This article provides an in-depth guide to various sustainable garden bed materials, discussing their benefits and advantages. Raised garden beds are a popular choice for eco-friendly gardening, as they not only control soil quality, water usage, and prevent weeds but also improve accessibility and ease of use. The best materials for raised garden beds include stone, plastic like HDPE, and durable wood like cypress, cedar, and redwood.
There are many creative ways to make a DIY raised garden bed alternative that repurposes materials and saves money. These garden beds are constructed using recycled plastic materials that are environmentally friendly and long-lasting. For example, you can build a raised garden bed mini-greenhouse using used railroad ties for the base and scrap wood and sheet.
An eco-friendly cedar raised garden bed on a budget can be created using simple and sustainable materials like bricks, stones, wood or barn wood (make sure it’s chemical-free), fence pickets, and cedar decking. Other woods that don’t decay or rot quickly include redwood, cypress, and hemlock.
To create non-toxic raised beds, fill the bed with soil, atop newspapers, using organic matter. The best combination for growing plants is topsoil and composted manure. For a long-lasting raised garden bed, choose materials like stone, brick, metal, or composite woodcrete.
Locally scavenged logs can also be an environmentally friendly way to source wood building supplies. By choosing sustainable materials, you can create a beautiful and functional garden bed that not only benefits your garden but also your family’s health.
📹 How To Build A Raised Garden Bed | Cheap And Easy
Easiest way to build a raised garden bed that will be cost effective. In this video I will show you how to make a raised garden bed …
Are raised beds eco friendly?
Raised garden beds offer a space-efficient, environmentally friendly, and easily maintainable solution for gardening. Regardless of one’s level of expertise, there is always the opportunity to expand one’s knowledge. In order to construct an eco-friendly raised garden bed, it is essential to consider the location and layout of the garden in question. It is recommended that these beds be situated in a prominent location within the garden.
What is the longest lasting raised garden bed material?
Stone and brick raised beds are durable and can last a lifetime, regardless of temperature, humidity, or sun exposure. Although expensive, they eliminate the need for replacement. The construction of the bed can significantly impact its longevity. Stone gardens with a cement footer underneath are more durable than those stacked on a sand or dirt foundation. Other materials like cement blocks, pavers, bricks, landscape stone, or natural rock can be used for the bed. A level sand bed underneath is essential to prevent cracking or crooking of the stones as the ground shifts. Overall, the construction of stone raised beds ensures their longevity and longevity.
How to make raised beds cheaply?
Pallets are a versatile and cost-effective way to create raised garden beds, offering a unique and customizable solution for your garden. These beds can be stacked on top of each other and filled with soil, making them easy to create. Another option is to create a DIY raised garden using cinder blocks or concrete blocks. To begin, clear the area of weeds and ensure the ground is level. Arrange the blocks in desired shapes, such as rectangles or squares, side by side to achieve desired width or length, and secure them in place with concrete. These DIY raised garden beds add a unique touch to your garden and can be found for free or low prices.
What should you not put in a raised garden bed?
Raised beds are ideal for growing a wide variety of edible plants, but not all plants can or should be grown in them. Some plants grow too large for raised beds, such as potatoes, asparagus, artichokes, rhubarb, corn, wheat, rice, and winter squash. Raised beds can be challenging to maintain due to the need for ladders, which can be dangerous for harvesting plants. It is essential to consider the specific needs of each plant when choosing a raised bed, as not all plants can thrive in raised beds. Therefore, it is essential to carefully consider the type of plant and the space available for each plant to ensure the best growth and care.
What is the cheapest material for raised garden beds?
Raised garden beds can be made inexpensively by using recycled materials like wood pallets, old tires, or cinder blocks. To create a rustic look, line the inside with newspaper and fill it with soil and compost. The time to build a raised garden bed depends on the size, type, and materials used, and can range from a few hours to a day. Rot-resistant wood, such as cedar or redwood, is the best material for raised garden beds due to their resistance to decay, rot, and insects. Other materials like metal, plastic, and composite wood can also be used. Ultimately, the best material for raised garden beds depends on the specific needs and preferences of the gardener.
Why not to use raised beds?
Raised beds can be an economically viable option for horticulture, yet they necessitate more frequent irrigation due to their exposure to the atmosphere and the accelerated drying process, which can result in a more rapid loss of nutrients from the soil in comparison to in-ground gardens.
What is the best material to line a garden bed with?
Wide-mesh hardware cloth, stainless steel mesh, landscape fabric, burlap sack, or newspaper/cardboard can be used to line the bottom of raised garden beds. These materials keep weeds and burrowing animals out, but allow earthworms to pass through. Earthworms are nature’s gardeners, aerating and enriching soil for plants. Staple the cloth to the bed frame during construction and ensure it remains in place for years to come. This durable material is designed to prevent burrowing animals from affecting the bed frame’s functionality.
What’s the best thing to put in the bottom of a raised garden bed?
One of the advantages of gardening with a raised bed is you’re in control of the soil. It’s a significant benefit for homeowners with yards of clay or hardpacked soil, tree root issues, or concerns about pollutants in the ground. Soil is the foundation of your garden, and you want it to be healthy so you can set your plants up for success! We recommend buying high-quality, nutrient-rich soil in bulk. Or, you can make a soil mix with equal parts topsoil, organic materials (leaves, composted manure, ground bark), and coarse sand.
You can build your raised garden bed however you see fit. Feel free to get creative or stick to a simple design; it’s your choice! Below are some raised garden bed ideas you can use for inspiration.
Built-in raised beds: You can build a raised bed with brick or wood and put it in the best place for sun or shade (depending on the plants and flowers you choose). If you select a wood design, ensure it’s intended for outdoor use and holds up well to the elements (sun and rain). If not, you’ll find yourself replacing it every year.
What can I use instead of wood for raised beds?
Timber is the most popular material for constructing raised beds, but there are other options like stone, which can be natural or prepared for wall construction. Brick is a strong, durable material that can be used to create curved beds. However, skilled labor is required for construction and footings are often required. Engineering bricks are the most suitable due to their weather resistance, while domestic bricks are cheaper but less durable. Generally, bricks require skilled labor and footings, and engineering bricks are the most suitable due to their weather resistance.
What is the most sustainable raised garden bed?
Premium Cedar Raised Garden Beds, 16″ x 48″, are a sustainable and eco-friendly option for gardening. These beds are made from untreated wood and are sourced sustainably from US forests. They are made without sealants, coatings, glues, or other chemical treatments, ensuring a long-lasting and chemical-free garden experience. The beds are made from materials that are produced and sourced sustainably, ensuring they last a long time and are not replaced every few years.
The list of eco-friendly raised beds includes non-toxic options that are chemical-free, benefiting both the health of vegetables and the garden environment. Some links may earn a commission, supporting eco-friendly homestead readers and funding their expanding plant collection.
What is the best material to make a garden bed out of?
Cedar and cypress are popular choices for garden beds due to their aesthetic appeal and natural rot-resistance. Composite beds, often made with recycled wood, reduce the need for raw materials. Galvanized steel is durable, rust-resistant, and economical. Raised beds offer numerous benefits over in-ground gardening, including earlier planting in spring and longer growth in fall. They can be made with fine-tuned soil or a soil-compost blend, reducing competition from weeds and creating a defined edge to keep pets and kids out of the garden space.
Raised beds require annual renovations due to soil washing down and flattening over time. When considering building raised beds, consider factors such as longevity, expense, and aesthetics. Raised beds can be made with various materials, including wood, wood composites, and metal.
📹 Lumber Dealers Hate This Raised Garden Bed Hack!
How to build an easy concrete raised garden bed for about $60. I have been looking for a cheap and easy way to make concrete …
I am late posting this. I built one of these for my Mom and got it set up and filled with dirt on Mothers Day. She is past the age for a large garden but always said she missed it. I saw your article a few weeks before last Mothers Day and THANK YOU! She currently has a couple tomatoes, cucumbers, and zucchini growing.
instead of the ALLCRETE, use QUICKWALL Surface bonding Cement, which contains fiberglass. The product is intended to surface bond dry stack (no mortar joint) masonry walls. You will have a lot more tension capacity on the surface fiber versus bending. It could make the board less likely to crack and crumble.
If you mix peat moss in the outer cement coating it will grow a little moss and look like it has been there forever. on the inside if you paint on a thin coating of roof coating plastic you will eliminate breakdown and most of all stop the boards from wicking water from the roots of plants near the sides.
Two additions: I would lay ~5″ BB strips flat on the ground forming skirt around the bed. The frame would go on top of the new skirt. That way you have a 4″ border that grass cannot grow on and the mower can drive over, no weed-wacking. I would also add hardware cloth under the bed. Keeps the voles from moving in. Using BB is a great idea.
My husband used the cheapest backer board from Home Depot, cut it in half making 5’x 15″ pieces, held together with 2 x 4’s in the corners and mid planter “seam” and pounded rebar scraps into the clay soil we have here in Atlanta spaced around the outside, put a 2×4 top rail all around and it is still holding up, no cracks, no deteriorating, or bulging for 15 years now. the 2×4’s have rotted on the inside, but the rebar still holds the backerboard in place. This was the cheapest way to get 10ft x 2.5ft x 15″ deep raised planters. Can easily work the soil and plants from either side. Will do it again.
Hey I wanted to add one for you. My son came up with this one. We had an old fridge we needed to get rid of. So he gutted it. Flipped it on its back. Drilled holes in to the now bottom of the box for drainage. Lots and lots of holes. Now it will be my new raised bed. And it looks good too. White enamel
Thanks for the great idea. I didn’t think to use 2 layers glued together. I had a bunch of old product in the garage, some of it 20 yo. I cut the 1/2″ backer and used outdoor primer on it. I cut out the sod, so the bottom lip is supported by dirt, then temporarily held the boards with caulk, followed by primed 2x4s around the lip to hold that together. I’ll give your project a try when this one fails. My only expense was for screws and a yard of garden soil… and cleared some space in the garage.
We used hardiebacker 4×8 sheets. Each sheet would make 4 pieces that were 2×4 and they made a square 4 feet on a side. We are just west of Philadelphia and they held up for 6 years with no issues (externally fixed and painted pine 2x3s held the backer board in place.) the pine lumber is still ok but the backer board really began to deteriorate in the last 18 months. Maybe because the units were filled to nearly the full 24 inches of height and that created a lot of pressure, but, it saved us a lot of bending over. Replacing the backer board is going to be a big project, but, we paid $23 for a 4×8 sheet and it was way less than the soil, mulch, peat etc that went into the bed. As an aside, I might think about lining the thing with sone kind of insulation, not sure what/how. We put a cover over the top and heated using 2 100 watt bulbs mounted in #10 cans during the night and had chard and kale through 4 winters. There is a good YouTube article on casting lightweight concrete panels. Anyway, it worked well for us and even though in disrepair they are still functional after 8years.
If you’re going to bond two halves of a panel together, don’t both scoring both sides, leave them connected. I expect the factory edges to be stronger, so make them be the top edge. Use U shaped fence posts on the outside of the corners to hold the corners on. The dirt on the inside will keep the corners pushed out.
It’s been a long time since I’ve seen such an original article about gardening that I may actually use. I’m very interested to know how well it has worked over a few years. Is it as durable as you hoped? What do you believe that you gained by adding a thin coat of cement? Very interested in seeing a follow up article. Good on ya mate!
Great idea! If I may suggest an alternate support system, 6 inch pvc burred about a foot down then back-filled with rocks and Portland cement allows you to drill anything to them, just set up your concrete after you drill your screws in, I’ve found that method allows for much taller raised beds. I’m in a wheelchair and I’ve found ideal height for elderly and chair bound people is around 22″ to 36″, and some much higher for a pull under bed design. A good article describing the pvc support method can been seen at my website under the article “How to make raised garden beds with benches.”. In addition, if you add a two inch piece of copper tape around the lip edge of the top of the bed it will prevent snails and slugs from wreaking havoc on your crops.
Suggestion for increase strength : Make each inner board length shorter in length by two thickness of a single board and center them on the outer boards so that the extremities will overlap in a “stair” fashion on all four corners. This will dramatically increase the strength of these corners with the addition of bonding or cement and will stop leakage from the corners.
Use modified thinset (tile setting) mortar to bond your half-sheets together. Comes dry in a bag like the Sakrete – mix w water for 5 mins. Use a deep notched trowel and totally cover one side then squish together Same thing you’d use to bond them to a subfloor, and essentially what the board itself is made out of. You’ll get a homogeneous assembly that will never come apart. Cement board is not nail base and will not hold any kind of fastener threads so your bolts are the way to go. You could also screw through the material into wood corners – use wide head exterior screws.
You may have notice the outer skin is like a fiberglass mesh. That mesh is the only thing preventing the fragile cement inner layer from falling apart into a million small pieces. So that is a huge hint how the cement board can be used successfully for raised bed garden frames. Ever heard of thin shell cement project like papercrete? Just a hint.
Hey! When I renovated my bathroom, it was suggested that cement board in the tub-surround was better than the water damaged drywall I was replacing. 35 years later, it was the right call. Thanks for pointing out what was right in front of me for so very long. (And for those fly-ash detractors, when building just line the inside with a (I’d use plastic garden dirt bag) barrier.) And thanks for the intro to torque washers and concrete grinding stones. I need both!😂
I thought of doing this many years ago until I discovered these boards contained fly ash which is extremely harmful when it leeches out into the soil you’re growing food in. Also most U.S cinder blocks contain fly ash. I ultimately chose cedar which is more expensive,however a much safer choice. Great article though, good work.
Great idea. Another option would be to assemble the box in the field using rebar (or something of that ilk) pounded into the ground, attach the cement board to the vertical rebar with wire or zip ties and dispense with the corner angle braces. You could also use those green garden/fence stakes as the uprights pounded into the ground. If you leave them tall, then they become a structure for tenting when cold/frost comes along. I love this cement board idea – Hardi board – comes in 4′ x 8′ sheets which gives it a longer bed. Or one could use the Hardi board length as the “tie-together” piece of an 8′ bed with 2 thicker duraboards on the inside of the bed (and using the stake idea for structure). This would eliminate the need to coat the duraboard with cement as the Hardiboard, on the outside of the bed, would provide the finished look. Just throwing out some ideas. But using cement board is a great idea – a much nicer look than the corrugated metal concept. Thanks for posting!
I like the idea ! I built forms and made my own lite weight panels ( a lot of work ) . I might suggest using high strength motor mix to encase the cement boards . It makes them pretty much water proof which would eliminate freeze damage . For support externally I would use treated 2 X 2s, but never use treated internally if growing veggies .
I like the looks of that bolt and carriage bolt. I think if you spray paint the outside of the box it would look really nice and that would hide the head of the bolt as well as that “thing” you pound into the side first. What’s the concrete for??? To protect the cement board right? Fantastic JOB for sure and I am so jealous going to have to show hubby this article for SUIRE!!!! Your wife is one lucky lady to have such a talented hubby… true story NICE JOB!!! God’s blessings to you all. Ugh now I have garden box envy LOLOL!!!
My suggestion: Use the cement board closer to how it is used for tile. Drive Cedar or pressure treated 2x4s into the ground and then attach cement board inside the lumber with screws, and then fill with dirt. The screws will eventually fail, but the soil will hold things in place still. Even if the boxes eventually fall apart, you can just rebuild them by piling up the dirt toward the center and rebuilding. The cement board will still be holding together, and you might be able to reuse some of the 2×4 posts.
I gave up on wooden raised beds because of their rotting away in 3 years. Old steel roofing cut down into strips and attached to pressure treated corner blocks has worked well. I even used vinyl siding similarly, but I can’t run the panels longer than 4 feet without cross braces of wood to restrict bowing outwards. If I could get free concrete board, I would do the same.
Last spring I built a garden bed with PT 2 x 8’s on the outside sitting on a mow strip of concrete blocks level with the grass, and 12″ tall concrete board on the inside going deeper to keep grass out. Mixed crack resistant concrete to re-enforce the corners. Took a while to build because I had odd angles on the corners, but it’s holding up great. Thanks for the quality article, I like your style.
One thing I would definitely research before using this method for growing anything you plan to eat would be chemicals getting into your soil. Even when people use wood for vegetables they use cedar and not treated wood. But for flowers and edging this would be great, could tint the cement and match it to your siding.
Hax, I am actually planning to raise up my backyard (3″x80″ )fence using the cement board. It would be something like this: 1 – A footing of a concrete block (16’x8’x8′) into the ground (below level) 2 – On level ground I am planning to fix 2 parallel cement boards (3″x5″) with a interior frame (2’x4′) filled with styrocrete. The intention would be creating a bigger “styrocrete block” measuring 4’x3″x5″. (instead using a removable wood form/tray I plan using and leaving the cement board). 3 – Every 8″ would have a metal post of 6″ (1″ below, 5″ above ground level divided in 3″ inside the styrocrete/cement board block and 2″ above it to sustain the horizontal 2’x4′ and the vertical fence pickets. 4 – Every 4’x3″x5″ styrocrete block would be fixed to the next one in a lego format or yet with a 2’x4′ connecting internally, reinforced by the same stucco you used in the garden bed. Would you give me your sincere opinion?
Nifty idea. I agree on the flimsiness aspect. I was just working with Hardie Plank for the first time and was surprised at how easily it shattered when I dropped a piece from only about 3 feet. If the gardener is careful while spading the soil it should be ok. Laminating (or using thicker pieces) should help a lot with the flimsiness/brittleness And it should definitely outlast wood.
Great idea. 25 yrs ago in the U.K. this would have been asbestos cement board and of course not so good! So if you find a pile of sheets at the bottom of your yard and think it’s ok, just ask yourself how old it is. Key is, you can’t tell by just looking at it. If they haven’t banned the use of asbestos in your country yet, just check what you’re buying
As a former homebuilder and current property manager, I have used this product for years. Fiber cement boards are an excellent product and are designed for use in situations where they may become wet OCCASIONALLY. I hate to burst your bubble but no fiber cement board will hold up outdoors forever IF they are exposed to significant moisture. Many climates don’t get a lot of rainfall so the planter might hold up quite well in, say, Nevada. But here in central Mississippi we routinely get 55 to 75 inches of rainfall per year. This material WILL NOT withstand being soaked, sometimes for days in a row, by that much water falling upon it. In my area, a piece of this material left exposed outdoors will crumble and break if picked up just by its own weight being pulled by gravity. So if you live in an arid climate with minimal rainfall, your planter probably will work just fine using cement fiber boards and last many years. But it will likely be deteriorated beyond useful condition in 3-5 years in a sub-tropical Deep South location, such as in Zones 8, 9, or 10.
Many years back, I built xtremly strong manels from ferro cement. 1/4inch rebar on 4 inch centers for core grid, then two layers each side of 3/8inch hardware cloath (screen). Tied every 8 inches to center grid. Trowel thick sand / cement mix from both sides to smooth. Easy to make whole box this way.. Or as I did, make a whole boat. It turns out less than 1 inch thick. I tried to break a test corner with a big hammer, nothing broke. It is very slightly flexable witjout cracking. The boat was 65 ft long, still floating.
Someone had mentioned the lime leaching into the dirt. I’m a contractor who builds bathrooms on a regular basis and we know we have to be very careful of exposure to the silica in all the cement boards. If you cut them with a saw, please use a mask. And then the next question would be silica leaching into the dirt. I would imagine some plastic drop cloth which is cheap would stop that issue. Just a thought.
Hey Adam! Great idea! Please do a follow up discussing if these raised beds could contain the soil when filled, or if they bowed or broke. Also, a article with follow ups to some of your past projects would be nice (think mobile chicken/guineafowl coop / no cement fencing / sprayed on fencing stain / how the raised beds hold up to the weather / etc.) Interested to know how these things are holding up over time, or if they failed as soon as the camera got turned off!! Thank you!
interesting planter bed!! love the look and yes i love those screws too .. quick tip you just get some brown color additive to the concrete and you can make it look dirty like that. you could get all sorts of colors added for whatever look you desire .. im just reading the fly ash debate .. my mom uses rail road ties back in the day which have creosote but most places I’ve read say creosote isn’t soaked up by plant roots so maybe fly ash isn’t either. I also not sure about lining the beds with plastic materials either.. I just like the idea of wood and dirt.lol.. nothing that would contain asbestos or fly ash or anything else.. ugh .. oh also concrete is excellent pots for succulents they love concrete. not so much vegetables that I have seen.. supposed to soak the concrete for a while to leech out the bad stuff too..
This is the solution I was looking for. See, I have those Lowe’s “Oldcastle Planter Wall 8-in L x 6-in H x 8-in D Tan Retaining Wall Block” and have 2 garden beds made with them, love them. They stack for the height you want and are like legos for garden beds (cheap too). I used treated 2″ x 12″ to slip into them, but the boards are unwieldy for an older gal to handle and I want to make more beds and build up the height of the existing beds. I like your solution of using concrete board & laminating them to make my 2″ (or so)slide in board. Thanks for this idea! No rot, no saw needed. Woohoo!
I’ve made raised beds out of a lot of things, Concrete works great, but it takes a while to make it. You have to make forms and you can make them into bricks that lock together with just a bit of work. I like these because they last you literally 15 years or more. And it’s not that expensive. If you’re willing to spend a few days making each bed, this is honestly the best way. The other thing that works in cinderblocks. Durable and long lasting. Though you usually want to dump a few bags of concrete in them too so that they can hold weight better, at least for the taller beds. They are pricey though. At least here. But honestly, the best if you need something quick is just some 2×6’s and you screw them together. The concrete is fantastic for something that’s being put in permanently. You can make it much thinner than normal as well if you use fiber to reinforce it. Kevlar is what I use, I just have some frayed kevlar string and I mix it into the cement. The concrete can be much thinner then without worrying about it cracking.
I built a planting bed with 3 levels on a slope 35 years ago with 6×6 lumber and drilled holes and pounded rebar into them. They are still intact. Only one top section has a little bit of deterioration on the top piece in one portion in the center where it was a bit concave but it outlasted more than I expected and still looks good. Short term cost should only be considered if you aren’t planning on staying. While the initial cost might be higher, the long term cost as well as looks and maintenance needed are factors to consider.
You know…. my wife was just getting on me to build her planter boxes and I couldn’t decide what kind of wood to use…. and then I just stumbled on your article here; I like the fact that it’s cement and don’t have to worry about dry rot. The “L” brackets to hold the corners together was a good idea…. I think I’ll try this. If it makes my wife happy, then it will be well worth the effort! 🙂 Thanks for the great idea!! 👍
I agree, paint the torque washer and carriage bolt like a flower and it would look beautiful on the gray weathered patina the Concrete board has from the get go. I started perusal this very skeptically but in the end I actually liked it. I will say however it is a lot of work involved coating h outside of the board.
I like the raised beds that are waist high and you can get your feet under them. That way if they last a long time, and if you build them right, they will, when you’re old and back hurts, knees hurt, things crack and pop when you move, gardening doesn’t become unpleasant. Add in a soaker hose you only need to turn off and on to make watering simple and things get easy.
I worked as a tech rep for a building products company that manufactured cement board. My job was to work with architects, bldg inspectors, and home builders, advising them about the proper uses of our products. Time and again I am flabbergasted at the number of professionals who want to use some sort of adhesive, other than some sort of mortar/cement based product. You want to laminated 2 or more sheets of WonderBoard, DuRoc, or HardieBacker together & have it be super strong but slightly flexible? Just use an acrylic admix in mortar to put them together. Mount your angle brackets in a similar fashion to how you do joints on the backer boards. Use some of that flexible mortar with some fiberglass tape, etc. was still fun perusal what you did, etc. Have fun!
This is EXACTLY what I’m planning on doing, and my engineer hubby said it would not work🙄 He was correct about the screws but I was not going to use those anyway. However, he said that bolts would not work either… He was wrong! Using those torque washers was brilliant so THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!!!
Cut a 2×4 to make a frame screw both boards to them and fill them with foam to make the center mass more solid.if you inset the frame about a 1/2 inch or less you can fill the edges with concrete to make it look like real slabs but you need fiber mesh in the gap stopped to the 2×4 in the gap so the concrete will have something to hang onto you can use drywall mesh tap or something like it.make sure your frame is flat so the wide side is down and kreg screw the frame together. It gives you more meat to get for brackets.
I’d suggest adding notches on the bottom so you can use those forks to move it without having to life it off the forks.. then you can just shift it and leave it.. conversely ad 2×4 cut into 3 1/2 inch lengths and routed so you can glue them onto the bottom corners of the box lifting it up so the forks will fit under.. then drop a false bottom board in and movable raised beds..
Just curious if these concrete boards are the same as the concrete boards we had put on the exterior of our garage. The installer called them cement boards and unlike yours, they are very hard and brittle. A few years later, before sanding and repainting them, they were tested for asbestos fibers. Unfortunately, they did contain asbestos and we were warned to only sand lightly by hand and not machine when prepping for painting. Do you know the content of your boards? They sure make a great raised bed!
I’m already a subscriber. Thanks for showing how (relatively) easy it is to work with duroc! I need something to retain the dirt in my back yard from seeping out under the fence—especially when it rains, and this might do the trick. The yard is about 6 inches higher than the open, grassy area on the other side of the fence instead of an even slope, for some reason. And I have mulch instead of grass, so erosion is a problem, but just under the fence opening. So I might try 2 pieces of duroc glued together, hammer into the ground a couple of inches, and maybe hold it back with some tarp spikes to retain the dirt/mud before it becomes a problem, again. If that makes sense, or if you have a better idea, I’m all ears! Best of luck with your website. It’s always interesting, funny and educational!
I work in a lumber yard I built my raised beds, like waist height so I don’t have to bend over, out of PT crossers. The pieces of wood the lumber lifts ship on. Every yard has a ton of them kicking around. Built the frame. Used roof board for the bottom and sides. Drilled a few drainage holes in the bottom. Plastic lined them with the plastic the Rockwool insulation ships with. Lol. Almost all free except the roof board and screws. They work great. Bunny rabbits can’t get my plants and you just walk around and do your gardening standing up.
I have made my raised beds using logs such as big leaf poplar or box elder that have no value for firewood or lumber. I quarter them and place them end to end to get the length I need. Doesn’t matter how long the pieces are, just stack what you have till you get the length you need. The joints don’t really leak much dirt. Except at the short sides, you may need to cut them to get the width you need. One flat face goes on the ground, the other toward the inside. I typically can make the bed about 8 inches deep. Only problem I’ve had is ground bees nesting in a spot that rots out. Otherwise, our latest set of beds is about 5 years old. If a piece rots out you can replace it. Yes, this method uses up a little more ground space.
just get concrete blocks, kinda level ground and make a raised bed, had one for years, still working, very cheap, mine is 3 blocks high, just get a bag of morter mix, apply to the inside joints and some on the top joints, thats it, you can plant in the block holes too, now all you need is good soil to grow stuff
I use a 50′ roll of 2″x4″X36″ grid welded steel fence. This costs about 50 bucks. I cut the roll in three pieces leaving wire ends at the cuts. Then I make hoops by joining the ends. I end up with three 3 foot tall silos about 6 feet across. Rake leaves and fill the silos about half way. Pull the leaves to the outside toss some rotten wood in the middle and add soil. do more leaves and then so you see leaves from the outside but the middle is dirt. What you get is 3 3 foot tall raised beds. You can grow on top or on the sides. I let the peas cascade down the sides. Run cucumbers around the top edge, tomatoes in the middle. Its great to weed standing up. Very very cheap and its so easy to relocate. Simply undo the wires at the spot where the fence was joined. Pull off the fence and set it up somewhere else the same way. I have 12 right now and I put many on stumps. No fasteners, super strong, rabbit proof too.
I used old redwood fence boards to make my raised beds. The problem I’m having is the tree next to the boxes decided to invade the boxes and it pretty much forced out the plants in them. Solution seems to be cement board under the box. I’ll need to make it bigger and laminating two layers sounds like the best way to make sure the tree roots don’t have any gaps…
I cant build to save myself, 1) have no idea how to even operate these tools 2) im not comfortable with any noisy fast scary power tools (other than a vacuum, lawnmower & blower, everything else is intimidating. Having said that I enjoy perusal anything haxman builds because he openly wings it,shows his mistakes proudly & makes me laugh while I’m learning so I don’t find his building articles intimidating in the least. I may not feel comfortable using loud powerful dangerous tools just yet but one thing is certain… I never miss a haxman release. He’s patient, kind, creative and can laugh at himself while trying new things. I love that!
Considering you need to double these up for strength, wouldn’t you be doubling the cost for an equivalent sized bed? Basically coming up with the same cost? Even with a basic 1×5 piece adding up to 45 linear feet (perimeter), that’s 9 boards and 3 feet short. 4 sheets to build a standard ish 4×8 is like $55. 3 2x12x8 treated lumber is $40 at my Lowes right now. Maybe if lumber is short, it’d be worth it, since I was wrong about doubling the cost.
I have found a very good way to install the torque washers is to use a shorter carriage bolt with a fairly large flat washer and nut to draw the washer into the substrate, rather than hammer it into place. This reduces the likelihood of the force from hammering either cracking your substrate, or if the substrate is barely thick enough for the teeth on the torque washer, having the teeth show on the front face. I once ruined some expensive wood in a sign shop not using this technique…
Cement boards are not intended to be placed exposed at or below grade in an outdoor applications. Check with Hardibacker or your supplier. In a roofing application I would keep porous cement board siding 1-1/2″ to 2″ above any adjacent roofing. If I wanted the look of a finished wall siding trim board resting on the adjacent roof I would use an extruded plastic board, which come in a flat or grain finish.
Since all concrete backboard is made the same way. I would use some 2 inch fiberglass drywall tape and epoxy to glue the corners together! The Cement board is made with fiberglass impregnated with the cement so the fiber glass drywall tape will easily stick to the fiberglass of the cement board and with epoxy resin create a strong waterproof bond on the corners. You could do just one layer or multiple layers inside or out!
The theory is sound. Would it not be easier to use Hardie board? It is practically the same thing, except hardie is for outside usage not behind a tile wall. I think hardie board would be more appropriate for outdoors. I also have concerns over the permeability of the material. Water resistant is not water-proof. Just like stainless steel is not rust proof. I would use this on flowers, but not to grow food.
I am not sure if the choices were driven by minimizing cost? Dont know prices for all the many various kinds of board out there now… but: what about a few glued layers of cardboard for panels, wrapped in canvas and saturated with exterior paint/some sort of TITEBOND II etc ie panels of poor man fiberglass? If u have plywood, even better. Can use a bunch of short rebar posts to pin this into place? Easy to repaint every few years….?
I’d have just used short 2x4s at each corner and screwed through the cement board into the lumber. You could also cut some 2×2 stakes and pound them in in the middle of the long run, then screwed through the board into the stakes for added structural support. No need for expensive L brackets. Then again, the cement board thing seems unnecessarily labor intensive. I’d be curious about how it holds up to a few seasons’ worth of weather changes.
Never mind raised beds,….I’m thinking “coffin kits” ….Variable sizes for pets or people….With, maybe, the raised beds on top…..Just think,…No expensive caskets, no cemetery plot to buy and a GREAT reason to buy that mini-backhoe………..Have to go now and draw up some plans…….Thanks, you’ve made my day (and maybe my fortune)…..John (west coast, Can.)
Here goes. I am making my raised beds with single thickness and 30″ wide (1/2 of the third piece out of a full sheet) Holding together with a 2 x 4 in each corner. Using screws that are designed for backer board installation. We will see how this holds up with only some earth holding the outsides in place.
I would love to know longevity. My folks have these on their house as siding, and any “top” edge that is exposed to the elements is delaminating…of course, they’ve been installed for 10 years, and we are sealing the top edge with silicone caulk. The flat surfaces resist weather well, it’s the edges where issues have occurred.
I’m not sure about cement board but when I made a raised bed garden out of cinder blocks, the blocks leeched lime into my soil and stunted of killed my plants. I took a sample to the ag dept. and they explained to me what the problem was. She said to mitigate the lime I could spread sulfur throughout about every six month for a 4×8 bed. Eventually the lime will stop leeching. YMMV
Just a hint for next time, if you were to score one side, then bend it over, instead of cutting that second time, just bend it over and mark it at the top, leaving that seam intact, cut off the remainder and then put your glue on and smash it together like a sandwich. The fiberglass in that seam that you didn’t cut will make it ever so much stronger.
OK so my 1st thought was idiot, because i thought you meant to only make of backer board 🙂 but I watched anyway, and was pleasantly surprised that the idea had merit ! I might try something similar to this … with a few tweaks 🙂 anyhoo… i ended up liking and subscribing, curious what you will come up with next 🙂
I colored boring concrete planters with wood stain. I could have used concrete stain, but it’s only sold in gallons at my local big-box store. The wood stains are sold in multiple sizes, the smallest is about a cup. Like five bucks. They’ll mix up custom colors for you, and you can have fun coloring multiple planters (or raised concrete beds) different colors, or different shades of the same color family. If you don’t like the color, it’s only five bucks! Start over. I even did one where I used a gold and then brown streaks to give it a more organic look. The stains come in transparent, semi- and solid, so you can dial in how much of the underlying shades and imperfections you want to show through. I used semi to pick up some of what was going on in the original concrete. I like that organic look. Imagination is the only limit. Time will tell how well the wood stain will hold up on the concrete, but like this guy’s wife, I’m looking forward to a more weathered look any way. And they’ll be a breeze to touch up or re-color if I ever want to. I’ve got ’em all over my yard now, and they look fantastic.