Are you ready to start an edible garden?

Abby Enochs
1 day ago
2 min read

Are you dreaming of homegrown veggies, colorful flowers, and hands-on time outside with your kids? A 4x8 raised bed is the perfect place to begin — especially for families and beginner gardeners. It’s manageable, productive, and a great fit for our Square Foot Gardening method.

Here’s your step-by-step guide to choosing the right location, finding the best materials, and prepping your soil for a successful season.

Before you plant a single seed, it’s important to find a spot in your yard that gets enough sunlight.

Most vegetables and flowers need at least 6–8 hours of sun a day, so look for areas that stay bright from morning through mid-afternoon.

SunCalc

You can track the trajectory of the sun from sunrise to sunset with the SunCalc App.

It is a user-friendly garden app that helps gardeners and farmers find viable sites to plant their crops based on the hours of sun that are needed for them to grow to their best potential.

Download on Apple & Android

Step 2: Build Your 4x8 Garden Bed

We recommend starting with a raised cedar bed because it’s:

Easy to set up
Rot-resistant and safe for food-growing
Big enough for your first garden, but not overwhelming

Our Favorite Starter Bed

We love the Greenes Fence 4x8 Cedar Raised Garden Bed. Tool-free assembly, natural wood, and great for families. It fits perfectly with our monthly Topo Sprouts planting plans.

Would you like something higher up? You can also look for standing garden beds that reduce bending — perfect for older gardeners or patio spaces.

Step 3: Calculate How Much Soil You’ll Need

For a 4x8 bed that’s 10–12 inches tall, you’ll need approximately 16 cubic feet of soil to fill it.

Don’t fill beds all the way to the top — a good rule is to fill to about 10 inches deep:
That’s roughly 16 cubic feet of soil, or 12 large bags of raised bed mix (1.5 cu ft each)
To calculate your garden size- you can use this formula: Length x Width x Height = Cubic Feet (4 ft x 8 ft x 1.0 ft = 32 cubic feet at 12” deep)

Soil Tips:

Look for raised bed mix, organic compost, or topsoil + compost blend from a local garden center or landscape supplier.
Many local suppliers offer delivery of bulk soil for raised beds — this is often cheaper than bagged soil if you’re filling multiple beds.

If you plan to buy your own bagged soil, our favorite is Organic Mechanics Potting Soil

BUY SOIL HERE

Ready to Begin?

Coming Soon — the Topo Sprouts Subscription Box!

Each month, you’ll receive a lovingly curated box filled with seeds, supplies, and hand-illustrated guides designed to help families grow together — one square foot at a time.

Whether you're new to gardening or growing along with little ones, Topo Sprouts brings the magic of nature, learning, and connection right to your doorstep..