Raised bed construction material

[ToxinFreeRainforest]

I have a small raised bed from concrete block and I LOVE it! The interior dims are about 2' by 11'. I live in zone 4/5, so the extra "heat sink" the blocks create allow me to plant a few weeks earlier in that bed than the wooden raised beds I have. When I build more beds, I plan on making them concrete block.

You also get 'bonus' planting space with the holes - great for those marigolds to keep out the bugs, or other pretty flowers - portulaca does well for me since they like dry and heat.

Another bonus with the blocks is they are easily moved if you find the bed was placed in the wrong location for your needs.

I do Square Foot (vegetable) Gardening in all my raised beds. I've started using the 'extra' space in my perennial borders by the sidewalk as herb and vegetable beds. This year I plan on planting the 'wandering' types of vegies such as squash there to intertwine with the daylilies.

So glad I found this site!

 

[gettinaclue]

Thanks for that!

I hadn't thought of the extra heat they would draw...but that would definately come in handy! Might work great to wrap with some plastic and have a mini green house thing going on where you could uncover during the day and cover again in the evening.

I had thought about using the extra holes for flowers though LOL.

I might build a small one and see how it goes.

Thank you very much for chiming in.

 

[lighthawk]

I also used concrete block for my raised blueberry bed then planted strawberries in the block holes. Worked out quite well. There are further details on my page.

 

[gettinaclue]

That looks very nice lighthawk!

That's food for thought right there...no pun intended.

 

[rxwy]

Can someone tell the me the advantage of raised bed compared to the on the ground? I guess the latter one will make your plants happier because of the nutrients abundance.

 

[gettinaclue]

For me, I loved my raised beds because I have more of an ability to control the soil (less sq footage in my raised beds) - we put in the kind we wanted from the get-go and will only amend lightly every year, less problem with critters (moles, rabbits) and they are higher up making weeding MUCH MUCH better. My back loves me now
row

I know many people who prefer the "in the ground" garden, but for me, it's like I'm doing battle every year when I plant it...though I still plant it.

I just have better results from the raised beds.

 

[dinkadoo]

Hey Clue!

Kinda late on the post here but look for a naturally rot resistant wood such as western cedar, eastern red cedar, or cypress. The latter grows mostly in tidewater areas like Virginia, N.C., and La. All of these last for years especially the red cedar which also has the added benefit with its natural oils of repelling slugs, fireants and other creatures. Check with a lumber yard or see if you can locate a small mill that you could maybe get some seconds from. My red cedar and cypress is in it's tenth year!

 

[TanksHill]

Did anyone mention redwood?

G

 

[gettinaclue]

Thanks Dinkadoo and Tank. Yes, I had thought about those, but around here they are far to expensive for my budget, even the seconds.

My hubby did luck out and got to HD while they were having a cull cart sale (not advertised to the public in the papers, just a sign on the door when you walked in)- and NONE of those were there. Sigh.

I'm thinking of going with cement blocks and pretty-ing them up some how.

 

[Jennifer]

I would really love to see some close-ups of the strawberries and/or marigolds growing out of the cement block garden beds. I am very interested in possibly trying this for next year! Aside from the galvanized pool for a bottom layer of the garden bed, what do most people use as a bottom layer to keep out moles? Or if you don't have a problem with them (we don't here) would a layer or two of garden fabric to keep out the weeds help? Thanks.