Raised garden beds

[8N Ren]

The Miss' s and I did raised beds, this summer will be the 3rd year in use. She likes it so that works for me. We have 6 beds 4 ft W by 8 ft L and 11 inches high made from 2x6 with a fence around the entire area. I can't find a pic at the moment and the garden is under 4ft of snow.

 

[mark02tj]

One other thing to consider while you're doing your beds.... Some people recommend putting some sort of barrier at the bottom of your bed. I think that most people call it "hardware cloth" (sorry - not enough coffee this morning!!) - it's like a metal screen with 1/4" square holes in it. The purpose is to keep moles, gophers, etc. from burrowing up into your beds. I didn't do this but other people do.

 

[DFB]

My Nurse friend wants me to build her some raised beds boxes and with her organic convictions it definitely wont be any PT wood I'll be using. I hate building anything that doesn't last. I remember building flower boxes out of pine boards for my grandmother when I was kid. Even with drainage holes and painted they just always rotted away in no time.


I figured that I was just going to use dimensional framing grade lumber maybe even sawmill run and thought about lining the inside of the box with something like the new polypropylene roofing underlayments. Any opinions on that?

I did a roof at work at work using some of that. Amazing stuff I thought. For roof job staples are not recommend just the plastic washers because water wicks thru the staple hole it's said but I figure a dab of caulk over a staple should work fine on a little job like this.

 

[grnspot110]

I use "lazy man's" raised beds in one garden, no forms, just keep the walkways the same all the time:





Planting beds are around 30" wide, so I can reach from either side. I mulch everything with aged sawdust, preferring Cottonwood.

In my other garden, I work the whole garden, but still plant in wide rows & mulch everything:





Lowell

 

[dave1949]

It's a good idea to locate and orient the raised beds such that you can dump into them with the tractor FEL. That makes it easy to transfer your finished compost to the beds, same with soil if you have some delivered.

 

[dragoneggs]

I built 4qty 4ft by 8ft by 12in high beds and spaced them a push mower apart. I choose 4 by 8 not to waste lumber. Sides are 2x6 cedar stacked two high and used 2x2 stanchions on the outside to help tie them together. On top I used 5/4 by 4in frame as sort of a sitting rail. I have built boxes with 2x12 before but they warp and check due to the dry outside and wet inside. I lined the bottoms with landscape fabric in hopes of discouraging the critters. I would probably use metal fencing with small holes next time although the moles have not gotten into the gardens. Not the greatest picture and you might be distracted by the background. :laughing:

 

[General Lee]

Great pics everyone. What kinds of plants/veggies do you guys plant and what have you found that works well?

I didn't want to use PT wood as well due to the chemicals, just wondering how long non PT wood is gonna last me.

 

[dragoneggs]

Here in the PNW, my wifey has had best success with Carrots, Beets, Leaf lettuce, Kale, Cucumbers, Beans, Peas, Chives, Tomatoes. Building her a HF 10 by 12 greenhouse shortly. Kit sitting waiting for me to find time and some decent weather to start. That should open up a lot more possibilities. Want to grow peppers, better tomatoes, not to mention some small trees like lemon and limes!

 

[charlz]

Since you say it is wooded try to site your raised beds where they get maximum sunlight. For cukes I have used 'cattle panels' with good success. These are the ones made with 1/4" wire. I pound in T-posts and wire the panel to it and plant cukes on either side. Once the plants start to get 'leaders' I train them up the panels by weaving. Works really well and the cukes come out nice and uniform.

If you can use some good topsoil that is relatively weed-free that will help a lot with how much work it takes.

 

[dragoneggs]

You can also use some plastic to get an early start but be careful of burning the starts. We start our seeds indoors and transplant. Not sure of your spring conditions. It is the cold nights that make some plants like tomatoes hard to get going.