# Raised Beds



## karstopo (Jun 29, 2009)

Does anyone use raised beds for vegetables? Whatâ€™s the good, bad and ugly on these? 

Iâ€™m about to find out I suppose since I built the 8â€™x10â€™ frame Friday. Frame is made from 2â€ x 6â€ and 8â€ rough cedar so just under 14â€ deep. I scraped off the San Augustine grass (that went into my 2 compost bins), broke up the underlying heavy clay a little with the garden fork and the soil/compost mix is coming Monday. I took out the San Augustine grass mainly because I didnâ€™t want it to shrink down later when it dies and then have the soil settle. The underlying soil is crazy heavy clumpy dark clay even though itâ€™s pretty close to the in the ground garden that has some silt in the mix and lighter in color and weight. The in the ground garden is closer to the natural lake so I suppose that accounts for the difference. 

Some say put in a liner, but others say no. Anyone done a raised bed with a liner and one without? 

The vendor, that I trust, of the soil says is ready to plant right away and fertile, but not so hot like mushroom compost that might burn plants. 

I plan on putting in some onions, Yellow Granex and a red onion, in the new bed as soon as possible and probably some kale, bok choy and carrots.


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## Ready.Fire.Aim (Sep 22, 2009)

I garden in 4x15â€™ raised box beds for about 15 years. Have seven of them. 

I bought a load of true river dredged sand and a load of compost and mixed my own. 

I use rainbird drip tubing and keep mulched with leaves. 
Put decomposed granite in between for walkpaths. 

I plant every spare space so that there is no unfilled spot when plants are mature..

Only drawback is growing watermelons , they do better in a patch with a lot of room to run. I mow next to my beds on ends so that doesnâ€™t work with melons in my setup. 

For vine crops I use cut down horse panels with smal squares for trellises. Also rebar cages. 

I used to garden with tractor, Troy tiller but was either too wet or weeds got away from me.


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## Mattsfishin (Aug 23, 2009)

I have several raised beds now. I don't have acreage so I use raised beds. I grow something in them year round. I use home made compost, cotton seed meal, and micro life. There will be a hater or two that talks trash about micro life but it works and works really good in raised beds. I also buy garnen soil from a vendor down the road and add the compost and organic nutrients to it. I have never used a liner so I can not help on that. My yard is sandy and sand down to 5 feet. I use all the leaves I can get in my yard for the raised beds. I made my beds with cement blocks. Saw a post by HK where he had planted in the holes on the blocks. Did that this fall and will continue to do this. I have one large bed that has turnips growing in it and will pull them next month so I can plant potatoes there in january. With the beds I can plant potatoes earlier than some and have potatoes earlier. Just have to cover them. The onion bed is the only bed I have not planted something in the holes. I wanted something green in the beds by the fire pit so I planted winter vegetables in them.


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## Meadowlark (Jul 19, 2008)

In SE Texas, everything planted in a garden should be planted in raised rows. Whether you put a border around it or not makes it a raised bed? At any rate, with our rainfall, which at times is torrential, plants will drown if not planted in raised rows. 

Liner? No, it defeats the purpose of raising the rows to get optimum drainage. 

By the way, those onions need to be planted in soil as soon as possible. The longer the sets are out of the ground, the more likely you are to get bolting later on and the less growth in the bulbs next spring. I planted my yellows and reds the last week of Nov. this year.


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## Muddskipper (Dec 29, 2004)

I use raised beds... use cedar as well as I didnâ€™t want treated lumber breaking down next to my soil ...

Itâ€™s all about you quality of garden mix.... it should get better every season if your mulching and composting goes into the beds.....

Donâ€™t expect a crazy production on first year..... keep up with your maintenance and you should be fine


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## karstopo (Jun 29, 2009)

Thanks for all the replies on the raised beds, fertilizing, onions, etc. Definitely some food for thought (pun intended).

Gardening seems to be something that can be incrementally improved as time goes by. Enjoying some fresh from the existing garden kale tonight in a soup.


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## Meadowlark (Jul 19, 2008)

I did a search on Kale soup and found several interesting recipes. Mind sharing yours?


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## karstopo (Jun 29, 2009)

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/231287/sausage-potato-and-kale-soup/

This is the one I made last night. I made it last year, too. I used a mix of Tuscan kale leaves and young Siberian kale that I was thinning out. Used Yukon gold potatoes. Thereâ€™s others that arenâ€™t dairy based.

Hereâ€™s one that uses white beans and not dairy.

https://sharedappetite.com/recipes/rustic-tuscan-style-sausage-white-bean-and-kale-soup/


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## karstopo (Jun 29, 2009)

Got the soil delivered today and got it all planted. Hopefully, we get the forecasted 1/2 inch of rain over night, get it watered in good.


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## old 37 (Nov 30, 2014)

karstopo said:


> Does anyone use raised beds for vegetables? Whatâ€™s the good, bad and ugly on these?
> 
> Iâ€™m about to find out I suppose since I built the 8â€™x10â€™ frame Friday. Frame is made from 2â€ x 6â€ and 8â€ rough cedar so just under 14â€ deep. I scraped off the San Augustine grass (that went into my 2 compost bins), broke up the underlying heavy clay a little with the garden fork and the soil/compost mix is coming Monday. I took out the San Augustine grass mainly because I didnâ€™t want it to shrink down later when it dies and then have the soil settle. The underlying soil is crazy heavy clumpy dark clay even though itâ€™s pretty close to the in the ground garden that has some silt in the mix and lighter in color and weight. The in the ground garden is closer to the natural lake so I suppose that accounts for the difference.
> 
> ...


I have used raised beds for years with no liner, just put dirt in over the grass and has continually produced very well.


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## karstopo (Jun 29, 2009)

I just put the new soil on top of the heavy clay that I broke up a little with the garden fork, but took the San Augustine and put that in my compost pile. Maybe not a step I needed to take, but I got a good workout scraping that grass out and breaking up the soil. No liner, though.


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## 98aggie77566 (Jul 7, 2009)

I went a much easier route...donâ€™t know if Iâ€™m getting lazier or smarter.

I picked up 60 feed buckets (the big cattle protein ones) from a rancher buddy.
Filled with compost from the nursery.
Ran low pressure irrigation down each row of pots with a timer...drilled holes in the bottom to avoid overwatering/too much rain.

Works AMAZING!
No weeds....donâ€™t have to bend down as far to plant...even less to pick!

My only mistake was not putting down weed barrier under the pots....worse part is having to do a little weed eating around them.
No weeks


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## karstopo (Jun 29, 2009)

I think I saw your feed bucket garden on another thread. Looks like a good idea. I doubt my wife, a yard **** among yard Nazis, would go along with the bucket garden and itâ€™s not the hill I wish to die on. She thinks the new raised bed is â€œprettyâ€ so Iâ€™m good.


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## Meadowlark (Jul 19, 2008)

karstopo said:


> Got the soil delivered today and got it all planted. Hopefully, we get the forecasted 1/2 inch of rain over night, get it watered in good. ...


Looks great and excellent timing with the rain. Looks like you got those onions in first....good move.


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## Wolfie#2 (May 8, 2017)

I have 4 raised beds. One is a 45x45" comercially made cedar bed that was on sale @ Wallyworld a few yrs ago. A couple more I made from cedar fence pickets from Lowe's. Found out that I could buy true 2x6"x12' cedar lumber from Lowe's cheaper than the fence pickets. Can build 2, 3'x6'x 6" beds with 3, 12 footers. Perfect size for me. Been thinkin about adding another 6" to each bed for a 12" depth so's I can reach them easier, not have to bend over so low. 

PS: I love my raised beds! 

I did put multiple layers of cardboard for a liner under one, just because I had the CB when I made the bed. Can't say it made a difference. I have a nutgrass problem and was hopin that would help and it did, for a couple years.


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## Mattsfishin (Aug 23, 2009)

The wood beds look good. I wanted to go with wood but the first couple of beds were made from donated concrete blocks. Free blocks work good so I have continued on with concrete blocks.
This lite rain is going to help everything.. Amazing how rain water makes everything grow better than city water.


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## karstopo (Jun 29, 2009)

I started to go with the treated lumber since itâ€™s less than half the cost of Cedar, but I didnâ€™t like the odd color or grain so much and then thereâ€™s the copper compounds and fungicide that is impregnated in that wood. I did read that treated wood borders disqualify gardens from being organic with the potential leaching of the chemicals. Hopefully, the cedar lasts for several years so that the extra cost can be sort of amortized over the term. These little vegetable plots can grow some expensive vegetables if Iâ€™m not careful. 

The garden that I already had in the background with the concrete pavers, those pavers were free so that justified me spending a little more on this bed, so it is how I deceive myself. 

Iâ€™m trying to be smart about costs with making my own compost from left over plants, leaves, Spanish moss and vegetable trimmings. I clean a decent amount of fish and want to find a way to work those carcasses into the garden for free fertilizer. Iâ€™m not sure whatâ€™s the best thing to do with the bones, guts and heads. Maybe bury them deep, I definitely donâ€™t want any flies or stink around. Water when needed comes from the lake so Iâ€™m only paying electricity on that. Seeds from the feed store, way cheaper than other sources that Iâ€™ve found. Six packs on sets, also feed store, and sometimes those can be subdivided so six plants becomes 9, 12 or more. 

I sort of draw the line at human solid waste compost. Things arenâ€™t that bad, yet.


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## jm423 (Sep 18, 2011)

Most of my gardening is in black cattle feed tubs or a raised bed I made from highway guard rail. Exceptions being okra, peas (as in Zipper cream and blackeyes) and vining squash. Pole beans go in the ground and climb up cattle panels supported on steel posts. This 81 year old back and "ample" belly minimize bending over and squatting is history. Make tomato cages from reinforcing wire right diameter to slip inside tubs, stabilize with one stake or wire to garden fence. Works great. Have drip emitter or tubing in each tub, water system on timers. Would post pic but don't know how, no teenager convenient.


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## HWS (Sep 16, 2009)

*Liner Issue*

All of the important stuff has been covered but liners are site specific decisions. If you or your neighbors have trees with wandering roots then they will find your beds for the water and nutrients. Better to not have the liners but liners keep the roots out and a few holes let the beds drain. You do need to dig out about 6-inches below you sides. And compost your cleaned fish for biomass and bacteria to break down nutrients. Good luck


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## redexpress (Apr 5, 2010)

I'm using 2 levels, courses?, of concrete construction blocks. 48" wide X maybe 20' long. Using a chicken house litter mix from Dayton Trading Post. Works good. Almost too porous as it needs water often.


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## karstopo (Jun 29, 2009)

The raised bed is at the edge of the drip line of a giant live oak off to the north and east. Wonder how long it will take for those roots to find there way into the raised bed? I guess Iâ€™ll see. 

I deal with tree roots in the other garden, too, mostly from a water oak. The trees were here before me, so theyâ€™ve got a good claim on the land, plus thereâ€™s no way in hades Iâ€™d ever cut down a majestic live oak. They surely help themselves to whatever nutrients are offered and get first dibs on the light, but Iâ€™m good with settling for whatever leftovers they leave me for my garden. 

This raised bed gets a little more direct sun and likely better overall light than the other garden so I ought to be able to squeeze out a little production out of it, tree roots and all.


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## jm423 (Sep 18, 2011)

I've found that a bit of afternoon shade works good for lots of veg's. I think "full sun" per the seed catalog does not necessarily mean South Texas Broil!


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## old 37 (Nov 30, 2014)

My raised bed garden


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## mas360 (Nov 21, 2006)

*lumber*

Did you use treated board for that raised bed in the photo?


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## old 37 (Nov 30, 2014)

mas360 said:


> Did you use treated board for that raised bed in the photo?


Yes, treated and no problems. It is four years old.


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## Muddskipper (Dec 29, 2004)

Great write up on construction materials for raisded beds

https://extension2.missouri.edu/g6985

looks like some research from the leaching of chemicals into the soil is discussed ....

Wood breaks down - I went with cedar - I would never wanted leached chemicals near what I feed my family ... but that is me!


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## Mattsfishin (Aug 23, 2009)

A couple beds I have made from concrete blocks. I filled the holes in and planted onions and mustard greens in some. I have one bed planted too thick but will be roving the mustard greens soon. First 2 pictures are the same bed but different angle. I got the idea to fill holes and plant stuff from HK. I think it was HK.


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## karstopo (Jun 29, 2009)

Nice broccoli. Whatâ€™s the variety?


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## Mattsfishin (Aug 23, 2009)

Green. I got store bought 6 packs and don't remember what kind. It is a Bonnie product. It's heck to get old and forgetful.


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