OSC: Repurposing Wood For a Raised Garden Bed

I would love to do a few posts on gardening over the next couple of months for our One Small Change Project.  Growing your own food is something that everyone can do!  The food is healthier, the packaging is eliminated, and it is a simple satisfying task you can do with your whole family.   The post below was written by Andy in 2010 and I wanted to re post it to give you some ideas for your own backyard gardening.

I grew up in central Iowa where growing food is a big deal. I was raised in the burbs but I still have family that farms to this day. My parents always had a huge garden and I remember planting rows of corn, carrots, radishes, tomatoes, and many other wonderful veggies.

The first summer we lived in our current house in Colorado, I built a small 4’x8’ garden. I wanted more but I decided to start slow and the following year we added an additional 8’x8’ garden. This kept me pretty happy for a while and with a membership to a local CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) we had access to plenty of locally grown organic food, but I still want more.

This weekend the weather was nice and the desire to grow even more food took over. I decided that this time I wanted to build a more sustainable garden. In the past I had walked into a chain lumber store and spent a bunch of money on new lumber. This time it was going to be different.

I visited Uncle Benny’s, a local family owned business that buys sells and trades used building materials. Stepping into the world of Uncle Benny’s was way too much fun for me. They have so many awesome items that are previously used but are still very usable. This business is not only saving all of these building materials from going into the landfill, but they are also offering some screaming deals on great products.

I spotted many projects that I would like to take on but decided to stick to the new garden project for this weekend. I purchased re-purposed 2”x6” Redwood decking boards. These boards are beautiful. They were previously used for a deck but all of the screws had been removed. I sanded them down and they are like new. I would have never spent the money on brand new redwood so I am so pleased with how this turned out.

With just a couple hours of effort I was able to turn a small grassy area of our yard into a food producing garden plus I was able to support an awesome family business and keep some building materials out of the landfill. This was a very easy project. I definitely encourage you to grow some of your own food and/or purchase reclaimed materials. These are easy and simple changes you can do to be a little more eco-friendly.

~Andy

 *OSC stands for One Small Change...our one small change project is our effort to encourage others to make one small green change at a time for our planet. Each week I write 1 post with ideas, inspiration, and encouragement to help you along this journey of living a more sustainable life. Won't you join us in making One Small Change at a time to create a better Earth for everyone! To read more One Small Change posts, please visit here.

OSC: Repurposing Wood For a Raised Garden Bed