hello all, had such an epic day yesterday up at the soul patch but was going to see if anyone had any canny and most importantly cheap ideas of how to create large raised beds. i am thinking 2 20ftx10ft beds so quite a lot of material needed. any thoughts well appreciated!

The Soul Patch wrote:
hello all, had such an epic day yesterday up at the soul patch but was
going to see if anyone had any canny and most importantly cheap ideas
of how to create large raised beds. i am thinking 2 20ftx10ft beds so
quite a lot of material needed. any thoughts well appreciated!

Just slope the earth up to the raised level, with pathways in between.

Or, use cinder blocks.

On Sun, 16 Oct 2011 12:44:52 +0000, The Soul Patch
wrote:


hello all, had such an epic day yesterday up at the soul patch but was
going to see if anyone had any canny and most importantly cheap ideas of
how to create large raised beds. i am thinking 2 20ftx10ft beds so quite
a lot of material needed. any thoughts well appreciated!

That configuration negates the most important aspect of typical raised
beds, being able to reach every part without climbing in... if you
have to climb up into your structure it isn't really a raised bed now
is it... you then may as well make one 20' X 20' bed and use less
materials.

I'd make them sized so that you can reach in to the entire area
without climbing in and so that they use common dimensional building
materials. Don't think too much about low cost at the expense of
quality... the cheap always comes out expensive... there is no point
to building something if it will collapse even before the first
season. Something important to consider is to build your raised beds
so that it bars small tunneling critters, otherwise it's all for
nothing... they will come. Large critters are easy to deter, the
small critters require special efforts.

I used real RR ties (used) but I lined the entire interior with
aluminum flashing that extends a good ten inches below the baseline
surface, it keeps tunneling critters out plus prevents leaching from
treated lumber... also helps tie all the RR ties together especially
the corners. It was easy to add the flashing later when I discovered
the small critters coming to my salad bar. I built my bed one RR tie
high, (~12"), works for me. Mine isn't a typical raised bed, it's a
raised vegetable garden that I go into... the border serves to prevent
my good amended soil from washing away from heavy rains plus makes it
much easier to keep critters, both large and small, out... also deters
weeds from creeping in, and it was easy to attach a deer fence to the
ties, you may not need such. Mine is 50' X 50', you probably don't
want something so large but the same construction would work for any
size.

On 10/16/11 5:44 AM, The Soul Patch wrote:
hello all, had such an epic day yesterday up at the soul patch but was
going to see if anyone had any canny and most importantly cheap ideas of
how to create large raised beds. i am thinking 2 20ftx10ft beds so quite
a lot of material needed. any thoughts well appreciated!

Till the ground to the same depth that the raised bed will be above the
natural level. That is, if the raised bed will be 1 foot high, till to
a depth of 1 ft. While tilling, add bone meal or superphosphate;
phosphorus does not readily dissolve and so must be placed where roots
will find it. Also add some organic matter (e.g.: peat moss, compost)
but not much; until you frame the bed, you do not want to raise the soil
level significantly.

Choose framing materials (e.g.: old railroad crossties, concrete
(cinder) blocks, 2x12 boards). Your choice should balance cost versus
how long you plan to maintain the bed. Also, your choice might depend
on whether or not you are planning "organic" gardening since some
framing materials are chemically treated to resist rot.

Frame the bed. For a bed 20x10, you will want to anchor the framing
material even if you frame with something heavy such as a single course
of concrete blocks. I would not use wooden stakes. Instead, consider
scrap water pipes or steel rebar. You should use lengths at least twice
as long as the frame will be high. Pound the anchors into the ground so
that the top of each is about 1 inch below the top of the frame; this is
to reduce the risk of tripping on the anchor.

When the bed is framed, pile enough soild amendment inside the frame to
about 2-3 inches higher than the frame. Till this into the top half of
what you already tilled. Mixed with your native soil, this will quickly
settle down to the level of the frame.

Plant.

No, I have not recommended specific framing materials or soil
amendments. I do not know what is available in your area or -- for what
is available -- what the costs are.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean, see
http://www.rossde.com/garden/climate.html
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary

The Soul Patch wrote:
hello all, had such an epic day yesterday up at the soul patch but was
going to see if anyone had any canny and most importantly cheap ideas
of how to create large raised beds. i am thinking 2 20ftx10ft beds so
quite a lot of material needed. any thoughts well appreciated!

Why on earth would you make them 10ft wide? They should be no wider than
you can reach into the centre without standing on the bed, usually 3 to 4
ft. This will have a longer perimeter for the same area and so cost more
than 10ft wide but you don't want to walk or have to push a barrow over your
bed.

New materials like concrete blocks or timber that is durable in contact with
the soil tends to be expensive. If you can get such second-hand you may
save much.

Corrugated iron (eg colorbond) is cheaper and works well but has the
disadvantage that you cannot sit on it. You will still need to put an
edging strip along the top all the same for safety.

How high do they have to be? If only short maybe no sides are required.
Where will you get the soil to fill them?

David

On Oct 16, 8:27*am, "Bob F" wrote:
The Soul Patch wrote:
hello all, had such an epic day yesterday up at the soul patch but was
going to see if anyone had any canny and most importantly cheap ideas
of how to create large raised beds. i am thinking 2 20ftx10ft beds so
quite a lot of material needed. any thoughts well appreciated!

Just slope the earth up to the raised level, with pathways in between.

Or, use cinder blocks.

I would like to try this, as I'm tired of the Mickey Mouse job I did
of raised beds.

But I don't understand how sloped sides can maintain their shape.
Doesn't rain, or even watering, break down those sloped sides?

TIA

HB

Higgs Boson wrote:
On Oct 16, 8:27 am, "Bob F" wrote:
The Soul Patch wrote:
hello all, had such an epic day yesterday up at the soul patch but
was going to see if anyone had any canny and most importantly cheap
ideas of how to create large raised beds. i am thinking 2 20ftx10ft
beds so quite a lot of material needed. any thoughts well
appreciated!

Just slope the earth up to the raised level, with pathways in
between.

Or, use cinder blocks.

I would like to try this, as I'm tired of the Mickey Mouse job I did
of raised beds.

But I don't understand how sloped sides can maintain their shape.
Doesn't rain, or even watering, break down those sloped sides?


For sides with about a 30 degree slope and height of 30cm (1 ft) there is
very little movement due to watering. If you go steeper or higher the
problem gets worse.

D

On Sun, 16 Oct 2011 21:51:01 -0700 (PDT), Higgs Boson
wrote:

On Oct 16, 8:27*am, "Bob F" wrote:
The Soul Patch wrote:
hello all, had such an epic day yesterday up at the soul patch but was
going to see if anyone had any canny and most importantly cheap ideas
of how to create large raised beds. i am thinking 2 20ftx10ft beds so
quite a lot of material needed. any thoughts well appreciated!

Just slope the earth up to the raised level, with pathways in between.

Or, use cinder blocks.

I would like to try this, as I'm tired of the Mickey Mouse job I did
of raised beds.

But I don't understand how sloped sides can maintain their shape.
Doesn't rain, or even watering, break down those sloped sides?

Yeah, ain't gravity a bitch! LOL

On Mon, 17 Oct 2011 16:17:25 +1100, "David Hare-Scott"
wrote:

Higgs Boson wrote:
On Oct 16, 8:27 am, "Bob F" wrote:
The Soul Patch wrote:
hello all, had such an epic day yesterday up at the soul patch but
was going to see if anyone had any canny and most importantly cheap
ideas of how to create large raised beds. i am thinking 2 20ftx10ft
beds so quite a lot of material needed. any thoughts well
appreciated!

Just slope the earth up to the raised level, with pathways in
between.

Or, use cinder blocks.

I would like to try this, as I'm tired of the Mickey Mouse job I did
of raised beds.

But I don't understand how sloped sides can maintain their shape.
Doesn't rain, or even watering, break down those sloped sides?


For sides with about a 30 degree slope and height of 30cm (1 ft) there is
very little movement due to watering. If you go steeper or higher the
problem gets worse.

With a 30º slope and one foot high why bother, may as well just garden
on the flat ground. With that configuration and nothing to contain
the earth everytime one cultivates/rakes or otherwise works the soil
within one season it'll lose at least half it's height... it'll need
constant reforming leaving little time for plantings to acclimate, not
worth the trouble... what you descibe is really like how pumpkins are
grown on a mound, but that's not nearly raised bed gardening.

I've tried true raised bed gardening, but unless one is willing to
spend a lot of money to have a number of them they won't be growing a
whole lot... probably makes more sense to do container gardening.
Raised beds are fine if all one wants is one or two very small growing
plots but for anything more I think gardening directly on the ground
in a large contained plot is far more efficient and economical. This
is where I doubled the size of my vegetable bed:
http://i55.tinypic.com/ofy3yx.jpg
http://i56.tinypic.com/hv79xf.jpg
I found this configuration far easier to work and infinitely more
productive than the typical raised bed. Walking on the ground creates
no problems, only a few very narrow paths become created between
planting areas. I really didn't need to make it larger, just that I
got carried away because I have unlimited space... soon after I
discovered that the garden is actually too large and produces far more
than I could consume (and even give away) I set aside 1/3 for
blueberry bushes. I paid $10 for each used RR tie at the local lumber
yard, my gate and fencing was more pricey. The RR ties were set and
held in place by drilling 1/2" holes through and pounding in lengths
of rebar. Nothing makes me cringe more than when someone asks for a
"cheap way"... the ONLY cheap way that works is don't do it... reminds
me of when someone shops for a boat and asks how far it'll go on a
gallon of gas, salesmen says you can't afford a boat.

On 10/16/11 9:51 PM, Higgs Boson wrote:
On Oct 16, 8:27 am, "Bob F" wrote:
The Soul Patch wrote:
hello all, had such an epic day yesterday up at the soul patch but was
going to see if anyone had any canny and most importantly cheap ideas
of how to create large raised beds. i am thinking 2 20ftx10ft beds so
quite a lot of material needed. any thoughts well appreciated!

Just slope the earth up to the raised level, with pathways in between.

Or, use cinder blocks.

I would like to try this, as I'm tired of the Mickey Mouse job I did
of raised beds.

But I don't understand how sloped sides can maintain their shape.
Doesn't rain, or even watering, break down those sloped sides?

TIA

HB

I used cinder blocks -- two on each side -- to create a small, square,
raised bed for a dwarf tangelo tree. Tangelo is a citrus (a cross
between a tangerine and a grapefruit or pomelo) and needs excellent
drainage, but my soil is heavy clay.

As I described earlier in this thread, I dug down about a foot, stirring
superphosphate and gypsum into the soil. I then placed the cinder
blocks with the holes facing up around the hole. Since I was only
placing a single course of blocks, I did not anchor them. I then
stirred ample amounts of course sand, peat moss, compost, and wood chips
into the hole to raise the soil level to the tops of the blocks.

After allowing the tree to get established for a few months, I began a
regular feeding program with high-nitrogen fertilizers since all the
organic matter tends to remove nitrogen from the soil. The tree is
doing well now and has even bloomed, but it has not yet set any fruit
after some five years.

I packed potting mix (per my own recipe at
http://www.rossde.com/garden/garden_potting_mix.html) into the
vertical holes in the cinder blocks and planted wax-leaf begonias in the
holes.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean, see
http://www.rossde.com/garden/climate.html
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary

Brooklyn1 wrote:
On Mon, 17 Oct 2011 16:17:25 +1100, "David Hare-Scott"
wrote:

Higgs Boson wrote:
On Oct 16, 8:27 am, "Bob F" wrote:
The Soul Patch wrote:
hello all, had such an epic day yesterday up at the soul patch but
was going to see if anyone had any canny and most importantly
cheap ideas of how to create large raised beds. i am thinking 2
20ftx10ft beds so quite a lot of material needed. any thoughts
well appreciated!

Just slope the earth up to the raised level, with pathways in
between.

Or, use cinder blocks.

I would like to try this, as I'm tired of the Mickey Mouse job I did
of raised beds.

But I don't understand how sloped sides can maintain their shape.
Doesn't rain, or even watering, break down those sloped sides?


For sides with about a 30 degree slope and height of 30cm (1 ft)
there is very little movement due to watering. If you go steeper or
higher the problem gets worse.

With a 30º slope and one foot high why bother, may as well just garden
on the flat ground.

Because it gives you soil 30cm deeper than if you don't.

With that configuration and nothing to contain
the earth everytime one cultivates/rakes or otherwise works the soil
within one season it'll lose at least half it's height... it'll need
constant reforming leaving little time for plantings to acclimate, not
worth the trouble... what you descibe is really like how pumpkins are
grown on a mound, but that's not nearly raised bed gardening.


It has not been my experience that the bed loses half its height or needs
constant reforming.

D

Brooklyn1 wrote:
On Mon, 17 Oct 2011 16:17:25 +1100, "David Hare-Scott"
wrote:

Higgs Boson wrote:
On Oct 16, 8:27 am, "Bob F" wrote:
The Soul Patch wrote:
hello all, had such an epic day yesterday up at the soul patch but
was going to see if anyone had any canny and most importantly
cheap ideas of how to create large raised beds. i am thinking 2
20ftx10ft beds so quite a lot of material needed. any thoughts
well appreciated!

Just slope the earth up to the raised level, with pathways in
between.

Or, use cinder blocks.

I would like to try this, as I'm tired of the Mickey Mouse job I did
of raised beds.

But I don't understand how sloped sides can maintain their shape.
Doesn't rain, or even watering, break down those sloped sides?


For sides with about a 30 degree slope and height of 30cm (1 ft)
there is very little movement due to watering. If you go steeper or
higher the problem gets worse.

With a 30º slope and one foot high why bother, may as well just garden
on the flat ground.

Because it gives you soil 30cm deeper than if you don't.

With that configuration and nothing to contain
the earth everytime one cultivates/rakes or otherwise works the soil
within one season it'll lose at least half it's height... it'll need
constant reforming leaving little time for plantings to acclimate, not
worth the trouble... what you descibe is really like how pumpkins are
grown on a mound, but that's not nearly raised bed gardening.


It has not been my experience that the bed loses half its height or needs
constant reforming.

D

First decide planting space length in your garden.Nail boards together, place in a level spot with plenty of sunshine.Cover the bottom with landscaping fabric, prior to filling with soil to keep weeds under control. Fill your raised bed with topsoil, compost and some potting soil. Work all these materials together.

Brooklyn1 wrote:
On Mon, 17 Oct 2011 16:17:25 +1100, "David Hare-Scott"
wrote:

Higgs Boson wrote:
On Oct 16, 8:27 am, "Bob F" wrote:
The Soul Patch wrote:
hello all, had such an epic day yesterday up at the soul patch but
was going to see if anyone had any canny and most importantly
cheap ideas of how to create large raised beds. i am thinking 2
20ftx10ft beds so quite a lot of material needed. any thoughts
well appreciated!

Just slope the earth up to the raised level, with pathways in
between.

Or, use cinder blocks.

I would like to try this, as I'm tired of the Mickey Mouse job I did
of raised beds.

But I don't understand how sloped sides can maintain their shape.
Doesn't rain, or even watering, break down those sloped sides?


For sides with about a 30 degree slope and height of 30cm (1 ft)
there is very little movement due to watering. If you go steeper or
higher the problem gets worse.

With a 30º slope and one foot high why bother, may as well just garden
on the flat ground. With that configuration and nothing to contain
the earth everytime one cultivates/rakes or otherwise works the soil
within one season it'll lose at least half it's height... it'll need
constant reforming leaving little time for plantings to acclimate, not
worth the trouble... what you descibe is really like how pumpkins are
grown on a mound, but that's not nearly raised bed gardening.

I never had that problem. Is your soil all sand?

We've made our raised beds from old floor boards and a set of pine bunkbeds that no-one wanted on freecycle. Also made small raised beds from old truck tyres.