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Building Raised Beds

June 23, 2005

If your ground is solid rock, the best way to raise veggies is in a raised bed. My husband built a raised bed garden this year. The "blocks that hold the garden together are, believe it or not, Styrofoam. This was salvaged from boat docks a few years ago when they banned its use in the local lakes. Its insulating capacity, helps to keep the earth cool. The first picture was taken before the topsoil was added. The second picture, taken a few days ago, shows the results of our Mother's Day planting date.

We are about to start picking squash and tomatoes... at least for fried green tomatoes. :)

Making Raised Beds with Styrofoam
 
Making Raised Beds with Styrofoam
 

By Harlean from Arkansas

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Diamond Post Medal for All Time! 1,298 Posts
June 8, 2019

We would love to have a garden in our backyard, but supposedly there are gophers. We decided on having a raised garden bed and after looking at the costs of already built raised garden beds and ready to purchase and install yourself garden beds, they were definitely out of our budget!

DIY Wooden Raised Garden Bed - finished raised bed framework

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August 19, 2011

I love my raised beds. It helps keep different gardens separated and makes it easier to keep weeds out. They can be watered separately, depending on what you are growing in them.

Raised bed vegetable garden.

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Bronze Feedback Medal for All Time! 147 Feedbacks
November 20, 2008

We made a 30x20 foot garden in our back yard with plastic and cement blocks. You do not have to remove grass. Put down plastic or a thick layer of news papers, and place cement blocks on top around the edge of the space.

 
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Gold Post Medal for All Time! 858 Posts
February 8, 2007

If you're short on space or the soil in your area is riddled by sand or clay, building raised beds may be the best solution to your gardening woes. You'll trade the time, money and effort required amending poor quality soil for maximum yields in a minimum amount of space.

A easy raised bed from a bag of soil.

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October 9, 2008

This idea is very old, my grandmother used to have straw bale gardens. It was great for her not to have to stoop over to pick and weed her garden.

Straw Bales For Gardening

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January 16, 2012

In the summer of 2011, I had raised beds made to accommodate a wheelchair and my short arm width necessary to reach across to weed. They have landscape fabric to control weeds on the bottom, a layer of sod face down, then layers of newspaper and leaves that will decompose and on top, regular soil.

 
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Questions

Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.

October 30, 2008

My husband and I are looking for a platform bed. Does anyone has a good suggestion? Where can we find a good deal on a good quality platform bed? Thanks.

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Peggy from Mcallen, TX

Answers

By mel (Guest Post)
October 30, 20080 found this helpful

I have seen some cute ones on walmart.com. There are reviews so you can judge for yourself. I don't know if there is an ikea where you live but they also have them or ikea.com.

 
November 2, 20080 found this helpful

Sometimes people just plain want to get RID of a frame for a water bed. They get tired of it, or the mattress leaks, or whatever....Free for just hauling it off.
You'd be surprised what people want to give away!!
And what people are asking for too.

Do you have "Free Cycle" in your town ?
(You can check the list and see if yours is there, then your state, Subscribe) Free Cycle is full of things that people don't want anymore. Just as it says, it's Free.And they are yours if you tell'em you want it, and agree to pick it up when they tell you to.

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And of course, there is also "Craig's List." It isn't all Free tho. There is a category of " Wanted", you list what you want. People "talk" thru the Craig's List e-mail. And there is a "Free" category too.
But, a platform for your bed isn't a difficult thing to build. There is probably a How-To that you can Google,and find.

 
By Tim (Guest Post)
December 5, 20080 found this helpful

A VERY INEXPENSIVE PLATFORM BED
When I was still in grade school, my parents put their mattress on plywood that was laid on travel trunks. This may sound cheap, but they slept on it for years.

Mom like it because she was able to store things underneath the slipcovers. We used to play hide and go seek.

Dad did drill some holes in the board for air circulation. We lived in Japan, and the moisture gets so bad, you end up having to clean clothes that are in the closet. THINGS GROW MOLD.

 
By Amy (Guest Post)
February 2, 20090 found this helpful

IKEA has some really nice ones for less than $300.

 
April 26, 20090 found this helpful

We bought our bed from llbean.com, it comes in several flat pack boxes that are shipped FedEx. I put it together myself and have slept on it for over 3 years.

 
June 25, 20100 found this helpful

Fake one like we did. I wanted one too but couldn't afford it. So we took 2x12's sanded, stained to match bedroom furniture, put the box spring on the floor and boxed it in. Mattress on top no headboard. Looks like the pretties you see in the magazines. I also wanted Asian furniture like the Mino collection which cost about 2500.00 for livingroom set.

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We made a couch,settee and two chairs for under 300.00 which included all materials. We reused our old cushions and I sewed covers for them. This stuff is stout and can withstand active children and all the cushion are removable to be washed.

 
June 25, 20100 found this helpful

babbles5,
We'd love to see photos of the furniture you've crafted. :)
Marz

 
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January 4, 2011

I am looking for an economical way to edge my raised beds. I have a large garden and lumber is just way too expensive to do all of the beds. Any ideas?

Hardiness Zone: 6a

By Heidi from PA

Answers

January 7, 20110 found this helpful

Heidi, you could use old wooden pallets. I know at work, we gets lots of spare ones. We give them away to people for putting firewood on, temporary flooring, broken ones are ideal for firewood etc. Most businesses are pleased to get rid of them. They make good compost heap frames. Most are made of untreated wood, which is ideal.

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No chemicals leaching into plants. Best of all, free. I have heard of freecyle that may be another option. Many lumber yards also have offcuts and they will sometimes give them away or even packing crates are good, if companies import heavy items. Just a few ideas. brentnz

 
January 11, 20110 found this helpful

I have used 8x8x16 cinder blocks as the edging for my raised beds. I do "nail" them down with rebar so they don't shift. If you get a sale, they aren't too expensive, or check around colleges when school gets out and pick 'em up for free when the students leave them behind.

 
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November 1, 2013

I have read how straw bales are used to build a raised garden. I was wondering if straw could be used to line the bottom of a wood build raised garden? I was thinking that the straw would decompose and provide nutrients for the soil as well as help to maintain moisture. Please help out.

By Faye B.

Answers

November 5, 20130 found this helpful

That would depend on what kind of straw you're using and what kind of plants you're going to put in. Pine straw (needles) are acidic.

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The straw that's left over from cutting hay is full of seeds. Also, as the straw breaks down the level of your soil will drop.

 
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October 24, 2011

Can you turn an old fridge into a raised veggie bed? I would need to put drainage holes in the back and lay it back on ground. What are potential hazards?

By Bec B

Answers

October 25, 20110 found this helpful

Refrigerators are an environmental hazard that need to be specially disposed of, so turning one into a veggie bed isn't a good idea I'm afraid. Depending on the age of the fridge it might contain CFC's, mercury, and other baddies. Even newer ones have things you wouldn't want leaking into the soil. Better to see your fridge properly recycled. There are plenty of ways to make raised beds from reclaimed materials that would be a safer bet. Good luck with your garden!

 
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August 22, 2014

I would like to construct a raised bed garden on a hilly area. The best plan would look like 3 beds of 3 feet by 10 feet. Any suggestions? The is soil is poor and possibly rocky so I think just placing the boxes on top and filling with good soil is best. To avoid tons of soil I am thinking of raising the bottoms up on the lower box. I need advice on drainage too.

By Nancy

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24 Photos

Check out these photos.

April 9, 2007

Here is my raised garden.

My Raised Garden

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July 2, 2010

I upgraded my boxes this year, bigger and taller.

Photo of raised bed made with wood.

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April 28, 2017

There are many advantages to gardening in raised beds. Making your own can not only save you money, but allow you to tailor their size to suit your needs and available space.

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This is a page about how to make square raised garden beds.

Square Foot Raised Garden Beds - Two Completed Garden Beds

March 30, 2017

Raised garden beds do not have to be a complex job. There are many good ideas for building simple raised beds for your garden. This is a page about directions for building simple raised beds.

Beautiful raised garden beds filled with plants.

March 26, 2017

There are good reasons to create a raised garden bed, and concrete blocks can make it easy to build. This page is about making raised beds with concrete blocks.

Raised Beds
With Concrete Blocks

June 29, 2018

Old tires have long been used for planting both vegetables and flowers. There is more recent controversy about using them to create raised beds for food, but they can safely be used for flowers. This is a page about using tires for raised beds.

Colorful Tires used as garden beds.

May 19, 2018

There are many thrifty, creative ways to use natural or recycled materials to make raised garden beds. This is a page about inexpensive raised beds.

Raised beds with vegetable growing in them

July 24, 2017

Raised beds can be constructed in a number of ways. Making a stacked stone bed or even one that is mortared together can be attractive as well as functional. This is a page about raised beds made with rocks.

Raised Bed Made With Rocks

July 10, 2017

Making a raised bed edge from various sized stones that you collect can be a thrifty, decorative, and functional garden feature. This is a page about raised rock flower beds.

finished rock wall around flower bed

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