Raised Beds

[Wood Scrounge]

I am looking for some opinions on building garden boxes, I wanted to use cedar or Trex but the cost is way more then I can handle right now. I am thinking of building them out of pressure treated and lining the sides with 6 MM plastic sheeting that I have. My thinking was the plastic would keep the soil from being in contact with the pressure treatment chemicals. Am I overlooking something? What do you think?

I am looking at building 10 5’X3’ and 6 2’ X 2’ boxes about 12” tall

 

[rb_in_va]

I made mine out of PT lumber for a raised garden, and I'm not dead. Not yet anyway.

It was recommended by some that I cover the lumber in plastic though. I just never did it.

 

[BriGuy89]

I am looking for some opinions on building garden boxes...I am thinking of building them out of pressure treated....

Vegetable garden or flower garden?

 

[Swamp Yankee]

6 x 6 X 12 concrete blocks work very nicely.

Laid Landscape Fabric between the rows and put 1/2 -3/4 inch stone over the fabric. No weeds, no mud to wallow in after watering. Made the beds three feet wide, easy to pick from either side.

Used the holes in the blocks for lattice and stakes for the climbing plants.

Have actually removed one end of blocks to get my neighbor's tiller in and work up the soil with some fresh manure in the spring. Then a little leveling and put them back.

The key to any garden layout is to leave enough access room if you have the space to get the tractor, wheel barrow or other equipment in.

Seems to work well so far.

Take Care

 

[dingeryote]

Scrounge,

One of the guys I used to work with had a helluva raised bed Garden using tiered plastic barrels framed with Landscape ties and old truck tires.

Irrigation was gravity fed.One 1/2 barrel fed by hose, several drip lines.

It wasn't pretty, but worked very well.
He got yields that were crazy compared to the size of the thing.

Best of luck to ya!!
Dingeryote

 

[Wood Scrounge]

Vegetable garden or flower garden?

Vegetable

 

[rb_in_va]

We have been building raised beds out of PVC fence that we've been recycling. The corners are held by recycled aluminum siding using screws to tie them together. So far we've got 24 that are 4ft X 16ft. and raised six inches high.

In our temperature zone anything over six inchs needs a lot more water for growing. Some of our beds are a couple of years old and holding up fine. At their 1/3 and 2/3 points a two foot length of rebar is driven in the ground to keep the beds from bowing out.

Dan, great idea you have! I wish I had a little more room at my place.

Here is a cellphoine pic I snapped of my little garden. I had 2 tomato plants to the left, a zuchini and a squash plant, 3 cucumber plants, then spinach, and some spices like basil and cilantro on the right. I learned a lot with this little plot.

- 2 zuchini/squash plants will take up an entire 4'X8' bed
- 3 cucumber plants are far too much for a family of 3, even if you give almost all of them away!
- some tomato plants grow taller than others

 

[rb_in_va]

6 x 6 X 12 concrete blocks work very nicely.

Laid Landscape Fabric between the rows and put 1/2 -3/4 inch stone over the fabric. No weeds, no mud to wallow in after watering. Made the beds three feet wide, easy to pick from either side.

Used the holes in the blocks for lattice and stakes for the climbing plants.

Have actually removed one end of blocks to get my neighbor's tiller in and work up the soil with some fresh manure in the spring. Then a little leveling and put them back.

The key to any garden layout is to leave enough access room if you have the space to get the tractor, wheel barrow or other equipment in.

Seems to work well so far.

Take Care

Wouldn't the tiller tear up the landscape fabric? Also I've always heard it best to keep a raised garden narrow enough that you can get at it from all sides, and therefore don't need to bring the wheelbarrow in. You don't want to be stepping on the soil and packing it down.

 

[mtfallsmikey]

I use railroad ties...$11 at the local Co-op

 

[Swamp Yankee]

Wouldn't the tiller tear up the landscape fabric? Also I've always heard it best to keep a raised garden narrow enough that you can get at it from all sides, and therefore don't need to bring the wheelbarrow in. You don't want to be stepping on the soil and packing it down.

No landscape fabric in the beds, only under the stones in the paths between the beds.

Make paths big enough if you have room, to get equipment in, (power or otherwise), or you're in for a lot carrying.

Obviously, also depends heavily on the number and size of beds.

Take Care

 

[Wood Scrounge]

I was at the local lumber yard and they had low grade PT 2 X12 X 8' for $7 each. I bought a few cut them in half and built 4X4 boxes and I lined the inside and the bottom of the lumber with some 4mm plastic I had.

 

[SLlandscape]

Vegetable

Don't use pressure treated for vegetable gardens. The chemicals in the wood can be absorbed by the soil from moisture and then taken in by the plants. These chemicals are very harmful and can be deadly.
Even lining the beds with plastic will not help because Over time the plastic will deteriorate. The plants will still be able to draw in the chemicals through the soil if you line the sides since gravity will pull moisture down the bed sides into the ground where the plant roots will be.
I suggest either stone or composite lumber. Also stay away from used utility poles and rail road ties for they are worse than PT lumber. Old rail road ties and poles used arsenic as preservative.

 

[NHCowboy]

Unless you are a true greenie, all-organic, crunchy, the amount of hazardous chemical's that make it into either the ground water or edible parts of your harvest can be considered negligible. From this article, it seems they can't even really prove that old utility/railroad ties will leach anything of consequence (since most of it is gone after the first few times it gets wet). But still says to be wary of it anyhow.

Make it out of whatever you want, and enjoy the billion pounds of Zucchini and salsa you can make.

PS I no longer enjoy Zucchini unless it's hidden in a less-than healthy Z. Bread and covered with butter!

 

[nocdpc]

I use PT 12X12X16. I bury them 6inches in the ground to prevent critters from digging underneath. I use green coated fencing around the garden with the green utility poles 6ft high. My garden is 16ftX14ft. To prevent weeding use your grass clippings. I just learned this last year. It is 100% safe and feeds your garden. If I would have known this prior to building my garden I would have made it twice the size.

 

[Wood Scrounge]

Unless you are a true greenie, all-organic, crunchy, the amount of hazardous chemical's that make it into either the ground water or edible parts of your harvest can be considered negligible. From this article, it seems they can't even really prove that old utility/railroad ties will leach anything of consequence (since most of it is gone after the first few times it gets wet). But still says to be wary of it anyhow.

Make it out of whatever you want, and enjoy the billion pounds of Zucchini and salsa you can make.

PS I no longer enjoy Zucchini unless it's hidden in a less-than healthy Z. Bread and covered with butter!

That article is very good, it convinced me that I will use my plastic lined PT boxes for “fruiting” vegetables and fruits (strawberries, tomatoes), but my root vegetables (potatoes, carrots) will need something else.

I think 4 MM plastic will outlast the pressure treated wood anyway.

 

[NHCowboy]

Glad it helped, our Feb thaw got me looking forward to the growing season too!

 

[SLlandscape]

Unless you are a true greenie, all-organic, crunchy, the amount of hazardous chemical's that make it into either the ground water or edible parts of your harvest can be considered negligible. From this article, it seems they can't even really prove that old utility/railroad ties will leach anything of consequence (since most of it is gone after the first few times it gets wet). But still says to be wary of it anyhow.

Make it out of whatever you want, and enjoy the billion pounds of Zucchini and salsa you can make.

PS I no longer enjoy Zucchini unless it's hidden in a less-than healthy Z. Bread and covered with butter!

Okay so if they are not harmful then explain to me why the local electrical company has me sign a wavier, when I pick some old ones up from them, stating that the poles are not to be used around plants for human consumption and pets are to be kept away because cows, dogs, cats, etc. have a habit of licking the poles because of the way it tastes. Similar to a dog drinking anti freeze because it likes the taste. The same paper even states that prolonged skin contact or ingestion is known to cause health issues and/or a burning sensation on the skin.
As I said the older poles and ties are pressure treated with arsenic. Speaking from experience with rail ties and poles, quit often when I cut into a pole/tie you can still see the preservatives leak out from the center and you can see how the center of the poles/ties are discolored from the brown color of the preservative.
Several times I have seen labels stapled to the PT lumber stating that it is not to be used around consumable plants.

 

[SLlandscape]

I use PT 12X12X16. I bury them 6inches in the ground to prevent critters from digging underneath. I use green coated fencing around the garden with the green utility poles 6ft high. My garden is 16ftX14ft. To prevent weeding use your grass clippings. I just learned this last year. It is 100% safe and feeds your garden. If I would have known this prior to building my garden I would have made it twice the size.

Another way to add amedments to your vegy beds is at the end of the growing season. After removing the dead plants till in some leaves and dried egg shells to a depth of about 5 inches. Or buy a 5 pound bag of blood meal or bone meal and till that in to a depth of about 5 inches. Then over the winter the leaves and egg shells will decompose into the soil making an excellent bed for next years crop of vegies.

 

[nocdpc]

Okay so if they are not harmful then explain to me why the local electrical company has me sign a wavier, when I pick some old ones up from them, stating that the poles are not to be used around plants for human consumption and pets are to be kept away because cows, dogs, cats, etc. have a habit of licking the poles because of the way it tastes. Similar to a dog drinking anti freeze because it likes the taste. The same paper even states that prolonged skin contact or ingestion is known to cause health issues and/or a burning sensation on the skin.
As I said the older poles and ties are pressure treated with arsenic. Speaking from experience with rail ties and poles, quit often when I cut into a pole/tie you can still see the preservatives leak out from the center and you can see how the center of the poles/ties are discolored from the brown color of the preservative.
Several times I have seen labels stapled to the PT lumber stating that it is not to be used around consumable plants.

I would never use old railroad ties or telephone polls. I do use the PT wood which is not supposed to be harmful but either was the original PT when it first came out :monkey: So who know. If you have access to plastic use it. But the safest I suppose would be stone.

 

[Wood Scrounge]

Here's a photo of raised beds I've been building this winter. They are dug 24 to 30 inches deep using a digging scoop on a bobcat.

Here's a shot of Bob and the scoop.

Here's another shot starring our vole patrol! All beds are being back filled with 75% composted wood chips and 25% top soil. Even though the beds are dug deeply I'm still working composted chips into the bottom with a pick. Each bed is 4ft. X 16ft.

great looking garden, I am moving into the raised beds to hopefully save some time weeding. my old garden was 60' X90' and took up WAY to much time.