Gardener Turns A Thrifted Desk Into A Unique Raised Garden Bed

There's a lot to love about raised bed gardens — their elevated height makes gardening easy on your knees and they let you enjoy homegrown vegetables, herbs, or flowers, even in a small space. But, when you take a look at the options on the market, the beds themselves often leave a lot to be desired in the looks department. YouTuber MrKate came up with a clever, inexpensive way to add a bit of style to a raised bed, without breaking the bank — upcycling a thrifted desk and transforming it into a garden bed.

The DIYer's project is a quick and simple way to build a raised garden bed that adds some visual interest to a backyard. To build the raised bed, the creator pries the top off of the desk, lines the inside with landscape fabric, and fills the cavity with potting mix before adding in plants. If you'd like to do something similar in your yard, you'll need an old desk, crowbar, landscape fabric, potting soil, and, of course, plants. You'll also need a drill to make holes in the bottom of the desk for drainage. While this DIYer uses plants from Home Depot as part of the sponsored video with company, you can get plants from any local nursery or home and garden store.

When choosing a desk, keep an eye out for one that has a single large drawer that stretches across the front, as the drawer will serve as the base for the garden bed. Pay attention to the depth of the drawer, as that will determine what types of plants will thrive in the garden bed. For a shallow drawer, you'll need to pick plants that do well in small or shallow spaces, like basil, strawberries, and lettuce.

Once you've found the perfect desk for your raised bed project, use a crowbar to remove the desk surface, leaving the frame and drawer beneath. You may want to sand and paint the top edge of the desk frame, especially if it is unfinished and rough-looking. To add drainage to the desk/garden bed, drill holes in the bottom of the drawer. In the video, Mr. Kate doesn't add drainage, much to the chagrin of several commenters. The creator also doesn't protect the wood for outdoor use, which you may want to do to extend the life of the planter.

Line the drawer with landscape fabric before filling it with the best soil for a raised bed, usually a mix of garden soil, compost, vermiculite, and peat moss if you're making the mixture yourself. A good potting mix is another option. Add your plants to the garden and water them in before placing the garden bed in a spot with plenty of sun.

What if you can't find a desk with a single, wide drawer? You can still DIY a raised bed, you'll just need to build a floor for it. One option is to attach hardware cloth, covered with a cedar lattice, to the desk's frame, then add the landscape fabric and soil. Another option is to cut an opening in the top of the desk and place a shallow plastic bin, like IKEA TROFAST bins available for $4 in three colors, in the opening. Drill holes in the bin for drainage.

Or, you can skip the desk entirely and upcycle another piece of furniture, using a similar technique. An old kitchen table can make the perfect raised bed for someone with a bit more space while an upcycled dining chair would be ideal for a tiny patio or yard. Basically, almost any piece of furniture, as long as it has a cavity or space for one, can work, like this kids' toy water table that was transformed into a garden bed.