GREAT Raised Bed Garden Idea

Mrs Inor wants me to build a BUNCH of raised garden beds for M.T. Acres (at least 6, maybe as many as 12). Her initial thought was to build them from concrete blocks. I have been postponing the idea because I really do not want to dig down to pour footings then have to set concrete block, then come up with some kind of finish for the front of the blocks, plus figure out some kind of automatic irrigation. In short, I really, really, really do not want to sign onto that much work.

So in searching alternatives to her plan, I found this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuSBwFkCiAw

Doing something like this gives me the benefit of not having to pour footings. I can dig the trenches for the irrigation pipe before I assemble the gardens. Plus I can be working with 50-100 pound panels of concrete rather than dealing with doing masonry work of setting blocks, but I still get the durability of concrete! That sounds like a win-win-win for me! I'm still putting it off until 2020, but at least I have a great idea of the direction I am going.

What do ya'll think?

They sure looked sweet when he put them together. Easy to disassemble also if one wanted to move them to another spot some year.

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Originally Posted by Inor

Mrs Inor wants me to build a BUNCH of raised garden beds for M.T. Acres (at least 6, maybe as many as 12). Her initial thought was to build them from concrete blocks. I have been postponing the idea because I really do not want to dig down to pour footings then have to set concrete block, then come up with some kind of finish for the front of the blocks, plus figure out some kind of automatic irrigation. In short, I really, really, really do not want to sign onto that much work.

So in searching alternatives to her plan, I found this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuSBwFkCiAw

Doing something like this gives me the benefit of not having to pour footings. I can dig the trenches for the irrigation pipe before I assemble the gardens. Plus I can be working with 50-100 pound panels of concrete rather than dealing with doing masonry work of setting blocks, but I still get the durability of concrete! That sounds like a win-win-win for me! I'm still putting it off until 2020, but at least I have a great idea of the direction I am going.

What do ya'll think?

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Not a bad idea Inor, I like it.

I think I've shared my stock tank raised beds with y'all...no bending over! We have 7 of them in the front yard! Here are 3
Attachment 6461

And our wood raised beds in the back yard made from 6"X6"'s
Attachment 6462

We hope to plant more veggies this weekend!

OK, . . . I'm up for some edumacation, . . .

WHY bother with a raised bed???

They all have to be weeded by hand, . . . can't plow or rototill the things, . . . are a pain in the rear to mow around, . . . and reduce the garden space to a few feet.

So why are they popular?

What are the advantages?

Somebody want to edumacate me???

Thanks, may God bless,
Dwight

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Originally Posted by Dwight55

OK, . . . I'm up for some edumacation, . . .

WHY bother with a raised bed???

They all have to be weeded by hand, . . . can't plow or rototill the things, . . . are a pain in the rear to mow around, . . . and reduce the garden space to a few feet.

So why are they popular?

What are the advantages?

Somebody want to edumacate me???

Thanks, may God bless,
Dwight

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The ground where we live is insanely hard to dig. There is a layer of coleche (spelling?) about 12 inches thick that is literally harder than concrete. Even digging through it with a backhoe is very difficult. In other words, it is not good ground to dig a garden down into the ground. In terms of mowing, we do not mow. Once per year, I hire a neighbor to come down with a brush hog and cut down the weeds, but that is really all we have for "lawn maintenance". Eventually, once I get the Art Shack done and figure out where my Outdoor Kitchen is going, I will haul in some pea gravel for the rest of the area. Then we will not even need to brush hog it.

OK, . . . I can see that in your area, . . . makes really good sense, . . .

Over where my buddy lived in Tucson, . . . nothing but sand, . . . I could wrap my head around that as well.

But why in Ohio, Pa, Ny, Ill, Indiana, . . .????

Never quite figured that one out

May God bless,
Dwight

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Originally Posted by Dwight55

OK, . . . I'm up for some edumacation, . . .

WHY bother with a raised bed???

They all have to be weeded by hand, . . . can't plow or rototill the things, . . . are a pain in the rear to mow around, . . . and reduce the garden space to a few feet.

So why are they popular?

What are the advantages?

Somebody want to edumacate me???

Thanks, may God bless,
Dwight

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When I had a raised bed garden, I used old RR ties drilled and staked together with rebar. You can add really good topsoil and fertilizer and weed without getting a backache. I really liked ours, this concrete idea looks good. I like the stock tank idea better, less bending. I have a 40'x50' shop where the garden used to be.

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Originally Posted by shootbrownelk

When I had a raised bed garden, I used old RR ties drilled and staked together with rebar. You can add really good topsoil and fertilizer and weed without getting a backache. I really liked ours, this concrete idea looks good. I like the stock tank idea better, less bending. I have a 40'x50' shop where the garden used to be.

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I like the idea of a 40' x 50' shop even better! But that ain't gonna fly with Mrs Inor until after I get the damn gardens done. :biglaugh:

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Originally Posted by Dwight55

OK, . . . I can see that in your area, . . . makes really good sense, . . .

Over where my buddy lived in Tucson, . . . nothing but sand, . . . I could wrap my head around that as well.

But why in Ohio, Pa, Ny, Ill, Indiana, . . .????

Never quite figured that one out

May God bless,
Dwight

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I am switching over to raised beds here also.Too much clay to be able to get the soil structure right. My garden as went downhill the last couple of years. I have added more than enough amendments to the soil to build the new raised beds and the soil is no way any better. Raised beds are easier to weed. Also you can plant only veggies with your tomatoes in the bed. The bed stay less compacted so no need to till. Just loosen with a ground claw etc.

I forgt one of the most important things about raised bed. A lot better drainage than my clay based soil. Water logged tomatoes never do well

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Originally Posted by Dwight55

OK, . . . I'm up for some edumacation, . . .

WHY bother with a raised bed???

They all have to be weeded by hand, . . . can't plow or rototill the things, . . . are a pain in the rear to mow around, . . . and reduce the garden space to a few feet.

So why are they popular?

What are the advantages?

Somebody want to edumacate me???

Thanks, may God bless,
Dwight

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Pastor Dwight;

For our specific situation Raised Beds make a lot of sense. The Stock Tanks are easy to maintain, no bending and we can easily change the soil conditions from year to year. Most critters don't bother to mess with them and since we have no immediate neighbors or a home-owners association to contend with, we put them right out in the yard off the kitchen/front door. Mowing around them is very easy and they look good if I have to say so myself.

The raised beds made out of 6x6's are a little more difficult to maintain and require some bending or sitting on the edge but very easy to grow some heat tolerant plants as this area faces southwest.

When we excavated the area of Slippy Lodge where we built the house, we found out it was Shale Rock. The house is on the very top of the ridge so when we scraped all the good earth away it was all rock underneath. The slopes/ravines are much better soil but you would never be able to put a garden in without a lot of time energy and cost. So Raised Beds made sense. They also act as their own self contained compost pile in the winter.

We do have a larger plot a couple of hundred yards from the house by our creek but it is not an easy walk and became inconvenient to ride the 4 wheeler just to do basic gardening chores.

We love our raised beds!

Bad back = raised beds needed! For now I'm using buckets.

I tried the grow bags last year. Problem was they always needed watered and they were a pain to get weeds from around them

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Originally Posted by hawgrider

Bad back = raised beds needed! For now I'm using buckets.

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Thats another good reason. On occasion I have actually crawled out of the garden from bending over pulling weeds. I wasn't drinking "firewater" either! lol

This year I'm adding 3 new beds. Building out of concrete block. No footer I will level with paver base if needed. Running block reinforcement wire on top using construction/landscaping adhesive and capping with 4" solid block. Plenty firm enough to sit on and almost 12" of fresh soil. My old beds will be topped off this year with a 4" block and then 4" of fresh soil will be added. Maybe not for everyone but that seemed the cheapest way to go and will last a lifetime

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Originally Posted by Broncosfan

This year I'm adding 3 new beds. Building out of concrete block. No footer I will level with paver base if needed. Running block reinforcement wire on top using construction/landscaping adhesive and capping with 4" solid block. Plenty firm enough to sit on and almost 12" of fresh soil. My old beds will be topped off this year with a 4" block and then 4" of fresh soil will be added. Maybe not for everyone but that seemed the cheapest way to go and will last a lifetime

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With a paver footer, do you have problems with the joints cracking? Having to do the footer where we live is the HUGE negative of blocks. I do not want to even consider doing a footer.

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Originally Posted by Inor

With a paver footer, do you have problems with the joints cracking? Having to do the footer where we live is the HUGE negative of blocks. I do not want to even consider doing a footer.

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Inor The raised beds that I have already built have the blocks just laying on the ground bumped together. No head joints. They shifted a little but have been there several years. Not perfect in a long shot but served the purpose.

The way I plan to do it this year will give more stability. I will only us paver base to level if needed otherwise they will sit directly on the clay soil. There will still be no head joints glued or filled just the cap block glued to the regular block with the adhesive and reinforcement ladder. Its not perfect by a long shot but its the cheapest route I could come up with especially where I'm located. I'm not going for looks. Have you thought about redwood or cedar 2"x6"s? They should be a lot cheaper out west and would look a lot nicer. Double stacking them 10" of good soil is enough for most veggies

I have never seen the point of raised beds like Dwight was saying... I couldn't imagine how many raised beds it would take to feed the family lol... If I lived on a 5 acre lot in town and wanted a hobby they would be the way to go for me but actually producing a great volume of produce.... They just seem like more trouble than they are worth.... Everyone has different situations though like inor said about soil quality

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Originally Posted by Broncosfan

Inor The raised beds that I have already built have the blocks just laying on the ground bumped together. No head joints. They shifted a little but have been there several years. Not perfect in a long shot but served the purpose.

The way I plan to do it this year will give more stability. I will only us paver base to level if needed otherwise they will sit directly on the clay soil. There will still be no head joints glued or filled just the cap block glued to the regular block with the adhesive and reinforcement ladder. Its not perfect by a long shot but its the cheapest route I could come up with especially where I'm located. I'm not going for looks. Have you thought about redwood or cedar 2"x6"s? They should be a lot cheaper out west and would look a lot nicer. Double stacking them 10" of good soil is enough for most veggies

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I cannot do wood. It is WAY too dry of a climate for wood. The sun and dry would destroy them within a year.

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Originally Posted by Inor

I cannot do wood. It is WAY too dry of a climate for wood. The sun and dry would destroy them within a year.

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Didn't think about the climate. Its been awhile since I lived in a somewhat dry climate. Colorado 1980's. I sure don't have that problem now here in the Buckeye state! lol

I use the old flowerbeds built into the front of my house as raised beds I am not much of a flower guy when they make great for veggies, and I haven’t seen a rabbit scale brick yet so it keeps them out of the veggies.
Though I do plant other things in the ground just because like the corn.
And I am thinking about adding potatoes this year.


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I built this for ours
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Very nice looking.


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Originally Posted by Broncosfan

I tried the grow bags last year. Problem was they always needed watered and they were a pain to get weeds from around them

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Thanks for that info. I was thinking about trying a few this year, but might stick w/buckets. When the raised beds get built they'll all have level tops & sloped bottoms lol. Joys of living on the slant. We've a sunny hill close enough for watering; might do some terracing next year. Tom started tomato onion lettuce & basil seeds today in the greenhouse. We be a'learnin here. :)

we started with buckets
Attachment 6504

anyone need some?
Attachment 6505

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Originally Posted by Rich1028

I built this for ours
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Attachment 6482

Attachment 6483

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That is a damn nice looking planter! But that is just too damn much work for the number of them Mrs Inor wants.

We are using the grow bags again this year. They work well but only last for a year before the sun and wind tear them all up.

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Originally Posted by hawgrider

Bad back = raised beds needed! For now I'm using buckets.

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i started my very first garden this year
next year I am using buckets for most of the stuff
my spine is cursing me out in languages that don't even exist

Inor, be sure to watch his second video, he remade the forms. I may even try it for next year.

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Originally Posted by Deebo

Inor, be sure to watch his second video, he remade the forms. I may even try it for next year.

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I think it would make a great winter project.

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Originally Posted by Deebo

Inor, be sure to watch his second video, he remade the forms. I may even try it for next year.

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I watched it. I like the first incarnation better, only because I think the forms will hold up better and I have BUNCH of these to do. So longevity of the forms matters to me too. If I only was going to make a couple dozen, the second video is definitely the option I would choose. But you have met Mrs Inor; anything worth doing is worth overdoing.

OOOH! Soon you too can compost dead hippies...

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