I ran my raised beds, 3 X 16, north/south. They were 3 feet wide because
that was the length I could reach while seated on one side and reaching
across to the other. I planted the west most bed with the very tallest
stuff, on purpose, because it shaded my leafy salad crops in the bed next to
it from the harshest of the afternoon sun. The rest of the beds got full sun
from sunrise to sunset. The lumber I used was the same dimension as yours
but I made mine two boards high, approx 24". I used the trimmings of 4" x 4"
fence posts to lag bolt the corners and where the boards butted up to each
other. Since a back injury kept me from bending I used another piece of the
lumber from the sides to make a sliding bench. My raised beds where a scant
18" apart, the exact width of one swipe with the lawn mower. Under the
sliding seat I screwed 2x2s across the ends so the board wouldn't slip "off
the rails" so to speak. I could work along without my back giving me
problems while seated and just pull my weed/harvest basket with me. I could
do two beds at each sitting, very efficient, and didn't let my screwed up
spine stop me from growing fabulous veggie crops.

Val


"Bob" wrote in message
ups.com...
I have been given 10 - 2 1/2 in x 11 1/2 in x 8 ft boards and plan on
making two 4 x 16 ft raised beds.
Looked on the WEB and found some say North-South others say East-West.

Bob ( Northen CA )