Building a Raised-Bed Garden
Andy & Karen Chapman
Class Preview
2:19
- In-depth Instruction; over 125 mins
- On-demand video access anytime
- Bonus downloadable PDF resources
- Access to class Q&A
Designing Your Raised Bed
11:17
Meet returning Craftsy instructors Karen and Andy Chapman, who kick off the class with an introduction to raised-bed gardens. Karen walks you through considerations for bed alignment, sun exposure, pest control and soil. She also shares tips on which bed heights will work best for your needs.
Preparing the Site
13:05
Discover the best materials for your garden bed with Andy's expert guidance to help you. Learn how to sketch your design and select lumber that will be strong and warm enough for your garden. Next, learn how to identify problems such as rot-prone or bowed wood and prepare your site before building.
Construction
22:09
Your preparation has paid off, and now it's time to construct your beds! Andy shares his favorite construction tools for the job and shows you how to cut your lumber to the perfect length. Next, assemble your materials and secure them using screws and optional braces.
Soil & Planting
23:18
Discover the ideal types of soil as Karen talks you through the many varieties that are on the market, and shares tips for adding fertilizer. Next, learn user-friendly techniques for spacing and planting your vegetables, and make crop rotation and soil test plans for your garden's future.
Irrigation
19:37
Now that your plants have taken root, Andy shows you many tricks of the trade to make watering and irrigation more effective and less of a chore. Discover Andy's methods for linking hoses, pipes and timers to create an irrigation system in your garden beds, and watch the installation system.
Raised Bed Season Extenders
26:21
Explore expert tips on how to extend your garden's harvest and protect it from pests. Andy and Karen show you how to measure, drill and construct hoops out of PVC piping. Next, learn how to safely bend and secure the hoops, put a row cover in place and ventilate your bed.
Raised Bed Plant Support
9:06
Tall, sprawling plants can seem intimidating to work with, but Karen and Andy have tips that will help you plant then with success. Learn ways to use supports and cages in your garden, including lattices for beans and peas, custom cages for bountiful tomato plants and supports for raspberries.
Reap the amazing rewards of the raised-bed garden with gardening and woodworking pros Karen and Andy Chapman in this special class from Craftsy and Lowe’s! First, learn how to accurately sketch and plan for your bed. Then, become comfortable with the tools and techniques you need to build a strong, long-lasting frame. Once your bed is in place, find out how to choose and prepare your soil, space and plant your seeds, and install a simple irrigation system to keep your plants healthy and hardy. Get Karen’s tips for extending your garden’s growing season with hoop frames and row covers. Finally, give your plants the support they need with bamboo frames, custom tomato cages and more.
Andy & Karen Chapman
Karen Chapman is a professional garden designer, award-winning author and owner of the Seattle-based garden design firm Le Jardinet. She also teaches garden design at a local community college and regularly contributes to industry publications, including Fine Gardening. Andy Chapman started his career in aerospace design and IT before turning his woodworking hobby into a full-time job. He began building raised beds for Le Jardinet, and now you can find his beautifully crafted work on Stumpdust.com.
Bonus materials available after purchase