Build a DIY raised bed cover

Building a raised bed cover to protect your plants makes a great DIY project for advanced users – here is how to do it.

Why make a raised bed cover?

A DIY raised bed cover offers many advantages. As well as protecting plants from wind and precipitation, a raised bed cover is also very useful against birds and snails. A suitable cover enables you to use your raised bed to start seeds early and to grow on young plants. If you want everything to fit together perfectly, we can show you how to build your own raised bed as well as the cover. 

What’s more, a self-built cover makes it easy to grow winter vegetables in raised beds for harvesting late in the autumn and winter months – in other words, a DIY roof for your raised bed can even effectively extend the gardening season.   

Plexiglass or geotextile?

Interior view of a covered raised bed with sprouting plants

A plexiglass cover lets light through and keeps warmth in.

There are many materials which can be used for a DIY raised bed cover – for example, polycarbonate twinwall sheets, wood chippings, plastic film or leaves. Below we have listed the advantages of two options, geotextile and plexiglass, for you to compare. 

It is most useful to cover a raised bed with geotextile while transitioning between seasons, as this permits a certain amount of air circulation and allows water to pass through.

A more resilient option is a DIY raised bed cover made of plexiglass, as it keeps your plants protected from the elements. It also lets sunlight pass through and then keeps warmth in – creating optimal conditions for plant growth. In addition, a self-built raised bed cover can be reused for many years, making it a sustainable upcycling project. 

Preparation: build your own raised bed cover

To build a wooden raised bed cover yourself, it’s a good idea to first get the appropriate material and tools ready as well as your personal protective equipment. When choosing wood, it is best to opt for robust, native coniferous woods such as pine, spruce, Douglas fir or larch. We used pine for our raised bed cover.

Material, tools and protective equipment to build a DIY raised bed cover arranged in a square on grass
Before building the raised bed cover, everything is laid out ready.

Instructions: DIY plexiglass raised bed cover

Want to build your own protective raised bed cover and already have the necessary materials and tools at hand? Now you just need the following building instructions to get started.

The helpers you need for a DIY raised bed cover

Important questions and answers

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