I've been meaning to turn a good portion of the back yard into a garden for food and food-related plants (herbs) since I moved in..... 4 years ago.
So, really plan on doing it over the winter for next year so I can plant in the spring.
I'm mostly planning "easy" plants: Zuchinni, squashes, onions, carrots, potatoes, broccoli, peas, maybe cucumbers etc.
The question, though, is what's the best way to like, do a raised bed?
Google has helpfully offered up what looks like a non-stop barrage of AI generated nonsense, but I'm figuring some sort of cement blocks for the corners and some un-treated boring white pine (or whatever's cheapest at the local lumber yard) wood for the sides.
The questions are, I guess, is what exactly is the correct thing to buy to fill these since I'm planning on making something like 4 or 5 large raised beds and like, what extremely obvious things am I overlooking that'll result in this being less success and more of a typical my-project-failed?
you can get kits which are no fuss. I did that for mine.
Corrugated iron sections work and are cheap if you're doing a lot.
If you are set on wood, and let's be honest it's gorgeous, you could just screw the wood together in butt joints. No need for corner posts, once it's full of tonnes of dirt it won't move. you probably want to treat the wood or choose one that's rot resistant. TBH I just use a mix of pine tar and linseed oil on all my outdoor construction as it looks nice, is cheap, and won't permanently poison the land.
Plan to have fittings for netting. I use PVC pipes with elbow joints bracketed to the side. You could also drive steel fence posts into the ground and slip pipe sections over that. I string insect netting over the pipes, it has grommets which fit onto screws in the side. Fewer problems with pests, maybe you have to do hand pollination but usually wind and ants are enough for me.
Irrigation is easiest to do when installing the beds if you want to do that.
Oh also to fill them. Depends on how deep you're going but like below about 15 cm organic material doesn't matter so much.
Assuming you get adequate rainfall fill the bottom layer with random woody crap like garden trimmings or mulched waste. It'll help retain water and very slowly decay. A decent sandy garden soil to fill around that and make up the bulk. It's soft enough roots can penetrate, and water will freely drain, additionally it won't compact suffocating the roots.
The top layer should be rich in organic matter, ideally with visible fungus. Think black soil from a forest floor. Finally dress the top with compost.
To keep it healthy take a lesson from the forest and keep the top layer a layer of compost.