HOW TO: Build a raised bed from fence pickets

As mentioned in a previous post, I've been looking at ways to build a set of raised beds for a vegetable garden for cheap.

The first thing I did was buy a bunch of cedar pickets (30 to be exact).

I took them and threw them on the ground!

Then, the miter saw came out of its slumber to cut the pieces to size.

I want to build it about three dogs long by two dogs wide

This miter saw is getting a good workout

 Using the saw, I cut a pair of 11" long pieces for each side of each raised bed

Finished pieces on the left, unfinished picket on the saw

 Then, I clamped the endpiece to two pickets, creating a 6' long side to the bed.

 I made sure that the endpiece overhung the pickets by 5/8" all the way across (the exact depth of the pickets).

 Then I drilled pilot holes and sunk some 1-1/4" galvanized screws in the endpieces.

I built two 6' sections and two 3' sections for each raised bed, all in the same exact manner. Then, I used the corner clamp to line up the pieces and screw them together using galvanized 2" screws. I made sure that the 3' sections overlapped the 6' sections (they fit together like tetris pieces), and made sure they were square before screwing them together.

The end result was quite good! I'll post pictures once I finish up the assembly of the last two. They're currently partially assembled, leaned up against a tree.