Raised Garden Questions

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GrayThumb Saint Louis, MO(Zone 6a) Apr 08, 2011

I have seen people referring to a concrete/cinder block raised garden. How is this constructed? How high off the ground should it be? Advantages? Disadvantages? Any special pest considerations? How deep should the soil be and does the bottom part need to be gravel, broken clay pots, etc,. for drainage?

Thank you.

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NewOrleans77 New Orleans, LA Apr 14, 2011

I have raised beds that I used 10" untreated boards to construct 3'x7' beds with. The biggest advantage is that it gets the plants closer to you and saves a little bit of stress on your body.

There is also the aspect of controlng the soil that you use to fill the raised garden in
For people like my self who have limited space, it allows me to grow only the things my family needs during a growing season
My soil is 10" but I wish I had 18" worth of dirt. I do have soil underneath but it is worthless soil
Composting soil is the best for raised beds as it is also the best to amend any garden with.

Google raised garden beds and there is a wealth of information on them all over the place.

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behillman Plantersville, TX(Zone 9a) Apr 14, 2011

I make my raised beds out of cider blocks. I covered an area with black plastic, & laid a rectangle of cider blocks, with the holes on top. Then filled the bed with good soil. Purchased miracle grow soil, or composted soil. My bed is 6 feet long, & a block wide. I use a single row depth, & it works fine for me for onions or brocolli.

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Frank65 Hallowell, ME Apr 16, 2011

I have used cinder blocks in the past and all my plants did okay. I even had strawberries in the them. With the blocks turned on edge you can even plant stuff in the holes. I have heard some folks complain that the blocks leach lime but I never found that to be a problem. My wife didn't like how the blocks looked so I had to replace with wood. I have 16 raised beds.

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SoFlaCommercial West Palm Beach, FL(Zone 10b) Apr 17, 2011

I'm about to create another raised bed, but instead of wood, figured I'd do concrete block, so I'd have those extra planting spaces. :)

If I find that the CB is indeed leaching lime, what can I do as a counter measure?

thanks.

Post #8501346
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Frank65 Hallowell, ME Apr 17, 2011

Well lime is, after all, a good thing since folks add it to the soil occasionally anyway. I didn't worry about it and I didn't notice any growing difference anyway. All my plants did well. You can always test your soil anyway to see if there's too much or too little lime or anything else. There are, of course, various products you can add to acidicy the soil if yours has too much lime.

Post #8501798
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