Raised vegetable gardens... materials??

[lorilei]

I'm hoping that one of you gardeners out there will have some words of wisdom for me.

I'm seriously contemplating putting some raised beds in our backyard this year -- in anticipation of gardening in them NEXT year.

My quandry: What material should I use for the beds? I'm really hesitant to use any sort of treated wood for a VEGETABLE garden. But I'm concerned about the breakdown of a wood like cedar. I don't want to have to replace these gardens in just a few years.

I've looked into some wood alternatives, but it seems as if the cost of the newer recycled plastic woods is a bit prohibitive... and brick/pavers sound great, but I'm not sure if they'll last (retain the soil) properly if they're not professionally "installed"...

Do any of you have raised beds? What did you use for materials?

If anyone created raised beds with synthetic wood, where did you get your wood from? Was it terribly expensive?

Thanks, guys!!

[aggie94]

Lorilei,

We just put in a small raised bed this year. We used pavers/stone (Anchor Windsor Stone, made by Pavestone) and installed it ourselves. Their brochures were really helpful. We (I should say DH - he did most of the work) dug a trench to mark out the area we wanted for the bed, laid out some sand, and buried the first row of pavers partway into the ground. I can't remember how many layers we ended up with, but I think it was three. DH also laid down landscaping fabric, because he didn't want to dig up all the grass in the area we had marked off. Once the pavers were all in place, we filled it in with soil, I planted my little herb plants and some vegetable seeds, and then topped it off with mulch. We think it looks pretty good! Although the corners were a little tough to do with the pavers we got; they need to be cut down to create a more rounded appearance. We are very pleased with our little bed, and everything is growing GREAT. :) DH is planning to do another large one in the backyard along with a retaining wall, and tree rings around all our trees.

[LaraW]

I like those brick paver things too. I've seen them outside the front of Home Depot. One thing that I was told about those (and I have not checked it out to be sure it is true) is that there is a little "lip" on the back of the brick to grip the brick below it. That will keep the pressure from the dirt inside the raised bed from pushing the bricks out.

I want to do some raised beds in our yard too, but I think that will have to wait until next year. My sister is a landscape architect and is going to do a little landscape design for us. Hopefully by next year, we'll be up to the task :)

[aggie94]

Originally posted by LaraW
One thing that I was told about those (and I have not checked it out to be sure it is true) is that there is a little "lip" on the back of the brick to grip the brick below it.

That is true, at least for the kind we used. They're not completely flat on bottom; there's a little ledge or lip, so that they "fit" atop each other and don't slide around.

[LaraW]

Originally posted by aggie94


That is true, at least for the kind we used. They're not completely flat on bottom; there's a little ledge or lip, so that they "fit" atop each other and don't slide around.

I would think that would make installing them a lot easier.

It couldn't have been too bad of a project if you're willing to do it again! :D I'm glad you are happy - I am wanting to do something like that in our front yard next year. We have a long front porch and there are 2 mostly-dead shrubs out there now, so it is not very pretty.

[aggie94]

Originally posted by LaraW
It couldn't have been too bad of a project if you're willing to do it again! :D

I did mention that my DH did most of the work, right? :p He actually enjoys doing stuff like that, except when it's 100 degrees outside. We're looking forward to doing more, when budget permits. The pavers can get expensive if you're doing lots of projects or even a single big project. This bed was reasonable, but now we're focusing on getting our fence rebuilt before we do any more landscaping projects like that one.

If DH's work digital camera is still at the house, I will take a picture of our raised bed and post it, if anyone wants to see it.

[LaraW]

Originally posted by aggie94
I did mention that my DH did most of the work, right? :p

My DH did most of the work on our deck last year, but he was in such a foul mood during that project that I'm not willing to go through that again!

I'd love to see a picture if you can post one!

[lorilei]

Eva (et al) - this is really good information! I might have to think about checking into the cost for those pavers.

We've been talking about using the pavers in the FRONT yard for a bit of landscaping, but I hadn't really considered them for the veggie garden in the back...

[jjsooner73]

I'm also hoping to do a small garden in my back yard between now and next season. The thought of using pave stones never crossed my mind. I'd love to see pictures as well.
I am hoping to also do my front bed border in pavestones, but cost may be a factor and I'd rather have a garden!

[fuzzy]

We used fresh cut hemlock boards. According to my father-in-law, by the time they rot out, we'll be long gone (we're planning on staying where we are for 15 years). They've held up great over the past three years.

[KathrynY]

We have two raised beds made of wood, that DH constructed following the plans in The Vegetable Gardener's Bible (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1580172121/qid=1055966355/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/103-1424383-0613467?v=glance&s=books) (link to Amazon). I'll have to check the book when I get home to see if the wood is treated or not, but they look great and were fairly easy to build.

No need for pavers here - every time we put a spade into the earth we get rocks :rolleyes:. All of our planting beds are edged with stone, found in our yard, at no cost! :p

[lorilei]

Kathryn -
Thanks for that link! That book might come in handy, if we decide to go with the wood! Would be interested to hear what sort of wood you used... and if you lined it with plastic on the inside!

fuzzy - Don't know where we'd find fresh hemlock around here, but it's good to know that some woods can last for a good long time. I've heard great things about cedar -- but it seems a bit pricey as woods go.



Oh, yes -- and Eva - If you CAN get pictures, I'd also love to see what you've done with the stones!!

[KathrynY]

I looked at the plans for that raised bed, and the author doesn't take a stand one way or the other, treated or untreated, although he lists the pros and cons. I asked DH what ours is, and he said treated. I hadn't given it much thought until now, but it's definitely something to consider.

The author suggests if the CCA's found in treated wood are a concern, to go with plastic wood. It's lighter than real wood, doesn't rot, and contains no CCA's. He also includes a chart listing the pros and cons of other building materials for his raised bed plans (cement blocks, logs, timbers, planks).

One thing I hadn't considered is comfort, but he lists that as a con to cement blocks (and I would assume pavers fall into this category). I find that when I weed (rather infrequently :o) I spend a lot of time sitting on the side of the bed, to avoid strain on my back. Raised beds are definitely easier on the back than working at ground level.

[DebMG]

I put some raised beds in this year and took the easy way out - I just dumped the dirt right on the grass with no frame at all. A friend with an unbelievable green thumb has the most beautiful gardens around her property and all she does is put soil a good 12 inches deep right on the grass. She doesn't even dig the grass up and has always had great luck. I have to admit I only put about 6 inches of soil down, but I'm not trying to grow anything with really deep roots. Supposedly, the grass just dies.

Anyway, I have an herb garden, a vegetable garden, and a perennial garden. The nice thing is that I can add to it if I wind up buying more plants and flowers. Also, if it's a flop, at the end of the summer all I have to do is rake the soil out flat, put some grass seed down, and call it quits.

So far, it seems to be working.

[aggie94]

Hey Lori,

Sorry these took me so long to get posted. I kept forgetting that the camera needed batteries! :o

Anyway, here are two shots of our raised bed that DH took this morning. You'll see that the corners still need to be done, and that the landscape fabric that's sticking up in the back needs to be trimmed. And DH needs to do a little edging around the base. :o But otherwise, we're pretty happy with it. Please ignore our sad looking lawn - it's been a dry, dry summer here. :(

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid67/pd283a546a36712a7f3aaf00f296b833f/fbd714e4.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid67/p9dd4c0e7cca6e0a59165857f3bbdff54/fbd714df.jpg

[lorilei]

Very, very nice, Eva! That brick looks great next to your house!
Thanks for posting the pics!!

Judging from the picture, your bed must be around 4x8?

[aggie94]

Thanks! I think the actual planting area is right around 4x8. The space the bed takes up is probably a little bigger than that, maybe 5x10? I think the fronts of those stones are a foot each.

[LaraW]

Eva, that does look really nice, and it looks like your plants are doing much better than mine are :rolleyes: Its been so cold here that nothing is growing!

[Lucinda]

I went to Home Depot to buy boards for raised beds (Sunset had a great design a few issues ago)-- they suggested using the pressure treated wood. I bought the boards, brought them home and mentioned it to my friend Cathy (a landscape architect) who was horrified-- that type of wood is laden with all sorts of nasty chemicals. So now I don't trust what the guys in the orange aprons tell me! :rolleyes:

[lorilei]

Lucinda -
The guys at Home Depot were just telling you that because treated wood IS what most people use. It's the most rot-proof wood out there.

I, personally, wouldn't use it for a veggie garden (and might have second thoughts overall). But you can use CEDAR boards without fear.

If you don't want what you bought, you should be able to return it to DEPOT without a problem...

Good luck!

[lorilei]

Hey, guys -- I found a great site that carries all sorts of cedar raised beds. Lots of cool design concepts too... just thought I'd share, since so many of you had helpful hints for me.

We haven't done anything to our yard YET, but this site gave me some new concepts to mull around!

CEDAR BEDS (http://www.ipwoody.com)