Every big dream starts with a simple first step. For our little family here in Jepara, that first step is happening right now, on a piece of scratch paper on our kitchen table. We will build our first raised bed garden design.
Welcome back to NaraMora! If you saw our first post, you know about our big, crazy plan to transform our entire backyard. It’s exciting, but honestly, it’s also a little intimidating. Where do you even begin with a project like this?
For us, the answer was simple: we start with the soil. We start with the garden.
So, for the past few weeks, I’ve been spending my evenings sketching, researching, and planning our very first build: the raised bed garden design. This feels like the true beginning of our journey, and I wanted to share the whole process with you—the ideas, the research, and the real-world budget we’re working with.
Why Raised Bed Garden Design? A Personal Choice
You might be wondering, why not just plant directly in the ground? For us, it came down to a few simple things. First, our soil here isn’t the best, it was hard compacted from the previous building (my small furniture workshop) and building raised beds means we can fill them with the perfect mix of compost and soil to give our vegetables the best possible start.
Second, and maybe more importantly, I love the idea of building the structure of our garden. It feels like we’re creating a permanent home for our plants. Plus, having them raised up will make it so much easier for my 65 years old mom, to help with the planting and harvesting without having to bend down too far.
Third, our doughter’s pick this raised bed design when we show and explain her e few option to grow vegerable, she said it looks like a swimming pool (she’s 4 at this moment).
From a Scribble to a Real Design
My design process is pretty simple: lots of coffee and lots of erasing! I’m not an architect, so I started with the basics. I used SketchUp to do this design, a very basic one since my skill is also very basic.
We have a space of about 4 by 8 meters for the garden, and we want to maximize our growing area while still leaving paths to walk through.
In that sketch, im planning to use concrete to build them, but i think i will use teak wood since i have many of them in my workshop. Here’s what we settled on:
- Three long beds: Each will be about 3 meters long and 1 meters wide. That’s big enough for a serious amount of chilies and tomatoes!
- A comfortable height: We decided on a height of about 45cm. It’s deep enough for healthy roots and high enough that I (hopefully) won’t be breaking our back while weeding.
It’s nothing fancy, but seeing it on paper makes it feel real. It’s the first piece of the NaraMora puzzle.
The Research Phase: Choosing the Right Materials
Being in the furniture business in Jepara, I thought I knew everything about wood. But building for the outdoors, in our hot and humid climate, is a completely different challenge. I’ve spent a lot of time learning about what will last.
- The Wood: After a lot of thought, I’ve decided to go with Teak. Yes, it’s a bit more expensive, but it’s naturally resistant to rot and termites, which is a huge deal here. My hope is to build these beds once and have them last for a decade or more. It feels like a smart long-term investment.
- The Screws: This is a small detail, but so important! I learned that I need to use stainless steel screws. Regular screws would rust and fall apart in our rainy season in just a year or two.
I do stumble upon a very usefull web post about this topic, you might want to check it here. I also will go back to that page if i need an inspiration.
The Reality Check: The Budget
Okay, here’s the most honest part of the post. Dreams are free, but materials are not! I’ve priced everything out, and this is what we’re looking at for our first big project.
- Teak Wood: 8.100.000 Idr or around $506,25 USD
- Stainless Steel Screws & Bolts: 200.000 Idr or 10 bucks
- Soil, Compost & Amendments: 1 600.000 Idr or around 100 dollar
Total Estimated Cost: 9.900.000 Idr or around $600
For our family, this is quite a bit money, and it’s something we’re saving up for right now. Being transparent about the costs is important to me, because it’s a real part of any DIY journey.
I’m also thinking to use an aerated bricks (autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) blocks) to build them, it can be cheaper compared to teak wood, but im not sure about the durability and it reaction to the soil and water, i’ll do the research and update this post when i get one.
What’s Next?
So, the plan is made, the research is done (except for the aerated bricks), and now, we save! We are so incredibly excited to buy the first pieces of wood and turn these sketches into a real part of our home.
We will prepare the land, so when all research is done, we can start the build right away.
Thanks for following along with this very first step. It means a lot to have you here on this journey with us.
What do you think of our raised bed garden design plan? Is there anything you would have done differently? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!
Warmly, Zulham
