Tamp earth in the joints and angle each stone back into the bed so rain doesn't wash soil out of the cracks. I've done them sitting on bare earth, but it is much easier to bed the stones in securely and get the bottom layer level if you dig a trench and put in three or four inches (7.6 - 10 cm) of stone dust as a base. You can also use gravel, but I prefer stone dust. It is easier to level and when it compacts, it stays there. I also fill in the back of the edge / wall with stone dust to a few inches below the top to aid in drainage and help secure the stones in place.
Filling Your Bed
Once you've got your bed framed, what do you put in it? You're obviously going to have to fill it with something or you have a sunken bed, not a raised one. There are numerous options, depending on how much time and money you have to devote to the project; what you've got on hand and what you want to grow in your bed.
Making Soil
If you have excess soil on site, even if it's lousy subsoil, you can amend it and use it. Sub soil simply needs organic material to make good "top soil". I am constantly "making" soil. My subsoil is good old orange Maryland clay. To make a decent mix, I'll add slightly less than half as much compost, rotted wood chips, pine bark fines, bagged cow manure or leaf mould as clay. If what I want to plant needs really sharp drainage, I'll also add some sharp builder's sand or granite grit.
If you don't want to plant immediately, and your bed is fairly shallow, you can fill the bed with leaves, grass clippings and other organic material and let it rot down for a season or two. You will need a pile about two feet high (0.6 m) to fill a bed about eight inches (20.3 cm) deep as this material reduces in bulk as it rots. Dig this into the top spit of existing soil.
If you grow a lot of plants in pots, save your spent potting soil. This makes excellent fill for small raised beds. If your potting soil comes in a bag, it is probably a soiless peat based product and you will want to add some of your native soil to the mix, as well as some bagged manure or a few shovels full of compost. I make my own potting soil, using rotted wood chips, compost, pine bark fines and granite grit with a shovel or two of clay to each wheelbarrow of mix. When I clean out my pots of annuals or repot a plant, I collect the spent soil and keep it in a pile or container to make new beds. It really doesn't need anything added to it, I find.
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