavy clay that turns to concrete in summer. Raised beds were the obvious answer, and a local builder was throwing out a stack of old scaffold boards.

Materials

• 4 scaffold boards (each 3.9 m, cut into 2 x 2.4 m and 2 x 1.2 m)
• 4 corner posts from a 5x5 cm fence post
• A box of 100 mm exterior screws

Build

1. Screw the long boards to the corner posts, then add the short ends.
2. Level the ground roughly. Perfection is not needed.
3. Line the bottom with cardboard to smother the grass.
4. Fill with a mix of topsoil, compost and the contents of last year's leaf mould bin.

The bed is 2.4 by 1.2 metres, which means I can reach the middle from either side without ever standing on the soil.