GREAT Raised Bed Garden Idea

[Slippy]

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

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!

[hawgrider]

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

[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

[Broncosfan]

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

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

[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

[Inor]

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

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.

[Broncosfan]

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.

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

[hag]

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

[Inor]

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

[Broncosfan]

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

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