Raised-bed gardening

[Mr. H.]

Mrs. H. wants one in the back yard. I found some good plans for a simple 4'x8' bed.
Redwood or cedar are recommended but that shit's mighty expensive. Preserved lumber is to be avoided since it will interact with the soil.

Anybody make/use these?

It's late in the season so maybe I can put it off until spring LOL.

 

[strollingbones]

we use them....i am not that fond of them...you need to double dig and them stablize the edges...and no you cant use pressure treated lumber but you can do small stacked rock walls

 

[Wry Catcher]

Redwood, cheap fence boards will do, ours have lasted over five years. A raised bed is easy on the back, easy to weed and well worth doing.

 

[testarosa]

I did one for the infamous School Cabbage Contest amd I continue to reuse it.

8 ft treated plywood. Line the bottom and up the sides with newspaper. Cheap dirt and mushroom fertalizer and some black cow.

Mix it up. Wah lah. I just add another box and I want to get bigger.

Far easier than the quarter acre garden I had in the ground. Less bugs, less weeds.

 

[Mr. H.]

Thanks, all. It'll be a springtime project *whew*.
Sometimes procrastination pays dividends.

Nothing is simple with this gal. She'd more prefer this monstrosity...

We really don't have the yard for it, so maybe I can scale it down a bit and still give it the cutesy look.

 

[testarosa]

PS - you line the bottom with newspapers straight onto the ground, grass, where ever you're putting it. It biodegrades, kills everything underneath it and the plants grow through it.

 

[Mr. H.]

Yeah. And some some mesh hardware cloth to keep burrowing critters out.
We compost all of our compostables. Which reminds me, I need to turn that stuff.

 

[ralphgrant]

As much as you check out the soil for your gardening purpose, it is all important to look for the pests and termites that might damage the garden. So proper Termite Protection should also be taken to secure the garden.

 

[tinydancer]

Get hold of bayou bill. he did many for his wife before he left her.

Sheesh. That doesn't sound good does it?

Anyways I was amazed at how quickly and efficiently he hit it to make them.

 

[Moonglow]

You can also use sheet rock at the bottom to increase worm activity to air ate the soil.

 

[Moonglow]

of course raised beds also dry out faster.

 

[syrenn]

Thanks, all. It'll be a springtime project *whew*.
Sometimes procrastination pays dividends.

Nothing is simple with this gal. She'd more prefer this monstrosity...

We really don't have the yard for it, so maybe I can scale it down a bit and still give it the cutesy look.

That looks great! You should take pics of what you finally do.

 

[Mr. H.]

Sure thing.
Was talking to a neighbor about it, and he offered to help.

 

[freedombecki]

You guys are the best for making raised gardens for your families' good health and ease of aching backs.

 

[Crackerjaxon]

I use plain old construction 2X6's, nail' em together and paint them. Works fine. Lasts a long time.

 

[Mr. H.]

I'm still trying to figure how to get out of doing this project LOL. We really don't have that much yard to spare, and while the Mrs. is an exceptional gardener (she once held master gardener certification) she's never had much luck growing food for the table.

 

[lizzie]

Mrs. H. wants one in the back yard. I found some good plans for a simple 4'x8' bed.
Redwood or cedar are recommended but that shit's mighty expensive. Preserved lumber is to be avoided since it will interact with the soil.

Anybody make/use these?

It's late in the season so maybe I can put it off until spring LOL.

I have used treated lumber in the past for raised beds, and just lined them to keep the wood out of contact with the soil which was below my plants. I honestly think the "scare" is a little over-rated.

 

[Ringel05]

Earthbag (superadobe) construction. You can finish it with an adobe coating mixed with 10% Portland cement to stabilize the cob (plaster).

Earthbag raised bed, inexpensive versus wood - BuildingFree.com

The cool thing with superadobe is you can make it any size or shape you want.

 

[Ringel05]

Here's a "video".

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGqzGzy5PIU"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGqzGzy5PIU[/ame]

 

[Ringel05]

More info:

Earthbag Construction ? How To Build An Earthbag Garden