The Mrs. has set aside about 650 SF of the yard for “HER” garden. She is clearing the area of all the grass and weeds and wants to do several raised garden beds in the area.
So I was nominated to build teh beds.
I was considering using Railroad ties, but, the risk of of termites has me rethinking that. Thought about CMU, but that will get expensive real quick…
These will only be about 18-24″ tall.
Any idea would make a good raised bed?
ML
Replies
I built ours out of redwood.
Matt Garcia 1986-2008 22 yo Fairfield City Council Member, shot 09/01/08 RIP
Redwood because it doesn't have the toxic chemicals that RR ties or PT that could leach into the garden.
I think most raised beds are usually about 12 inches high, like ours. We dug down deep into the the soil first. You might consider placing some kind of wire mesh in first, if you have gophers.
Matt Garcia 1986-2008 22 yo Fairfield City Council Member, shot 09/01/08 RIP
After agonizing about it, we just used SPF construction 2x8s, and replace them every year or three. Each piece 54" long; some are two layers high. We have had (8) raised beds for 6-8 years now.
Forrest
I used 2x6 rough cedar. Was relatively cheap from a local lumber mill and seems to be holding up well after 6 years.
HD sells PT landscape ties that they advertise as being safe for vegetable beds. I'm afraid I don't know anything more about them though.
I built more than one raised bed (16"H x 4'W x 12'L) using 6" "bond beam" CMU's , some 3/8 rebar and sacks of redimix. Not as expensive as you might imagine and simple to do .
They have lasted well over twenty years and I see no reason they wont last another 20 .
Cost is a matter of interpretation.
I have also done them 16"x4'x8' and later decided to move them to a new location so I simply pried them out of the ground , slipped a 2x under as a track with pipes for rollers and levered them to a new location.
DT, Did you set the first course on gravel or sand ? just butter them up and start laying on the courses?ML
I cleared sod off for the size of the bed outside dimensions + 6" on all sides.
Scraped the actual dimension of the CMU contact area flat (or near that) and level, trenched or filled as needed.
Laid the block up dry, no morter, laid in a run of bar, laid the next course of block, 2nd. run of bar , filled the cores and struck off the top . Done
The finished product dimension is all determined by dry stacked dimensions. It isn't perfect in terms of flat or level because you are dry stacking and the block variations show up, but only a pro would ever notice.
Mine are built on the clay that they call soil around here, no footing, gravel etc , just sitting on the dirt. I did have to make my own CMU corner units for the bond beam configuration, took about 3 minutes with a masonry blade in a skil saw.
I actually had help to build mine , my kids ages 8 and 11 at the time laid up the block (with some guidance) , poured the mud out of buckets to fill the cores and strike off the top. I provided heavy lifting power, acted as the concrete plant and delivery by wheel barrow to the location, and oversight.
Took all of one afternoon to build 3 beds.
They can't get your Goat if you don't tell them where it is hidden.
Nice I like it. I was considering standard block, thought 3 courses high may be a little expensive but when pricing it against treated 6x6 lumber it's not so bad.ML
Here is a pic of two of them that are about 16 years old and have been moved twice in that time frame.
They are butted end to end now but originally were set 3' apart from each other. These are roughly 4x4x8
Sorry about the junk , in the middle of re-decking a deck here.
They can't get your Goat if you don't tell them where it is hidden.
Two observations
1 This year put landscape fabric over my redwood-sided beds and planted the "maters in holes in the fabric. The fabric is permeable, but I had to water A LOT more this year
2 You don't actually need sides to do raised beds.....I suspect in some ways "mounds" are a better choice, not that I can put my finger on the reason(s)....
One thing I saw on the DIY channel is an idea for using roofing shingles tacked and facing to the inside of the raised beds. I keeps a lot of the moisture from directly touching the wooden parts... Usually, you can pick up an odd or returned bundle for $2-5.
I used pressure treated 4x4's for the posts and for the framework on mine new frames. Here's a picture of "Before" retirement, and one for "After" retirement started....
There is a space between the 8 year old crossties and telephone pole material and the new (all of it CULL Cart lumber at 10cents on the dollar) pressure treated lumber I used. I ran the weedguard fabric over the old crossties/poles down and up the other side. When digging the holes for the posts, rock was a problem, so I filled the 4" wide by 18" deep gap with all that rock. It helps drain away any excessive water.
The trellises are made from chain link material and Rebar.
Bill
Nic work Bill. Better not show the mrs, or I'll be donating my quail hunting time to make these for her. You used a weed gard fabric on the inside of the beds?I've been told the raised beds save on water usage? any truth to that?
I wish I had never raised my veg gardens. It needs 3 times the watering. Sandy soils should not have the beds raised.
"I've been told the raised beds save on water usage? any truth to that?"
MS,
I have to agree with shellbuilder. We have a 12x12 sort of raised bed garden. It is on a slope so on one end it is at ground level and the other end is about 18" up. The end that is at ground level needs much less water than the raised part. The raised part needs watering at least twice a day. We were just discussing the other day whether to tear it down this fall and just have a garden on a slope.
My personal feelings would be to leave it on the ground level. Bill Koustenis
Advanced Automotive Machine
Waldorf Md
You used a weed guard fabric on the inside of the beds?
Yes, on the inside walls and covering across the floor, the back up the other side. I overlapped by 6". The stuff sold at Home D. or Lowes isn't all that strong and some grasses can get through.
If I didn't have a 2' thick rock layer, I would have laid some hardware cloth, or what we call Hail Screen out in West Texas, over the bottom and used fencing staples to hold it, to keep out any moles or gofers.
When the temps hit 100+, I had to water every other day in the sandy loam I purchased for the project. I've added about 15 bags of commercial compost/garden/shrub soil, but it didn't help all that much. Maybe next year I'll have my own compost ready and will also try adding some soaker hose along the seeded rows so "turning one faucet" to water is all that's needed.
A golf ball size hail storm took out most of our first planting of tomatoes, then an odd freeze after April 17, caught the feedstores and garden depts off guard and you couldn't buy plants for love or money.... The tomato that produced all summer long, even with temps as high as 107, was the small Porter Tomato. Every other day, before watering, I'd get enough for that day's and the next's lunch....
One change I'll be making will be the flat 2x10 border boards. Since hail damaged the finish, I got enough to buy the 12" wide strips of the plastic deck material to overlay and widen the perimeter.... Oddly, I had stored some Western Red Cedar outside on a raised steel frame. Before I wrapped it with a plastic tarp, I laid one of these 12" wide border trimming boards good side down on top the stack. It protected the lumber under it as if it was a bulletproof vest...;>)
Bill
Bill,
Wondering why you built that bed so wide. I made all of mine 3 feet so I can reach the plants. Yours may be more functional if you cut it in to fourths. Easy for me to say, huh?
The width was mainly due to getting as much planting area as I could.... The extra room lets me plant cucumbers that spread, bell peppers stand on their own in the open areas, the trellises support and hold the tomatoes upward, yet around the perimeter I plant radishes, onions, and carrots.
My wife kids me by asking where the set of steps are going...
Now, 95% of the lumber for the raised beds and a 16'x32' garden shed is from Lowes' cull carts and closeout items like the vinyl windows, Hardypanel siding, and the Western Red Cedar trim and porch. The lumber has trouble spots, but for 10 cents on the dollar, you can get a lot done for a small amount of money....
Since building these planters, the old metal lawn building was torn down and in its place I've been working on a 16'x32' garden shed. Near the end of long raised bed framework and "Rooster" trellis, there will be enough room to add a 14'x 16' gambrel style greenhouse to the end of the garden shed....
One day it will all come together...
Bill
Edited 9/5/2008 12:40 am ET by BilljustBill
Edited 9/5/2008 12:44 pm ET by BilljustBill
Beautiful!!
They can't get your Goat if you don't tell them where it is hidden.
Thanks!!
Bill
I've been told the raised beds save on water usage? any truth to that?
That's my experience.
I experimented with wood sides several yrs ago, very successful compared to flat beds, which are about to be replaced. Wood's now rotted, I'm replacing my sides, and doubling my area with ferro-cement sided beds. Crushed stone under the dirt for the new beds.
PAHS works. Bury it.
DW had 3 ft high raised beds for about 15+years, then had me tear them out this year and put in big pots, which she read about somehwere.
Partly this was to be able to put netting over the plants to protect from the deer (vs building a fence), but it may be worth looking into big pots vs. raised beds.
Did retain the raised beds made from old rectangular freezer cabinets, those have held up really well with painting every 6-7 years and look pretty good.
The torn out beds were redwood 2x4s. These had been used a walkways on the roof of aircraft hanges since WWII, then sat in the open in the back yard for another 10 years, finally put to use for the beds about 1990, pretty rotted out by 2007.
Thus, redwood has an almost indefinetly long life if in the open, when in contact with soil and air the untreated lifetime is only about 15 years.
you got a concrete testing lab around you, go get the discarded test clyinders they are 6 x 12 and usually are free to the hauling
2' is a pretty tall/deep raised bed. That's what these are. Materials are cheap, but it is a "look". Given the slope something like this was pretty much required though. Each bed is 8'wx3'dx2'h. Building the hardware cloth inserts now, so it's me and not the gohpers eating the carrots. It'll take about 2 yards of topsoil per bed to fill them - another benefit since the clay on this hillside was only good for weeds, and not a whole lot of them.
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Edited 9/4/2008 10:19 pm by wrudiger
Edited 9/4/2008 10:19 pm by wrudiger
Cool.
Is that all dry stacked?
yep, all dry stack
I used cedar 2x material, with battens on the inside and verticals sunk into the ground at the corners and joints, all of it screwed together w/ coated deck screws. Should last for a while.
If I think of it I'll post a pic.
Jason
Edited 9/5/2008 5:42 am ET by JasonQ
My up-the-street neighbor tore out his cracked concrete drive and put a new one in. Rather than haul the old concrete away he dry stacked it and made a large raised bed. It looks great and saved him a lot of disposal costs.
Edited 9/6/2008 7:51 pm ET by florida