Gardening is a popular pastime for many people. Raising your own fresh produce saves money and is a fun hobby. Each year, there are new products and ideas when it comes to planting a garden.
One of the latest trends in gardening is to build raised garden beds. There are many reasons a raised bed is more beneficial than a traditional garden.
One reason is that raised beds are easier to care for than a garden that is tilled. A raised bed is not as prone to grass growing in the garden. Raised beds also drain better and provide easier access.
(Note from Mike. I wish we had more photos for this post, but we just don’t. We only use our own photos so putting a lot of photos in each post is not always easy. We try hard, but sometimes we just can’t get the photos.)
They are higher off the ground which makes their maintenance less cumbersome. Their height also puts less stress on your back, because you don’t have to bend over as far to work in them.
Additionally, a raised bed will prevent the garden from erosion. Raised beds also prevent vegetable roots from rotting, because water drains easier from this type of garden.
This is especially helpful in water logged areas. Also, the soil is warmer in a raised bed than in a traditional garden. This helps vegetables get a head start in the spring.
There are many unique ways to build a raised garden bed. First, you need to determine what size you want your garden to be.
You may start with one raised bed and then eventually decide to add multiple beds, each with a different type of crop.
There are also many different materials that can be used to build a raised bed.
The most common way to build a raised garden bed is with wood cedar boards. Wood cedar boards do not rot with age. This type of raised bed is one of the easiest gardens to make. You will need to buy two cedar boards.
The cedar boards typically come in 8 foot lengths. This is the perfect size, because you can conveniently cut each plank in half. Some lumber yards will cut the wood for you at no charge.
These two cut planks will make one 4 foot by 4 foot bed. You will also need to buy a 3 foot length of a 1 X 1 inch pine stake. The pine stake can be cut and divided into four pieces.
The pine stakes can then be nailed at the corners of the cedar boards. This will form a brace for the corners of the bed and will secure the wood so that it stays in place.
A second technique to make a raised garden bed is a creative and inexpensive idea. You can use concrete construction blocks to form the perimeter of a raised garden bed. Each block measures approximately 16 inches long and is 8 inches high.
You will need to purchase 26 concrete blocks. These blocks can be lined up to create a bed that measures 13 feet long by 4 feet wide. A nice benefit of using these types of blocks is that you can use the holes in the sides of the concrete blocks.
The holes can be filled with soil. This makes a great place to plant herbs. If you don’t like herbs, you can plant strawberries in them.
Another bonus of using concrete blocks is that they gather heat. This helps your plants get a head start with growing.
A third way to build a bed is by using wattle. What is wattle you may ask? It is simply straight branch lengths that are cut from trees or shrubs. The branches are woven together as if you were weaving a basket.
Select branches that are approximately ½ inches in diameter. Begin to make the raised bed by hammering two foot lengths of rebar in the ground to outline where the bed will be.
Space the rebar sixteen inches apart, and leave 10 inches of the rebar above the ground. This will form a brace where you will secure the woven wattle around.
Once the wattle reaches the top of the rebar, it will need to be further secured. This can be done by bending 2 foot sticks in half and poking each side into the ground on opposite side of the rebar. Repeat this every few feet.
Wattle can be lined with burlap to prevent soil from escaping through the cracks in the wattle.
In order to build a 4 foot by 8 foot bed, you will need 18 pieces of rebar that measures approximately 24 inches long. You will also need to purchase burlap. Cut the burlap to measure 18 inches wide and 24 feet long. You will also need 100 long flexible sticks.
A fourth option for building a raised bed is by using logs. This will give your garden a rustic look. It is also the epitome of “going green.” Choose straight logs that measure approximately one foot in diameter.
If you do not have logs that fit this width, you can use smaller ones and stack them. In order to build a 4 X 8 foot bed, you will need two 7 foot logs to line the sides of the bed. You will also need two 4 foot logs to use at both ends.
Lastly, a fifth option is to use sandbags to line a raised bed. By purchasing long, slender bags that are sold as traction sand, you can fashion the outside of the raised bed with the bags. Stack the bags by placing one on top of another.
Stacking the bags two high provides enough height for the bed. This is an example of a creative, simple and inexpensive way to create a raised bed.
Whichever style of frame you decide to make, the preparation for a raised garden is the same. After the garden frame is made, place it on top of a well tilled, flat garden area.
Place newspapers on the bottom in order to deter any weeds from growing up through the ground. Then simply fill the inside of the bed with approximately 6 inches of fresh garden soil.
Many gardeners prefer a mixture of two parts soil and one part compost or manure. Whatever combination you decide on, once the soil is added, your garden will be ready for planting.
Regardless of what material is used to Build Raised Garden Beds, they are attractive and useful. Raised garden beds are easier to maintain than traditional garden beds.
They will help you save money by growing your own produce. Raised garden beds can separate lawn areas and make gardening artistic and bountiful at the same time.
Build Raised Garden Beds and you will enjoy the convenience they offer. You will also like the way they look. Join the latest trend in gardening and you can be the envy of all of your neighbors.
Raised garden beds make gardening more fun then ever!
I made a raised herb garden out of native Tennessee bamboo and it was quite easy. The bed was only about 8X5 and backed into the house, as it’s South facing and I thought it’d be a good place for herbs. I’d like to make another larger herb bed nearby out of larger bamboo that I’m seeing near a neighbor’s –
that is not native. No one seems to live at this property – I’ve stopped by several times to ask if I can disabuse them of some of their vast stand of bamboo. I have thoughts of theft every time I drive by there. Originally I used bamboo stakes to hold up the fence but eventually replaced them with short pieces of rebar for longevity. The bed I made looks very nice.
I use the concrete building block method, but in my area it gets too hot to use the small holes for planting – their little roots get cooked. I top mine with concrete stepping stones and use the little holes for storage and the toppers as seating. I also sized the beds so I can reach every part from the seating, for better mobility access.
We just finished putting together our first raised bed made from tree trunks of fallen trees. The trunks are 20 inches or more in diameter so I don’t think they will deteriorate very quickly, and because they are so large I have a nice place to sit while I garden.
I like it!
That is a great idea and I think I’ll do this myself.
Our raised beds are similar to the ones in the first photo, except they are 4′ x 8′ x 4 boards high. This height means NO bending. Once in place, we lined the walls and base with landscaping cloth all around. We then filled the base half -bottom 2 boards- with rubble from the property, that won’t break down. Stapled another layer of landscaping cloth over the rubble-base and around the sides, up to the top. Then filled just the top half with good gardening soil-compost mix, or whatever you use. We also added a trim of 2″x 4″ around the top. Finishes it off and makes a good place to sit your tools or lemonade. In the many years we’ve had these two gardens, only some squirrels have planted their peanuts. And by the way .. peanuts will grow in zone 5b. Nothing like the south but a handful is fine for the kids.
My yard is lousy with pocket gophers that eat the roots of everything.. Any ideas for an affordable barrier underneath? That much hardware cloth gets expensive. I thought of plastic but it may not stop gophers and would block drainage.
George,
I really don’t have a good answer for that, probably need to research it.
Our raised beds are similar to the ones in the first photo, except they are 4′ x 8′ x 4 boards high. This height means NO bending. Once in place, we lined the walls and base with landscaping cloth all around. We then filled the base half -bottom 2 boards- with rubble from the property, that won’t break down. Stapled another layer of landscaping cloth over the rubble-base and around the sides, up to the top. Then filled just the top half with good gardening soil-compost mix, or whatever you use. We also added a trim of 2″x 4″ around the top. Finishes it off and makes a good place to sit your tools or lemonade. In the many years we’ve had these two gardens, only some squirrels have planted their peanuts. And by the way .. peanuts will grow in zone 5b. Nothing like the south but a handful is fine for the kids.
One of the best options is to cut some chicken wire and put it on the bottom of the bed. The gophers can’t get through it. But, worms can get through it and roots have no problem growing around the wire.
We have gophers also and we put 1/2″ hardware cloth in the bottom of all our raised beds before adding the soil/ compost. We also put a metal basket around every tree and shrub we plant inground.
i made my beds out of metal siding ( pro rib from menards) . they will cut them to length for you , then i use a 2×6 wooden frame at the top. the metal overlaps on the previous panel, you can screw them or i used pop rivets at the overlap.. My beds are approx 9 ft long by 3 ft wide by 3 foot tall.. sink the bottom in the soil about 3 inches to help hold the panel from blowing out. i filled the bottoms with about a foot and a half of fallen dead wood from the trees on the property. then top of with soil. Given the high price of lumber now this is cost competitive and will not rot.
Interesting Buddy, thank you.
That makes a great raised bed, you just have to avoid galvanized metal which can leach toxins from the zinc coating. You can find aluminum panels but they cost more. It won’t matter if you weren’t growing edibles.
I’ve been doing raised beds ever since I moved back to Ohio from South Carolina. My first 2 were 4′ x4′ cedar beds and I raised tomatoes and peppers in them. Lat year I mad a 4′ x 8′ cedar bed about 16″ high. I fill it with 2 liters bags of peat moss and 8, 40 lbs. bags of Black Cow, composted cow manure and soil. and nothing else. I grew 5 Goliath tomatoes, 2 red peppers and 1 bush tomato, in it and had way more tomatoes than I knew what to do with. My other two beds I first supplemented them with two bags each of black cow and work it in well and plant 2 yellow zucchini’s in one and cucumbers in the other. Needless to say I had an outstanding year! I’ve managed to convince my friends who still plant in the dirt to switch over to raised beds for next year, as their last two years of planting has equalled, little to nothing in crop growth.
Sue,
Great soil makes a huge difference in how things grow. Some of us are blessed with really nice natural soil and don’t have to do raised beds, but lots and lots of people have really poor soil.
My soil is very rocky (I live near a quarry) so I have been trying vertical gardening. I am going to switch over to raised beds using pallets (HT type). Is Sue’s mix of peat and black cow better than buying raised bed soil mix? My yard is also on a hill, so pallets will be placed as a tiered garden. Once I have it planted/set up I will send a picture. Linda
I’m going to try using 12″x3′ plastic planters……
The weight of the soil might cause them to bow though,
We’ll see.
Raised beds can also be made out of old bookcases, bookshelves, mattress frames, or parts of shipping pallets, or “kiddie pools”. All those materials can often be found for free on Craigslist – at least in our area.
make compost,,, in winter put compost and dirt leftover from potted plants that didnt make it,
I’m going to try using 12″ x 3′ plastic planters………..
The wattle idea is very interesting in my opinion. This could conceivably look the best, would be the cheapest and most time consuming. Probably the most challenging. Seems to me raised beds avail themselves to be cold boxes when just covered with a clear plastic sheet.
Also, I grew Tobasco peppers for the first time. They are the most attractive pepper plant I have tried.
Thanks for all the good advice.
The perfect soil mix for a raised bed garden is 1/3 peat moss, 1/3 coarse vermiculite, and 1/3 compost. Do not add any top soil. (Top soil is for growing grass.) If you are on a budget then you can increase the amount of compost. If you really want to make the most efficient use of your garden make a grid to divide your raised bed into 1 foot squares and use the Square Foot Gardening method.
Ted,
I’m not sure that I can agree with this. Good topsoil is perfectly fine for growing plants in raised beds. Would you mix be better? In some cases yes, but it’s a complicated way of doing a simple thing. I’ve grown thousands and thousands of plants in raised beds and almost always used just good topsoil. At times I’ve used my potting mix which is better, but for somebody at home who is trying to work within in a budget, good topsoil is fine. More on topsoil here; https://mikesbackyardnursery.com/2012/05/the-best-topsoil-for-you/
Most topsoil is very dense and does not allow roots to breathe as they should. Grass does well in that but many vegetables want looser soil. Good topsoil is better than nothing, but a compost/manure/vermiculite mix is better. Your rotted wood clip pile is way better than topsoil.
the best, no matter what soil youre using is compost,,,,,,itss how i re use my soil from previous yrs and its so awesome, plus you get utrients that arent chemicals and so on, so much better for you, your garden and your soil and Food !
My yard is too shady to have a garden so I made use of the graveled spot behind my fence and beside the house (it was an extension of our driveway at one time). I bought big round plastic tubs from the dollar store, drilled big holes in the bottom and filled them with compost. Bill added trellises to the side of our house for the tomatoes. It is the only sunny spot we have. You would be surprised what you can grow in a big tub. They are fairly easy to move around and some of them have been in use for 4 years or more.
My experience with a (tall) concrete-block raised bed was a disaster. This was the first raised bed I tried because I thought it would be a cheap and easy way to make one, and I needed to use raised beds because of hard clay dirt and shallow tree roots. Well, it was cheap and easy, but at a price. I didn’t reinforce the sides of the beds in any way; just ran the first course on level ground and the second layer on top of that in a staggered fashion (so two bricks high). I filled it (including the holes) with soil and compost and I was happy to be able to use the holes of the blocks to plant additional things like green onions, garlic, and mint.
(When I say “I” while describing the actual build, most of the time it means “we” since I had help with the physical labor part.)
In order to make efficient use of space, I made a long trellis at the backside of the bed using two 4×4 posts stuck into a couple of the holes of the two short ends (the bed was @ 5’x12′) where the holes overlapped enough to fit the 4×4 into both layers of brick. Wedges were put in place to keep the 4x4s level. I attached a long 2×4 to the 4x4s at the very top (frontside) to connect them. I then took livestock fence panels, cut them to length, and attached them longways to the backside of the boards using fencing staples. Since the 4x4s were so tall, I used two courses of fencing (stacked). It seemed like a great setup at first…
After 2-3 years, there were gaps between several of the bricks (mostly on the top run of bricks); the walls of the bed basically started leaning outwards. The weight of the dirt and the expansion of it from plant roots and water pushed the sides out. I don’t think it would have happened on a short bed (one layer of brick). What I should have done when I built it is to insert rebar strategically through the layers of bricks (or on the outside of the bed) at close intervals in order to keep it all upright over the years (though I imagine even that might bow out at some point, depending on the soil).
Another alternative to would be to borrow or rent a banding machine and just band the whole bed together in a couple places (one on each coarse of bricks, at least). Banding is either flat nylon-like rope material (unsure of the exact material they use) or metal, depending on the application. It has to be very strong for this purpose, so metal would be best, I think. Rusting may be an issue, though, if that concerns a person.
In an attempt to bandage the situation when I first noticed gapping, I started growing plants in soil bags so that I didn’t have more soil expansion issues from needing to add more soil as the original soil settled (and leaked out the sides during heavy rains). That only worked for shallow rooted plants. I wasn’t happy with the bed at all and it got torn down the next year so that I could expand the garden and make all the beds out of the same material (cedar).
You can see a few pictures of the concrete-block bed here; just click on the thumbnail to see a bigger picture:
http://imageshack.us/g/1/10327004/
Last year, we built 9 raised beds out of cedar. Hardware cloth (1/2″) was attached to the bottoms of the beds to keep voles out. I used cardboard and/or landscape fabric on the bottom before filling them (which doesn’t work to keep out bitter nightshade and borage, btw). Four of the beds are 4×8′ and 3 boards high (the side boards are 2x6s), with a (vertical) 4×4 post at each (inner) corner and two 2×4 posts on each long side (four 2×4 supports total per bed), spaced evenly (supports on inside of beds). Each pair of vertical 2×4 supports is directly across from each other. This was planned so that we could use them to “band” the long sides of the bed together to prevent future bowing. Large eye hooks were screwed into the 2x4s near the top (one hook per board), and we used plastic-coated cabling to span the (4′) distance of the beds. You can find ratcheting hardware for the cable.
Two of the beds are 4’x4′ and two are 2.5′ x 4.5′ (or so). The 4×4 beds are used for strawberries and the other two beds are used in an arched trellis system wherein I made an arch with a 16′ livestock fence panel and anchored either end into the ground inside the little raised beds. That way, I have a raised bed (two of them) with a built-in arch trellis, which is currently housing grape vines and clover (to fix nitrogen), but started out as a pea and green bean trellis. The last raised bed was built as a 4×4 bed for asparagus but was converted into a pyramidal bed for more strawberries. In all of the smaller beds, the inside corner posts are 2x4s and there aren’t any middle supports, nor any cabling support.
I took some pictures during construction of the beds (and afterwards); you can see them in the photo album below:
http://imageshack.us/g/1/10333107/
As you can see in the pictures, I used livestock fencing to make some trellising in two of the 4×8 beds (for cukes and melons). The panels were cut down with bolt cutters and joined with wire ties at one end of a pair to form an “A” frame trellis. The pokey ends of the panels went down into the soil to hold it in place. That didn’t work very well in the drought and heat last year because the metal gets too hot in full sun, so I don’t actually recommend metal trellising for plants that need full sun. Because of our 70′ maple tree, that area isn’t in full sun all day, but it was for several hours before afternoon came around and it was getting too hot there.
The other thing we did was to make it so that every bed would be able to be covered (as long as the plants were short). This makes it possible to start seeds, harden seedlings, extend the growing season, and protect the plants. PVC mounting hardware (half moon clamps) was installed evenly along the (in)sides. The PVC was 10′ long so we cut the poles down so the hoops wouldn’t be so big. Just stick one end into a clamp and down into the soil and bend/arch the pipe to the other side of the bed and through the clamp and into the soil. I can now cover the beds with insect netting, window screen, plastic, or burlap (for shade)–all of which I’ve done.
Window screen works great to keep out insects and most animals (except the wiley ones—grr). You can buy 8′ wide screen on rolls that would be perfect (I didn’t know that at the time and actually sewed two 4′ wide pieces together—that was a major pain). I cut out screen to (kinda) fit the two end “caps” and attached them with safety pins to the two outer pieces of PVC. That closes up the ends. I attach the plastic or screen to 8′ long boards that sit on the side of the beds. I used 1x2s but I think 2x2s would be better. I used clamps to keep the insect netting and burlap in place.
This is what the small garden looks like this year, with the grape vines and clover in the trellis beds. The strawberry beds are totally out of control. Lol.
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/69/k1gn.jpg/
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/853/0spp.jpg/
We have a raised flower garden in the front of our yard and some plants will not live over the winter in there. They seem to freeze out, maybe because we live in WI?
What do you think?
Jackie Morelock
Jackie,
Raised beds in a place like Wisconsin can be problematic. You folks get plenty cold in the winter, the closer to the ground the better. In your case it would be much better to put effort into amending the soil that you have.
Hi Mike,
I live in mid-Yukon, Canada and our beautiful spot happens to be on an old river bed. There was no soil, just gravel, sand and rocks. My husband built me several large, tiered raised beds and, using our own compost as well as some local peat and sand, we filled them. We have managed to grow wonderful produce year after year. It’s not at all unusual to have temperatures of -50 C here, but I think the snow helps protect the beds. Of course, it takes quite a while for the soil to warm up in the spring (I’ve just finished planting), but our 24 hour daylight means that growth is incredible. Some summers are pretty wet and things don’t grow as well, but when we get the sunshine, it’s incredible to see what can be produced.. I find that many perennial plants that survive in zone 3, will live here for several years at least. You just need to pay attention to how protected the plants are and to be sure that they are ‘mulched and have good snow cover.
Love reading your blog,
Linda
This year I used plastic kiddie pools to make raised beds, each took four forty pound bags of top soil to fill. I cut the bottoms out except 1/4 around the bottom so the soil weight would hold them down. I had beautiful tomatoes, peppers, cukes, eggplants, green beans and I’ve yet to uncover my potatoes. I’ve already planted mixed lettuces and kale for fall. I don’t like the blue color so I am going to spray the outsides green or brown before next spring. Love your blog. Leslie St.Clair north beach, md.
Hi Mike, great and timely (for me) post. Thanks so much. May interest you to hear that while I was hunting ideas on how to up-cycle a metal filing cabinet,I came across one being used as a raised bed, have to say it looked pretty cool!
That is a cool idea!!! Filing cabinet!!!! lol!!!! Gotta try it!! We have a gal in town who goes to estate sales so she regularly has them for $15!!!! THANK you for the tip[!!!!
I built a raised bed planter out of 2X8 PT stock, only 18 inches by 18 inches square. PT decking is screwed to one side of the base to hold the soil in. Four small casters are attached to the decking so the bed can be rotated in the summer and rolled indoors for winter use. I put a 2X2, by six feet tall in each corner. The last step is to put 2X2s between the uprights at the top to strengthen them. Mark off one foot increments on each upright. Notch the corners with a saw and stretch mason’s twine tightly around the uprights, making a string lattice.
I planted four gynoecious and parthenocarpic cucumbers in the bed. It produced over 40 full-sized, seedless cukes and a bunch of smaller samplers. The plants grow up on and the cukes hang down from the twine.
And people have the audacity to tell me they don’t have room for a garden!
We made our beds using trees. We have 13 acres of forest so there are plenty of trees to use and they always need thinning
.
I looked at all the comments, hoping someone had a solution to Bermuda grass coming up in raised beds. The newspaper will work for a while, but eventually that stuff will grow through anything, including hard concrete! We have two nicely built beds that I am not using now, because when the Bermuda grass gets into them, it’s much harder to deal with than just keeping it out of plants put directly into the soil.
For those that don’t use grass killer at all or in certain areas, just boil a big pot of water and pour where you want grass or plants dead. I use this method and it works! You will have to repeat in small spots where you see new seed regrowth.
Only 2 ways I know of ( organically ) to remove Bermuda grass.
1. Cover the grass with 2-3 layers of cardboard, wet it down then cover with 6-8 inches of mulch and compost and don’t touch it for about 6 months.
2. Dig it up. Keep in mind that Bermuda can send roots down 10 feet ( in perfect soil ), and u must get all the pieces or stolens ). While digging it up keep the Bermuda flowers trimmed ( the flowers r those stems with 3 stemlike protrusions ).
I am doing the latter. Here our soil is concrete ( actually clay/hard pan ) so I have to soak it first. I’m lucky too in that I only have to dig down 8-10 inches.
I have found that boiling hot water is not practical and doesn’t work, nor does vinegar, and just so u know Bermuda can’t read so roundup won’t really work either.
A local nursery has told me there is a new formula of clove and orange oils that works but alas I’m 3/4 way done so I’m sticking with digging.
Vacaville, Ca.
Hi! Mike, I had couple idea people might use! I took a queen size wood bed frame and made a bed with it and it’s been working excellent for my salad mix for 3 years now! I also go to most dumps and ask for burn pile and made 10 plus beds so far-no pressure treated lumber. I have used trees as a bed but think I prefer free wood from burn pile and recycled lumber. I also had a dresser drawer that was also made of wood, which was perfect for carrots! Hope this helps! Laura
Lura,
You are a blessing to gardening.
One can find used wood queen size support frames all over on that day the town picks up from the front of houses and I have a pick up truck. All I have to do is rip the cloth cover on those that have it and paint it with floor paint to seal and protect it,
I saw another idea for a raised garden bed at a local mom and pop nursery.
Make 6 stacks of cinder blocks 4 or 5 high so you can lay 2 pallets on them end to end.
Lay a row of cinder blocks around all 4 sides of the pallets. Cover the pallets with weed-control fabric and let it run up the inside sides of the cinder blocks at least halfway. Fill with soil and grow for several years until the pallets rot out and will no longer support the bed.
You can use good old gray rocks to make a bed, 1/2 wine barrels work great, I made fakey beds out of the cheap red timbers by cutting an angle and just laying them down didn’t even nail them together. They aren’t tall but you can walk on them, just needed to designate where the seeds were going as it is plenty warm here too. I also make stair steps from cinder blocks and timbers for my plastic planter boxes.
I have taken an old pallet an placed 1 -1×6 around it then placed 2 -2×2 on the underside to hold the 1×6 used 1.5 screws on it .Then added 3 foot legs on it…. may help for people that cant bend down , then placed card board on the inside then added potting soil… have picture if you want I can send it……Thanks Mike
Thanks Allen. If you upload the photo to http://photobucket.com you can just post a link to the photo here so others can see it.
Here are photos of my three raised block garden beds.
http://s53.photobucket.com/user/Irene_Nevins/media/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_20160601_0647282_rewind_zps1ujtpgwm.jpg.html
http://s53.photobucket.com/user/Irene_Nevins/media/Mobile%20Uploads/IMG_20160606_0911147_rewind_zps7nai9eix.jpg.html
Mike.
Love your blog and am glad you are into what you love best…
Three tier planter box:
I have been using my rear yard fencing 4″ X 4″ posts (still installed) for the main support of my raised beds for my veggies, (hot peppers) Posts are 4′ apart. I attach my 12″ wide X 4’0″ long X 18″ deep boxes which I build out of fence pickets (stock size = 1″ X 6″ X 5′) from Home Depot all attached with 1 1/4″ decking screws. The bottom of these boxes have 2 fence pickets separated about 1/4″ which I cover with hardware cloth for drainage. I also strengthen the exterior planter walls from bulging with a band of 1 1/2″ on the outside in 3 places.. These boxes are attached to the fence posts via a simple brace from post on an angle to bottom of boxes, with an outer leg for leveling the box. Before installing my dirt I paint the interior with white latex. And if I have any stain I use this on the exterior for looks. I have been doing this for the last 10-15 years. The life cycle of these boxes is about 7-9 years, depending on our weather here in Pittsburgh area..This is not a quickie nor a cheap way to go but I do like the end product.
Pictures are available upon request.
Teddo
Mike.
Love your blog and am glad you are into what you love best…
Three tier planter box:
I have been using my rear yard fencing 4″ X 4″ posts (still installed) for the main support of my raised beds for my veggies, (hot peppers) Posts are 4′ apart. I attach my 12″ wide X 4’0″ long X 18″ deep boxes which I build out of fence pickets (stock size = 1″ X 6″ X 5′) from Home Depot all attached with 1 1/4″ decking screws. The bottom of these boxes have 2 fence pickets separated about 1/4″ which I cover with hardware cloth for drainage. I also strengthen the exterior planter walls from bulging with a band of 1 1/2″ on the outside in 3 places.. These boxes are attached to the fence posts via a simple brace from post on an angle to bottom of boxes, with an outer leg for leveling the box. Before installing my dirt I paint the interior with white latex. And if I have any stain I use this on the exterior for looks. I have been doing this for the last 10-15 years. The life cycle of these boxes is about 7-9 years, depending on out weather here in Pittsburgh area..This is not a quickie nor a cheap way to go but I do like the end product.
Pictures are available upon request.
Teddo
When I got new tires, they tried to charge a fee for disposal of the old ones, so I put them in the back of my van and took them home, put them 2 deep under the glass from an old shower door, and leaving a few inches of the tempered glass protruding, put a wood frame on top of the glass to fill with dirt. That made an attractive free raised garden that the ground squirrels and rabbits cannot get into, and I don’t have to bend over to garden. Love it.
I am a Recycler and repurposed. I had numerous pieces of corrugated steel sheets on hand, mostly 5 and 6 foot pieces. I took some Jun 4 x 4s cut them to 24″ long and used them in the corner to form a metal box 5 ft x 6 ft x 26 in high. I filled it to a couple of inches of the top with chipped wood and other comparables I had, then topped it off with about 6 or 8 inches of finished compost on top. I then tossed a handful of redworms on top of the mix and planted various vegetables.in it. As the veggies grew, I kept them watered, the water that drained through the top layer kept the lower layer moist while the worms and other soil life digested or composted the comparables beneath the veggies. At the end of the season, I just unsrewed two opposite corners of the box, pulled them apart and removed the new finished compost ready to start the next season. And boy was it full of worm!
Ron
Felled trees, de-limbed of coarse.
Hi Mike, I grow an extensive garden already, but in mid summer I wanted to try some new seeds that were given to me and didn’t have the time or inclination to prepare more garden bed for them, so I used some cardboard shipping boxes that I had and planted the seeds in them. This worked out very well and are another form of raised beds, just a little more temporary.
I do that often and the advantage to it is that, if it works out, I can plant the whole box in the ground and it will eventually decompose, or I can slide it off the box into the ground. However,if it does not, I just shave the top off and return the rest of the soil to the soil bin.
Thank you for sharing this information with us.
This article is great for anyone who wants to start or already has a garden.
Keep up the great work Mike.
Hi Mike. Here in the UK, I have made two types of raised beds. One using wood from old pallets, and the other from old railway sleepers (railroad ties). The pallet-wood type are not long-lasting, but they’re good for about 5 years. The railway sleeper ones are much longer-lasting, but you have to be careful with sleepers that have been treated with creosote, because that can be a hazardous substance when growing foodstuffs. And, just last week, I saw raised beds made from pieces of thick slate in an old slate quarry ~ beautiful, as well as functional! I’ve also seen a very tall raised ‘bed’ made from something similar to your sandbag idea, but the grower used a mix of sand and cement to create a more permanent structure. It’s about 12 feet high and is built into a hillside as a moisture-retaining fernery ~ a really lovely idea. I can send some photos if you’d like to see them. Keep up the good work. Rob
Rob,
Thanks for sharing from the UK, it’s always nice to hear from folks in the UK. We have a few growers over there scattered about.
Hi Mike I have used 4, 4 foot square raised garden beds for about 20 years now. they are made out of 4×4 and landscaping timbers. These 4 beds out produced the big garden, i used to have, and have very few weed problems. I have thought about replacing the wood with cement blocks as they rot away. I also have 3, 55 gallon rain barrels that i made out of plastic 55 gallon drums. To water the raised beds. The first barrel i cut the top out of then drilled a hole near the bottom on the side smaller than a Half inch pipe. then force threaded it with a threaded 1/2 inch water pipe then turned a spigot into it. The 2nd one I cut the bottom out of and since the bung had pipe thread in it i drilled out the part that under the threads and turned a spigot into it. put it on cinder blocks, to raise it up so there is clearance for the spigot. the third on i put on its side and used the threaded bung to put the spigot in. I take the other bung out to fill that one from the others. I have window screening over the two barrels to keep out the bugs and mosquitoes. I use very little water from the house for the garden.
Bill,
Great information about the raised beds and how much better they produce and good info about the rain barrels as well.
Hi Mike,
Some people used tyres to stack upon each other and fill it with good soil.
It can be painted in the colours of your choice. What I like, is to plant in big
enamel or plastic bowls. You can always shift them easily where you want
them. When you got the right spot for them, they can then be easily raised.
Mike,
I have two raised beds made by just laying a pair of used railroad crossties parallel to each other and spacing them with two concrete blocks for the ends.After 25 years or so, they’re just beginning to show some signs of decay.
Jr.
Very simple, yet functional. I love simple!
I built mine this year from landscape timbers. These go on sale periodically at The Home Depot for less than $4.00 each. We built ours 3X5′ and three timbers high. We then lined the bottom with landscape fabric to prevent turf incursion. Since we built these to last they will re-used next year and hopefully many years to come.
I have a lot of rock and clay in my yard so I started looking for rusted stock tanks to garden in. They are working really well for me and I never pay more than 50 for one sometimes less. I love gardening this way.
Hi Mike
The concrete blocks also make a great place for growing large garlic.
Darold
Hey Mike
I do wicking beds… raised beds with their own water reservoir and use up to 75% less water than a traditional raised bed… they cost a little more, but the vegetables are not under stress like standard dirt gardening….. I’ve had great success with the 9 – 4 x 8′ beds I have and will have a total of 20 large and numerous smaller ones….
you can see a picture of them here http://theaquaponicsgarden.com/wicking_bed_add1.htm
thanks
JT
Hi Mike:
Now I know what to do with the 700+ 4″x3″ paving brick I bought this spring. I wanted a small patio or walkway but hubby nor I have a clue how to do it and can’t afford to have it done, so now I am thinking a raised bed for my herb garden next year.
Thanks for the inspiration!!! Have a great weekend!
My raised bed garden is (measured on the inside) 4’X16′ made with concrete blocks. I started with a concrete foundation then added 3 rows of blocks. I had placed rebar in the foundation that also extended up thru the holes in the blocks to allow for the addition of a concrete seat around the whole raised bed as my ol’ back won’t allow me to bend over to attend anything lower. It was made 4′ wide so the center could be accessed from someone sitting on either side. It is filled with a 50/50 mix of local dirt and compost. Plants do extremely well in this raised bed garden. We also have a chicken coop which uses the deep little method with wood shavings, as the wood shavings are replaced a little at a time those old shavings are added to the garden giving lots of new nutrients to the soil. Oh, the cost of building the garden was less than the cost of a small tiller, with the compost and wood shavings there are lots of red wigglers doing the tilling for me, the soil is always loose.
I used the 18 inch hard plastic from an old pool to make round raised beds for my citrus trees.
Steve,
Interesting idea, just goes to show that all kinds of options work.
Using wire tomato cages three feet across or so. Gather your leaves this fall and fill the cages. Better if you use a mulching mower to gather. Fill nearly full and put on layer of dirt, eight inches or so. Plant seed in spring. On trailing plants, peas, beans, vining type tomatoes and other they can trail down the sides.As the year progresses the beds will sink and by fall be only half full. Add more material if you want to keep it going two years. You can also plant in the sides through the wire.
Since the decomposing material is producing heat you can make a big clear plastic bag to cover the whole thing and have a greenhouse style winter garden. Last year I had tomatoes through November. Put in a few shovels of dirt that you know has earthworms.
In the center punch a hole so that water penetrates and does not run out of the sides. In the spring dump the oldest, perhaps two years or more, over and put all of that wonderful compost on you garden or flower beds.
Your garden will look like a bunch of short silos with a lot of green on top. You can also place them a various places about your yard. Petunias are very pretty trailing down the sides.
Great idea, thanks for sharing!
Hi Mike, I really enjoy your blogs and have learned a lot too. We live in zone 5b and so wanted to know if its best to build the raised bed now (before a cold winter) or in the spring??? Please advise.
Thanks, Christine.
Christine,
I think the sooner you build it the better, that way once you get the soil in you can start lightly cultivating and that will help rid the bed of weed seed before you plant in spring. Most topsoil is loaded with weed seed. But if you lightly turn the soil about every 7 days you’ll take the weeds out just as they are germinating. Eventually most of the seed is spent.
I agree the sooner the better, then you can add compost and manure and it will meld nicely together by spring. If you cover the whole shebang with some plastic it will warm the soil early in the spring and then you can get an early start of it.
Hi Mike. I live near the foothills of the San Bernardino mountains (very close to Cal State San Bernardino). What zone would that be? –Cami
Cami,
These links should help you. Zone map for the United States:
http://www.usna.usda.gov/Hardzone/ushzmap.html
Zone map for Canada:
http://nlwis-snite1.agr.gc.ca/plant00/index.phtml
I raise vegetables in containers. I recently looked into self watering containers and have decided to build one. Looks like the way to do it.
Old rail road ties work nicely as well.
I can get railroad ties locally for around $7 each. They normally run 8-10 ft long. Do you think the creosote in the ties will cause problems?
John,
I say that it won’t Creosote is really an oil based product and really doesn’t have the ability to work it’s way through the soil. However, if you cut the ties, say with a chainsaw, the sawdust that gets on you will burn your skin so do be careful when handling ties. I used to work with ties a lot during the hot summer days and I’d get creosote on my hands then wipe my brow and have to drive home with my face out the window of the truck.
Hi Mike, I had trouble getting some plants to grow close to the railroad ties in my raised beds. I solved the problem by digging the soil away from the ties and installing a sheet of black plastic vapor barrier. It’s made to last and keeps soil from contacting the ties. Now my plants grow right to the edge of the raised bed.
Thanks Jack. I think it has to do with how old the ties are and how much they’ve been exposed to the sun. Eventually the creosote on the outside of the ties dries and it pretty much harmless to most plants.
Mike, for over 10 years arsenic based wood preservatives have been outlawed and arsenis was the one that killed the plants. Railroad ties that are sold are old ties, most over 10 years old and pulled out as railroads go over their tracks to re bed, or replace the rails They were originally preserved with arsenic based creosote compounds, or phenolpentacloride, which is even a more powerful vegetation killer.and fungicide.
Thank you for this timely post! I wanted a raised bed but don’t know how to build things and my husband doesn’t have time. I had a pile of bricks left from the demolition of an old chimney so I just used those. I stacked them three bricks high, which made room for 6 inches of soil, and planted strawberries. It looks surprisingly nice!
Could i use regular 2×8 pine if I stain them?
Pat, you can and they sell a product called Cuprinol that will preserve the wood and I don’t think it will harm the plants because nurseries used to use it to treat their wooden flats.
My first raised bed was made just with that, which were construction leftover boards. I did not stain mine and they were in good shape after 4 years, when I had to thake down the raised bed to put in a pool, but if I were to do it again, I would actually use a dark brown flooring paint. It should give you quite a number of years of use and the dark collor helps keeping the ground warm.
you can use a raised bed as a propogation bed in the fall too. just add the hinged top and you are ready.
Roger, What kind of hinged top? I’m assuming you don’t want a solid wood one since that wouldn’t let in light? What do you recommend?
Thanks,
Bonnie
Hi Mike!
How deep do the beds have to be? We’re currently making raised beds with spindles from an old deck railing by cutting them to the height we want and attaching them all in a row to another board that is cut to the length we want the side to be. Very eclectic looking. However, my husband and I disagree about the depth the beds must be. I say 6 to 8 inches of dirt is plenty for veggies and some annuals and herbs. He feels sure we need at least a foot. What do you say?
Bonnie,
You’re going to get me in trouble here so my answer is it depends. It depends on how good your soil is or how bad your soil is. I’d say 6 to 8 inches is enough, but I like a foot better if you have really poor soil below the raised bed. How’s that for a diplomatic, trying to stay out of a family feud, answer?
Great answer! Actually, I was happy to concede to his more conservative depth and since we do have poor soil (a main reason for using raised beds in the first place) then it looks like we’re all gonna be winners! C’mon tomatoes!! Thanks again!
HI MIKE; HAD a problem with voles eating my plants in my 4X4 raised bed-solved by emptying my bed and rebuilt bottom with fine wire mesh-my bed is two feet high and is doing well–no more VOLLS eating my plant roots, problem solved !! It was a little bit of work emptying and refilling the box, but plants are growing well now !! Maybe some other gardeners can use this idea before making there own raised bed ! ! Nice to read all your gardening tips and stories ! Stay in good health ! -keep on gardening !! nNICK V–8/14/13–from CAPE MAY CT HSE,NJ
Thanks Nick, I appreciate you tips and well wishes!
used essential mint oil from online and cotton balls from dollar store.apply the oil on cotton balls ,make holes ,and bury in the soil.It certainly worked for me!!!
Thanks Nick, you might have just saved a few people a real headache if they put the screen in ahead of time. They just have to make sure their bed is deep enough that plant roots don’t tangle in the screen.
Hi Mike,
Thanks for all the great blogs–Regarding the raised beds–We use old railroad
ties. They really work great and we do line with cardboard versus newspapers before
we put in the soil, which is dark woods dirt and a little manure from the chickens. The
cardboard will last for 2-3 years versus only one year on the newspaper as the papers will dissolve within a year.
We also plant our sweet potatoes in the large (huge) tractor tires. We use a
reciporating saw and cut he tires back to the tread. We lay the dark plastic down
and then the fine mesh wire and fill with dark woods dirt and sand. WE have beautiful
potatoes and it stops the voles. It is deep for the potatoes, warm in the spring and no
weeds. Thanks again.
Pat,
I love the idea of using cardboard because it lasts longer, but not forever like other products.
What size wire mesh do you need? As fine as window screen, or more like hardware cloth, or is something even bigger suitable?
Randy,
I’d use a hardware cloth that has openings at least 1/4″. But I don’t line beds with anything and I do just fine.
Nick, I am going to take your idea and run with it. 🙂 I don’t know what voles are, but I have gofers, so I hope it applies to them too. Thank you for the idea. –Cami
Thank you for sharing your wonderful ideas.
Mike, thanks for including concrete block in your article. There are a lot of great reasons to use block.In addition to what you mentioned, block can be used to create shapes, whereas with wood, you’re pretty much tied to squares or rectangles. Block also doesn’t rot, and it comes in colors that can match your home and/or environment. If your readers want instructions on how to build a planter this way, they’re available from Basalite Concrete here: http://info.basalite.com/build-your-own-stone-planter-box
Thanks again for including the block info!
Terrie,
You are absolutely right and we often use concrete block, lay pipes or electrical conduit between the blocks to make table for plants, for propagating, or for shade.
I’ve been following your advice via your blog for years now as I have been getting all my ducks in a row (or specimen plants in order) for my backyard nursery. I’m finally becoming a “real” customer tonight and looking forward to my next steps on this journey, I really believe in re-use, re-cycle, re-purpose so my potting bench was a commercial salad bar in its previous life. I use an empty dish-soap bottle with ice pick holes punched in it so that rain water percolates through it and down the drain (my home-made potting mix will clog the drain without this). I take the sneeze guard off for most of the year, but on the few days when we have a freeze here in Baton Rouge, I just put it back on and cover the whole thing with a sheet of clear heavy sheet plastic. Salad bars are built to hold ice…automatically isolated…perfect height to do LOTS of baby plants comfortably and very quickly! We do the clip, snip, poke sitting at the patio table. Fifty cuttings fit nicely in a stock 3 gal nursery pot used over and over and over 😉 This year with lots of volunteer help, we’ve done hundreds of azaleas that are doing quite nicely TYVM 😀 Other specimen varieties include jasmine, wisteria, ferns and others. In about December we’ll be potting up several hundred bare-root hardwood and pine trees so we are moving right along here. My backyard nursery is intended to help fund the work I do with very, very poor and indigenous families in Honduras. I’m teaching them to use some of your methods as well to help them feed their families. It’s all good!
Debra,
Great ideas, delighted to have you aboard as a member of our family. Kudos to you for the good work that you do.
We have used both wood and blocks. I have used the blocks for flowers beds around the house. Our neighbor has creeping charlie and the blocks help keep them at bay.
We use the wood ones for the veggie garden. The rabbits do not go into the raised beds which is a win win.
We have tried several methods of making raised bed, including rough-cut lumber and straw bails, This year we use concrete blocks with GREAT success. We started with a cardboard or paper base, then piled leaves and grass clipping on top. We then made a concrete block border (probably should have started with this but already had the leaves and clipping in place when we decided on the blocks). As this year there was no soil to plant seeds in, where we planted seeds we spread some aged horse manure for the seed base. In the cores we planted herbs and lettuce. (We spaced some chimney blocks for planting blueberries – this did not work so well, and grape tomatoes, this worked very well.) After planting we covered the raised garden with cedar chips. Had one of the best gardens in years, in fact we will need to work as better spacing and the use of more bush-type plants. Our squash took over one end of the garden, and our heritage tomato plants filled another area before we trimmed and staked them. We are still canning tomatoes, and had a large yield of green beans, lettuce, kale, bush cucumbers, pumpkins . . ., in a garden that is about 100 ft by 50 feet.
Wow! I really like these raised planter ideas, especially the blocks. I was already considering herbs, but I did not know I could grow strawberries, lettuce, and grape tomatoes in the openings also. I’m going to start building my planters in about two weeks and I will plant in the early spring…or can I plant sooner? I live near the foothills of San Bernardino, CA. Thanks Mike for your blog!! 🙂 –Cami
Use of blocks for a raised bed, is done at our Master Gardeners Demosnstration Garden, at the Sussex County, Delaware Ag. Extension complex, where we have rised beds made of different materials and some built specially for people with physical limitations. There, we also use the holes in each block as planters.
Sussex County is the largest agricultural production county in the eastern US, Our Demosnstration Garden is used as good practices examples by the Agriculture Departments of University of Delaware and Delaware University
Hi Mike –
Thanks for the info on various raised gardens materials. I use milk crates I used milk crates to grow lilies with much success, and just thought I could use them for vegetables as well. I put them on a wooden structure (pallet wood made into a table), about 4 ft. high. With this height, I do not have to bend. I line up the milk crates with burlap or newspaper, put the soil, and plant! This year I planted greens (kale, bok choy, etc), with some marigold on the sides. The leaves are clean and free from slugs, etc., and they save my back. Milk crates can be expensive if youhave to buy them retail, but since I have plenty of them, they serve dual purpose: for vegetables and for lilies. Keep up those good blogs, Mike. I enjoy reading them. Thanks!
Edita,
Great idea. The the table were at the right height such a table could be wheelchair accessible. Especially if they used a low tray like a bread tray.
Apparently horse feeding/watering troughs, adapted as raised beds are attractive and reduce the need to bend. Holes need to be drilled in them. Just another idea. I like your milk crate idea.
I use the galvanized stock tanks, they have a drain hole so I screw a valve attachment to it and release water if we have heavy rain (or when my husband over waters!). It works great for tomatoes.
I’ve retired as equestrian master and when horse watering troths start rusting, horses start to dislike dinking from them, However keep in mind that 80 gallons of water translates into 640 pounds of water and soil is far heavier. Plus triths are far deeper than you need as a planter. To reduce problems, first make sure you first move the empty troth to its resting place. Dril a few one inch holes about 6 inches from the bottom for drainage and fill the troth with , 2 litter plastic bottles of water in alternating rows untill you come to have an adequate depth planter, at which time you add the soil, water a lot, to allow the soil to go down anf fill the cracks and then add more soil up to planting level, adding water to make sure that no more soil goes down to fill cracks before you start planting.
I have also used john boats and canoes. If it can huld soil and drain you can plant in it, just keepm in mind that there are growing vessels and their ultimate destination is the determinant factor of just how much are looks important. i give a Master Gardeners presentation entitled “Gardening on the Cheap”, where I show just how efficiently you can grow plants in very ordinary containers, before you put them in the ground, or repot them in very fancy containers.
i have being useing milk crates for years haves over one hundren
One hundred! That’s a lot of raised beds. Great idea James.
Could you show a picture of your milk crates? It sounds interesting.
I use milk cartons inside the milk crates, as this serves two purposes. I can grow plants in them and leave them there , or I can take the carton out and plant it in the ground. I use quart cartons, cut just the top off below where they become square and slit the 4 sides down at their middle, with a sharp boning knife, leaving 2 inches from bottom and top uncut. This allows from drainage but keeps musture and form. This setup has a perfect fit in the milk crates. I wash the cartons real well before I use them for gardening. I fill them with a 50-50 mixture of good potting soil and coarse steril sand, which works well for me to plant seeds, root cuttings and for general potting use.
Mike, You can also use bales of straw for your raised garden. 6 bales will be enought to frame it in. 2 on each side and 1 on each end.
EJ, thank you so much for that suggestion. Great idea!
I wait until landscape timbers go on sale for less than $2.00 each. These treated pine timbers will last for years.I lap them over at the corners and use the 8 inch by 1/4 in. nails and predrill for ease of driving and this makes an 8 x 8 ft.planter alternating the laps and build it 6 to 9 levels high makes it easy to work.I also use my tractor with a pond scoop and take dirt from the bottom of a creek that runs through my property which is washed away topsoil.very little fertilize is needed for it is loaded with very small twigs and rotted leaves.I will build another late this fall.Not bad for a guy of 71 yrs. Thanks for your help Mike.
Eddie,
Great idea, I’m amazed that you can find the timbers for $2.00
Mike I use old car tyres of various sizes they can be left as is or split down centre
Our 8 raised beds are 36″ high. We used 3 of them this yr. all 8 will be used next yr!!!! The 3 did great. You can see them on FBook. Colene Vigness Lenhart
Just be careful with what that treated timber might leach out and into your veggies.
I’ll be turning 73 next month, God willing, and I built a raised bed just as you defined it. I did so against my better judgement, but it was my wife’s idea and when your wife tells you to jump off a roof, you should go out immediately and find a low one. My objection became evident as it became quite difficult to access beyond arms reach to do any work in it, once stuff started to grow inside. My experience is that ideally no more than 4 feet wide and 5 maximum. Otherwise, weeding, pruning and harvesting become extremely difficult, even impossible.
Hi Mike, I live in Tucson,Az. heat we don’t need! But the straw bales might work. Thanks.
Hugh
Be careful with hay and straw bales, and even fresh manure. Some farmers will use a long-lasting herbicide for weeds that remains residual in hay, straw, and horse manure especially. Even the heat of a perfect compost pile will not remove it. This can result in stunting the plants you’re trying to grow. Even using bales as borders can leech some chemicals into your bed. For this same reason, don’t use pressure treated lumber (contains arsenic) or old railroad ties or other lumber treated with creosote (inhibits growth). Ask the farmer you get your bales and manure from what he sprays on his fields for weed control – most will be happy to share the info with you.
An excellent article is at: http://sustainableneseattle.ning.com/profiles/blogs/herbicide-contaminants-in
The article has additional references.
Good luck to all of us gardeners out there.
Ive used just about anyting that will hold soil and drain. However, I’ve found that plain house siding screwed on to surveyoir stakes works quite well and it is very inexpensive. One can make it as long as wanted by lapping lenghts of siding. Once its up and goung you can dress it with landscape logs, or rocks, which I’ve done both. It is important not to make it too wide, because you want to be able to have easy access for planting, weeding and harvesting. Depending on what do you plant in the beds, widths of between 3 ft and no more than 5 ft. will do
I was going to suggest this also.