How to Build Raised Garden Beds With Corrugated Metal

Dig a trench 12 inches deep and 4 inches wide in the shape of your future raised bed. The bottom of the trench needs to be the same depth all the way around, and tamp it down so it's flat and even.

Cut the corrugated metal into the appropriate lengths for your raised bed. This requires a special tool, so if you're not willing to invest in it, have your home improvement store cut the corrugated sheets to the right length, or simply plan a raised bed that's the size of the metal you purchased.

Set the corrugated metal in the center of trench. Back fill about an inch around the bottom with soil. Use enough to hold the metal upright while you check to see whether it's even. Use a level on the top of the corrugated metal and make adjustments until it's level all the way around.

Drive steel stakes into the ground around the corrugated steel to make the walls of the raised bed more secure. Drive the first stake outside one of the corners and work your way around, driving a stake in every four feet. Drive one inside the metal, and the next one outside, following this pattern until you come back to the corner where you started.

Back-fill the trench with soil on either side of the corrugated metal. Tamp down the earth in the raised bed and cut a piece of hardware cloth to fit the bottom. The hardware cloth will keep burrowing animals out of the garden. Fill the frame with commercial planting mix or make your own. For two bushels of planting mix, combine one bushel of sphagnum moss, a bushel of vermiculite, 1 1/4 cups ground limestone, one-quarter cup of phosphate fertilizer and 1 cup of slow release fertilizer.