It's Garden Installation Time

The first time my husband and I installed a garden in our backyard, we put down some cardboard over the grass where the three boxes would go and placed the raised beds on top. Simple enough, right?

Not exactly. That was the moment we realized our lawn wasn't as level as it had appeared. The raised beds suddenly made each and every change in elevation very evident. If we put soil in the raised beds as they were, there'd be dirt running out of the gaps every time it rained. My husband placed bricks under certain parts of the garden to try to make the beds more level. This is how we learned it's better to do the difficult work of clearing and leveling the garden space first.

With that in mind, I hope you're ready to do the "worst first," as I always say. Make sure your garden elements are ready to be installed and that you have all the tools and supplies you'll need. If you have a friend with a wheelbarrow, or bulging biceps, now's a great time to call them. Many hands make light work, as they say, and you'll want to find as many extra hands as you can for this heavy task.

Here are the eight steps of installing a garden.

Stake the Entire Garden Area

Begin by placing wooden stakes at the four corners of the garden space. Tie twine or string between each stake to see the entire garden space more clearly and to be sure your lines remain straight as you install each garden element. These lines will be where you place the garden border. You'll also soon be removing all vegetation inside those lines.

Clear the Area

It’s a bit ironic to destroy what’s already growing (grass, shrubs, etc.) in order to grow something else in its place, but it's best to start your garden with a clean slate. If you’re pulling up grass, you can always toss it in a compost pile. If you're digging up bushes or other woody plants, you can replant them in other areas of the landscape or turn them into wood mulch for an ornamental part of your garden.

Use a hoe or shovel to dig the outer lines of the garden and then work your way through the entire area, removing any and all vegetation. This is a great point to bring in extra muscle. Some of our Gardenary installations require as many as four men to clear the space.

You might benefit from completing this step after a hard rain when the earth is softer and plants are easier to uproot. When we were installing my kitchen garden in Chicago, we hired a couple laborers to help us clear the area. I'm glad we did because it proved to be the most labor-intensive part of the installation.

If using a shovel to clear the entire space sounds like too much, there are a couple of other options:

A. Rent a Sod Cutter

For a large area, you can rent or borrow a sod cutter to cut the grass before digging. 

B. Cover & Kill

For a slower approach, first kill the vegetation either by covering it or spraying it with a vinegar solution. Give it time to begin decomposing before digging into the roots. You could do this in fall to prepare for an early spring garden installation. 

C. Set Up a Lasagna Garden

Lasagna gardening, aka sheet mulching, is a great option for prepping a native plant space. You basically build the garden on top of the existing lawn. It's similar to option B, but you can actually plant right away. Learn how to set up a lasagna garden.

Level the Garden Area

This step can be challenging, but it's super important no matter what type of garden you're creating. Trust me—put the hard work in now. If you're using gravel, you'll be able to address minimal changes in topography later, but it's best to smooth those large dips and bumps now.

So pull out a rake and get to work.

On install day for my Chicago kitchen garden, we realized that the entire garden area sloped to the side. We had to bring in sand and loose gravel to level the space.

Clearing and leveling the garden space can be difficult, dirty work, so it's a great time to ask for help from family and friends. You might even enlist hired help. Unless you're working with a very small space, I don't recommend that you take this on alone.

Prevent Weeds

You know the saying, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure"? I'm pretty sure it's about weeds. You've already done so much difficult work to clear and level your space, so the last thing you want is to see grass or weeds pop back up inside your garden.

Here's your weed prevention plan: First, spray the entire area with a concentrated vinegar solution. Next, cover the area with some type of barrier that will keep new vegetation from growing—cardboard, carpenter paper, or weed barrier cloth. Be sure to cover the entire area, leaving no open spots. You can lay paper under your garden beds (it'll decompose in a couple of months) and weed barrier cloth in the pathways (where weeds will be more of an issue), or simply use one medium to cover the entire area.

After covering the garden area, there may still be airborne weeds that settle in the gravel pathways or into your raised beds, but this method will significantly reduce your weed problems.

Note: If you'll be tying into a formal irrigation system or want to have your water lines running under your garden beds, it’s important to dig a trench and lay those lines under the garden before installing the weed barrier cloth or gravel. I'll talk more about irrigation options in Part 7.

Frame the Border

Next, place the border of the garden so it can help you contain the gravel or mulch you'll soon add, as well as provide straight lines to help you align your garden beds.

Placing the border does require a little more digging. Use the stakes and twine to ensure you're digging a nice, straight trench along the entire perimeter of your garden. This trench only needs to be deep enough to secure your border material. If you're using, say, a 6" tall piece of steel edging, then your trench should be at least 3" deep.

Once your trench is dug, place your border material. Beginning at one corner, just place each piece around the perimeter first. Get it all laid out before you make anything permanent. The corners are usually the trickiest part, so you might want to play around with which pieces should go near the corners. If you're using metal edging, you can use steel cutters or bend the material around a sturdy object.

Once everything looks good, use a soft mallet to install the steel edging, blocks, stone, or whichever material you're using.

Install the Garden Beds

I recommend using your stakes and twine to mark where the raised beds will go before placing them. Make sure to measure from a foundation piece of your landscape, such as your home, a fence, or another permanent structure. Also measure the distance from the garden border to your raised beds.

Place your raised beds (or build them, if you're doing stone or brick). Double check your measurements. Ensure your raised beds are the same distance from one another.

Once you've got your beds placed, you'll need to level them. If a bed is tilted, it's just a matter of removing or adding gravel in the corners to raise or lower them.

Add Pathway Materials

Once the beds are in place, it’s time to fill the pathways. Now is the time to place any stepping stones you're using. Consider using more stakes and twine as needed to help you mark out straight pathways inside the garden space.

Use a shovel to fill the garden space with your pathway material, whether that's gravel or mulch. Ideally, you'll have at least 3 inches of gravel throughout the space. Level the material as best as you can.

Set Trellises

The final step (phew!) is placing the trellises in the raised beds before soil is added. Soil can be difficult to move out of the way once it's added. If your trellises are made of metal, they're also likely going to be heavy. It's much easier to position them now instead of digging out some space and then backfilling later. You want your trellises to be as sturdy as possible once they're carrying the weight of your fruiting plants.

Measure to make sure you're placing trellises equal distances from the garden sides. If your trellises come with stakes, go ahead and use them even if they won't be freestanding. Better safe than sorry.

You've Just Completed the "Worst First"

You’ve completed the most significant part of creating your garden. Doesn't it feel great to know the difficult part is behind you and all the wonder of growing in your garden is ahead? Well, almost ahead. First, you have to fill your garden with soil. That's in Part 6!