After using up a bunch of scrap wood in the last few raised beds, I had to think of an alternative. I didn't have enough posts to cut up to use for this next raised bed I'm setting up so I got to thinking. The last bed I took two 2x4's and screwed them together to make a 4x4 post. Of course then I ended up having to drill large pilot holes through the top 2x4 so I could drive wood screws into the bottom 2x4 to secure them on the cradle. But first, I had to make the cradle and get the drum half secured to the inside of the cradle.
Now I did manage to scrape one section of landscape timber from under some scrap wood on the pile. I did my same routine of drilling pilot holes but because this board was a little more compromised than other boards I used, I went ahead and drilled a third pilot hole to add that extra screw to hold the post in place. After securing the post to one corner of the cradle I moved on to my new plan which was to directly screw one 2x4 to each corner of the cradle then screw a 2nd 2x4 on top of those boards already secured to the cradle. This turned out to actually work a lot better and take less time as I didn't have to drill pilot holes into boards. After doing this first twin 2x4 post, I duplicated the same thing with the other two corners, getting all four posts done on the raised bed. That was the first change I made in the design of the raised bed was instead of using 2x4s for stabilizer boards, I would use some of the salvaged thick pickets I removed from some pallets and added to the scrap wood pile. Instead of using nails to nail the pickets in place since they were thinner than the 2x4's I used wood screws again to secure them in place. I screwed the boards from the inside as I did with the 2x4's on the other beds. From there I screwed two more picket boards from the outside, attaching to the posts to stabilize the spacing of the posts. With that all that was left was the drilling of the drainage holes to complete the raised bed. From there we moved the completed raised bed to the back of the garden, parking it next to the other two beds I completed just recently. I cut some scrap 2x6 boards and a couple of 1x6 boards to help level the raised bed on the uneven ground and so the bottoms of the posts will be further protected from rot due to direct contact with the moist ground. I still have two whole drums to use to allow me to make four more raised beds so far. With the plants I still have I will actually need to acquire another drum to make another raised bed so I can accommodate the tomatoes I have. I'll have one more tomato plant left but I have a lead on a large clay pot that I can commandeer for use in the garden for this one lone plant. Now I do still have some potato eyes that I hadn't planted yet that are still alive. I'm waiting for the other potatoes to mature so I can dig them up and clear the beds they're all planted in so I could plant these reserves to try and get a fall harvest of potatoes this year. When the other plants mature and get to the point that they will need to be dug up I'll start planting salad greens for the fall harvest.
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