Thanks so much for posting this. My next-door neighbor can't keep up with his garden anymore. I am going to build some of these for him and plant them. Then he will still be able to enjoy his garden again.
+Ramona Vaughn Glad you liked it Ramona! And btw... you are one heck of a neighbor to do that for him! It's people like you and acts of kindness like that, that make the world a better place. I know that sounds cliche but it's true... it also makes for strong community, rather than just areas where houses and people live:) Joe
These are the best raised beds I’ve seen so far! Brilliant and practical design. Low on timber costs, and should be resilient with no wood touching the ground. Top job!
I am building two of these based on your design with more to come later. Brilliant and efficient use of minimal material I must say. Thanks for helping me.
It was very enjoyable for my wife and I to watch several of your videos tonight. She is wanting to build these planter boxes in the front of our property now. She has 7 in the back yard, already - but she likes the corrugated metal. I do, too. Thanks for the measurements and clear instructions.
clevisforharrow Ah thats awesome to hear Clevis! Glad you guys are liking them:) I love the look and functionality of the corrugated metal... as you can probably tell by my garden fence, chicken coop, house roof, garden beds, pump house, etc,... lol! Thanks for joining me on my little project/gardening/DIY adventure! Joe
This exactly what I'm going to to with my raised beds. Awesome idea and your video production is as close to pro as you can get with a shoe string budget.
Trevor Varney Thanks Trevor, but the shoestring seems more like dental floss at times;) Just trying to get better with each one. Working on a couple little homemade video aids. Need better lighting and better sound options (for windy days). Can't wait to see your garden all 'bedded out' ;) Maybe we could do a garden tour video:) Joe
Thanks for the inspiration, I just made some of these, made mine 24 inches tall, six feet long and three feet wide. Turned out great! Strong and inexpensive. Thinking of copying your fence as well. Keep up the good work, we all looking forward to more.
+Cali Valley Awesome Cali! I'm happy to hear it and I'm sure you're gonna love them! ... and of course, the veggies grow better when they are proud of there home too;) Joe
Like it. I made one using scrap wood 2x4's, but put 2x4's along the bottom so I could staple on wire mesh to keep the moles and voles out and weed fabric to try and stop the grass and black berries from coming up into the raised bed.My stack of old used corrugated metal now has the perfect new use!
+Keith Kanyeshna Thanks Keith... that's how I did my other beds, with the bottom board. I actually like that look better, but for these I was trying to make them termite proof, keep them lower to the ground, and save a bit in material:) But I bet yours look awesome! And on that subject, I'm going to be putting out another video similar to these beds very soon... but they'll be about 2ft in height and more on the decorative planter side.... stay tuned and thanks for watching:) joe
Excellent! In my area even treated wood is destroyed quickly by ground contact and termites. This design should be reasonably priced and last awhile. Thank you for the post.
Adam Lawton Thanks Adam! That's what I'm hoping for... I enjoy spending time in the garden and think they're gonna look even better when I've got green spilling out of them.. hopefully at least;)
Ted Maloney Thanks Ted! Certainly not necessary for the plants to be successful but I enjoy being in the garden so I think they'll be worth it. Can't wait to give an update with greenery in them! Stay tuned for more videos to come... hoping to get a slew of random projects done in the next month or two before the weather gets too hot:)
Thanks for sharing Joe. The beds look great! And not having wood in contact with the soil is a MUST in AZ, since subterranean termites are endemic. I have a couple of questions though: 1. What keeps the metal from dropping down into the soil (like a knife) over time? 2. What do you do to keep gophers out of the beds (coming up from underneath)? When we start watering new ground, gophers show up within two years and act like we are providing them a buffet. We've used hardware cloth in the past, but it rusts out in about 5 years.
EsparzaA5 Thanks Esparza! hopefully I'll keep improving in that department... hoping to get better little by little with each vid. So much to learn but it's fun and I'm glad you liked it:)
Llegando desde Aguascalientes México 🇲🇽 dejando mi super link 👍 y también mi comentario! 🤗Este video 😍 Hoooo 😉 Hoooo es uno de mis favoritos ! Me emociono mucho ver la realización de los fantásticos bancales! 👌Qué bonito trabajo ,que buen vídeo ,y muy bien explicado 👌👏🏻👏🏻volverlo a ver sigue siendo uno de mis videos favoritos saludos 🌵🌻👩🏻🌾🇲🇽
Blackberry Hideout Thanks Jess! The slider clip was done with a pulley, a glass jar, lead weights, electrical conduit and some pvc fittings. As for the garden bed cam... that was some serious engineering with clamps and duct tape;) I'll have to show you next time you're down!
Thanks for your design with this. It's very similar to what I'm about to build, but I need to bury the corrugated steel down into the soil at least 6" to keep Bermuda grass from invading the garden soil.
DURGANBUILT Much appreciated DB! It's a pretty simple project that would look good in most anybodys garden... provided they like the look of corrugated metal;)
Well, all be, your a Native then is your family from Louisiana? ... There is a huge sporting goods store there in Bastrop over priced but big, I like the Ouachita River bottoms near there, mostly Federal Land now but beautiful... We are in N. Louisiana about an hour from there... Have a Blessed one bud, nice talking to you.
CGLouisiana haha.. small world! I know the store your talking about, can't remember the name but one of my Dad's good friends, Davy Daniels lives in Mer Rouge and I think he know's the owner. Davy is a farmer that runs a duck/deer/turkey hunting operation on the side to make ends meet. One of the nicest guys you'd ever meet for sure!And yes, my Dad's side of the family is from LA but most have since moved so only my Aunt and a couple of my dad's cousins still live there. But we always enjoy it the few times we get back there!
That is exactly what I told my wife small world, watch a guy on UA-cam and it turns out he is from Louisiana, very small world... I like that whole area of Louisiana it reminds me of the farm I grew up on which is River Bottom on the west side of Louisiana; I knew you had some Southern in you, that is where all that creativity comes from! Nice to meet you bud, God Bless.
Matthew Metzler Thanks Matthew! Yes, it's awesome stuff and has tons of uses.. I'm looking to do some other projects with some of my left overs as well:)
I am glad I saw this video after your first one, as this cuts down the wood used and I don't have to worry over the lower box wood rotting out. I am going to look at my outside cedar wood fence as my dog keeps digging out in places. I can make these boxes more narrow in width and put them directly in front of the fence and between each 4"X4" post. I can space them every other 8' run of the fence or look at how they may run the length of the fence line. I'll play about with how it may be placed there, but once in place and filled as a raised bed, it will serve the purpose of keeping my dog from digging under my fence and become a garden or flower bed, as well. The cedar fence pickets are stained with a mixture of vinegar, water, hydrogen peroxide and bits of 0000 steel wool. It makes a really nice brown-tinged stain. I am not sure how it will weather in direct sun light, but I plan to try that with whatever I end up as planter boxes in the design you have inspired me to make. Like say, mine will likely be less wide and all, but should work out very well to repurpose the wood and metal and defeat that silly dog at the same time. He'll get the last word though, as he lifts his rear leg to anything in the back yard and everything to him is a fire hydrant. :-) Thanks for posting the first video and thanks even more for posting this one for additional inspiration and ideas.
Thanks for the info on the corner pieces. Although the local Home Depot lists this product on it's website, it no longer sells or ships it to the local store here. I was able to find some similar, but thicker pieces at a local sheet metal supply and they will work well for building the raised beds as you described.
my2cents0 haha... I was wondering if you'd notice! Now you know my secret to bending the rings;) I actually have all the portions of that video filmed except for the final install with the stones. This was actually one I built for someone but they are waiting on some landscaping work before they want me to install it.... so it's all hinging on them. Hopefully soon:)
Thanks for the inspiration. I will be building mine almost exactly like this. Here are the differences I plan on: 1. 18" tall with 6" of that beow ground blocking bermuda grass from going into the grow bed from below. 2. Stain the wood and paint the metal with some protective coating (probably epoxy), to have everything last longer, as well as to prevent leeching metals into the soil.
sounds like a cool plan Keith! but if you're going that tall I'd definitely add the bottom board as the metal will need that extra support on the longer length. And regarding that, I'm actually going to be putting up another video of making some planters very similar to this but with 24" metal... so stay tuned... should be up in a week or so! Joe
Do you think that if one submerged the metal 6" into the ground, that the ground would provide the necessary support? I guess if there are issues, along the outside, I could add a couple spikes that go 1 foot deep.
Thinking about painting, Maybe I can avoid painting the metal if I use something like this. www.homedepot.com/p/Metal-Sales-16-ft-Classic-Rib-Steel-Roof-Panel-in-Charcoal-2313617/204255262
Hi Steve... I think that might work. And for painting the metal... i think the galvanized will do you fine for quite a while. I'd only paint it if you didn't like the look of galvanized. Good luck and let me know how it goes:) Joe
Wow these are beautiful beds! You have such a organized garden site! you talk about termites! Really? I notice you have everything really enclosed..what a fence! What type of animals are you trying to keep out?? You have a beautiful setup..so different then ours and our mountainous terrain! Thanks for sharing
Starry Hilder Thanks Starry! We like the area we are in but I'd be lying if I wasn't a bit jealous of your beautiful place in the ID mountains:) I really like that area of the country but my wife's family homesteaded in this area in the 1890's and she wanted to stay close... so we did :) Yes, the garden area is pretty enclosed for a few reasons. The two sides of the garden fence with corrugated tin are to shield against the wind. We have pretty good winds where we are at and the plants used to get pummeled like crazy. The rest is just standard garden style to keep out deer, rabbits, javelina, etc,. In regard to termites... we have 'subterranean termites' down here in Arizona... not the worst kind but definitely a concern:) Anyways, thanks for the comment and keep the content coming on your channel too! Joe
I checked out an ecology website (below) to see the recommendations for using scrap metal (galvanized or not) for garden beds, and the information in their materials chart and comments suggest that it's ok to use, but test if the metal contains paint- it could have lead. They also recommend to line the metal with garden cloth to prevent erosion. There's a nice chart for other materials as well. But my unprofessional advice would be to test it just in case to be safe. Walmart sells lead test kits for $10. Happy gardening! ecologycenter.org/blog/building-raised-beds-for-planting/
Great designs,,please try cutting roofing sheets with shears they can be attached to most drills,or roofing snips,,it helps the product from rusting,, but I love your designs great job 👏
Looks really great and relatively simple to construct. Although the elimination of the wooden bottom is great from a non-rotting perspective, there seems to be a drawback. Specifically, having the wooden bottoms provided a good way to attach hardware cloth which prevents gophers, moles, etc. from getting into the beds from beneath. What would you recommend to be the best way to accomplish this without the wooden structure on the bottom?
Peter K. Thanks Peter! You do have a good point on the attachment issue. I think you could probably just bend up the edge of the hardware cloth to match up with the inside of the bed, then use sheet metal screws to attach it to the tin... maybe every 6" or so? Might be tedious, but I think it just might work? Let me know what you think:)Joe
homesteadonomics Your suggestion (i.e., bending the h/w cloth to fasten to the tin) would certainly work, but is seems like a real PITA to do on all four sides and also to get the corners right. It might be that screwing galvanized corner brackets to the tin every TBD inches and attaching the h/w cloth to the brackets would be a way to reduce the PITA of the bending and the corner hassles with the cloth, but would add somewhat to the cost. Unfortunately, I can't think of anything quite as simple and straightforward as just nailing/screwing the h/w cloth to wood.
don't worry... a little practice and you'll be cutting straight in no time:) It does take a little while to get used to but in time you'll find what works for you. I still get times when it wanders off path:) Also, make sure you have the thinnest metal cut off wheel( with low grit... like 40 or so) that they sell as it will cut thru much easier. Hope that helps! Joe
Wow I loved that shot of you driving that bed into it's spot. Great video. I bet you got sick of making those beds. What metal did you use for the corners and what type grinder bit did you use to cut the tin?
+Cheeto Fingers Thanks CT! I used an angle grinder with 4.5" metal cutting wheels to cut the tin and the corner pieces are 3x3" corner flashing. Hope that helps and thanks for watching! Joe
Hey. Love these, will be making my own soon. I'd like to know how supportive the woodless base was when filled with dirt? Did the sides keep their shape or bow out? I'm still debating on using a bottom base. Thanks.
Hi Jeff, yes the tin will sink into softer soils. If you didn't want it do you can add a bottom boards like the beds I was sitting on at the beginning of the video. I also just did a video making some like these but much taller and with the boards on the bottom half. ... and they can also be good for attaching hardware cloth to the bottom if you have mole or ground hog problems too! Joe
Wendell Orr Thanks Wendell! I made them a bit lower because I had dug down about 10" and had the beds partially sunken to start with. Out here in AZ it is so dry that beds that are too high end up needing a bit more water. Not to mention I could get more strips of the metal out of a sheet... for a small bit of cost savings;) The beds in the beginning are about 12" though. Ultimately it's just a matter of preference though. I have made them up to nearly 24" tall for some people who had requested the higher height... so higher will work just as well and they look sharp too:) Hope that answered your questions:) Joe
Angely1914 Hi Angely, I have made them up to 24" in the past but I probably wouldn't go any higher than that due to the limitations of the corrugated steel. I've seen commercial planters installed in the 3-3.5' range but they used much thicker corrugated panels that were MUCH more expensive than these corrugated sheets. So I guess the answer is yes... but at a substantial cost increase with the added metal and extra soil. Hope that answered your question:) Joe
I like the fenced in area around the raised beds you created. Where I live in NJ we have deer and woodchucks. The woodchucks will burrow under the fencing and the deer will jump over it if its not say 5ft. Do have varmints and does it keep them out?
Hi Robert. Yes, we do have varmints in the area... deer actually aren't too much of a problem here, as the desert, believe it or not, usually has something flowering or sprouting nearly all year and the deer prefer the browse for leaves and prickly pears, etc,. But we do have rabbits, ground hogs (although not real common in my specific location), chipmunks, squirrels, etc,. But birds seem to be more of a problem as they fly over a desert and see a little haven of green leaves and moisture. Joe
Dolly Perry Hey Dolly, the tin is about $15 per 8ft piece (one sheet per 4x8 bed), the corner flashing is $10 for a 10ft peice (you'll use 36" or $3 worth per 4x8 bed), the 2x3's are $2.15 each (3 per bed), and the cedar fence boards are $1.49 each (need 4 per bed)...So $15(tin) + $3(corner flashing) + $6 (2x3's) + $6 (cedar fence boards) would come out to roughly $30 per 4x8 bed... give or take. Mine were a bit cheaper as I had tin scraps from past projects and came into some free pieces recently as well. And being that I had a head start on some of the material... it made pulling the trigger on the project a bit easier as well. Anyways, hope that helps :) Joe
Is the corrugated metal galvanized? If so, I am assuming the galvanizing chemical will not leach into the soil?? I like them and am thinking about building some.
mcLuvineer Hey Mcluvin! it is galvanized and from what I've read the zinc galvanizing isn't much of a leaching problem. I've been very happy with mine so far... I think you're gonna like em:)
hmm great idea! I'll make some.. are you sure it's not thin steel sheets? I can't seem to find any tin sheets like those online anywhere.. Found thin steel sheets like those for the price you stated.. .. Like the fence in the background at around :40 sec, I'm worried they may rust in the latter years. I dunno Thanks! Oooo and what kind of wood did you use for the footers?
Hi, they look great and was just wondering having built them and seen how much they sunk down if your happy with the 9" or if you wish you had gone slightly taller?
Hi Steve... I was trying to save on money by cutting them at 9". If I had to do it again I might make them 12"... but overall I've been very happy with 9"... as well as it requires less additional soil;) Joe
Nice job! A couple quick questions...How thick is the corrugated you used? Or better said--what gauge metal is it? How high do you recommend going without a bottom support beam?
+Bill Anderson HI Bill, the corrugated metal is the standard cheap stuff at HD/lowes... I think it is 29ga. As for height with out the bottom beam.. I wouldnt go past 12 inches.. these are 9". But they are plenty sturdy enough... but a bottom beam would help in structure... for a higher bed. Hope that answered your questoin:) Joe
Hi, fantastic job. I will do a bunch of these for my wife Could you give me the name of the song, I was unable to find it with Trey Harris as the artist Thanks for all
Thanks so much for posting this. My next-door neighbor can't keep up with his garden anymore. I am going to build some of these for him and plant them. Then he will still be able to enjoy his garden again.
+Ramona Vaughn Glad you liked it Ramona! And btw... you are one heck of a neighbor to do that for him! It's people like you and acts of kindness like that, that make the world a better place. I know that sounds cliche but it's true... it also makes for strong community, rather than just areas where houses and people live:)
Joe
These are the best raised beds I’ve seen so far!
Brilliant and practical design. Low on timber costs, and should be resilient with no wood touching the ground. Top job!
I am building two of these based on your design with more to come later. Brilliant and efficient use of minimal material I must say. Thanks for helping me.
I have seen many raised beds but by far this is my most favorite one, great job!
It was very enjoyable for my wife and I to watch several of your videos tonight. She is wanting to build these planter boxes in the front of our property now. She has 7 in the back yard, already - but she likes the corrugated metal. I do, too. Thanks for the measurements and clear instructions.
clevisforharrow Ah thats awesome to hear Clevis! Glad you guys are liking them:) I love the look and functionality of the corrugated metal... as you can probably tell by my garden fence, chicken coop, house roof, garden beds, pump house, etc,... lol! Thanks for joining me on my little project/gardening/DIY adventure!
Joe
This exactly what I'm going to to with my raised beds. Awesome idea and your video production is as close to pro as you can get with a shoe string budget.
Trevor Varney Thanks Trevor, but the shoestring seems more like dental floss at times;) Just trying to get better with each one. Working on a couple little homemade video aids. Need better lighting and better sound options (for windy days).
Can't wait to see your garden all 'bedded out' ;) Maybe we could do a garden tour video:)
Joe
I'm not even close to even breaking ground. We could do a planning to planting series if your down.
Trevor Varney hmmm, I like the sound of that.. now you got me thinking! too many ideas in this head;)
Thanks for the inspiration, I just made some of these, made mine 24 inches tall, six feet long and three feet wide. Turned out great! Strong and inexpensive. Thinking of copying your fence as well. Keep up the good work, we all looking forward to more.
+Cali Valley Awesome Cali! I'm happy to hear it and I'm sure you're gonna love them! ... and of course, the veggies grow better when they are proud of there home too;)
Joe
How are they holding up after 3 years? Rusts?
@@philipsoo I wuz wondering about rust too.
That garden bed cam made me laugh! Original. Funny. Thanks for sharing!
C.A.Nav haha... glad you liked it! You should have seen the duct tape and clamps holding the rig to the bed... wasn't the prettiest sight for sure:)
Love that privacy fence!!!!!! Thanks for sharing your work and ideas!
Nice looking and easy to build too.
+Dusty thanks Dusty!
Joe
The ideas you come up with are incredible. They look great! Bear Down!
Henry Pu Yi Thanks Henry! Hope you're getting closer to warmer temps soon:)Joe
Like it. I made one using scrap wood 2x4's, but put 2x4's along the bottom so I could staple on wire mesh to keep the moles and voles out and weed fabric to try and stop the grass and black berries from coming up into the raised bed.My stack of old used corrugated metal now has the perfect new use!
+Keith Kanyeshna Thanks Keith... that's how I did my other beds, with the bottom board. I actually like that look better, but for these I was trying to make them termite proof, keep them lower to the ground, and save a bit in material:) But I bet yours look awesome!
And on that subject, I'm going to be putting out another video similar to these beds very soon... but they'll be about 2ft in height and more on the decorative planter side.... stay tuned and thanks for watching:)
joe
excellent job. very nice and clean.
Great, another project of yours that I'm gonna have to copy! Great design!
kevohh10 Thanks Kev.... go for it... easy and should last a good while too! Thanks for watching and commenting:)
Excellent! In my area even treated wood is destroyed quickly by ground contact and termites. This design should be reasonably priced and last awhile. Thank you for the post.
Bleepnsheep So far mine are doing great Bleepnsheep! I think you're gonna like them if you decide to build some:)
Thank you for shearing this lovely garden with the wonder full idea of the nice raise bed. Good luck and happy gardening.
+Terry Lanh Glad you liked it Terry!
Joe
Now that's looking like an gardening enthusiasts garden! Nice work!
Adam Lawton Thanks Adam! That's what I'm hoping for... I enjoy spending time in the garden and think they're gonna look even better when I've got green spilling out of them.. hopefully at least;)
Excellent idea. Very clean looking! Makes for a great looking garden. Really enjoy your videos and ideas. Keep them coming please.
Ted Maloney Thanks Ted! Certainly not necessary for the plants to be successful but I enjoy being in the garden so I think they'll be worth it. Can't wait to give an update with greenery in them! Stay tuned for more videos to come... hoping to get a slew of random projects done in the next month or two before the weather gets too hot:)
This, too, is a very good lookin' garden bed. Gotta do it.
Very nice job really like the look and function!
michael nicholson We really like the form and function too! Tidy's up the garden a bit!
just beautiful garden BEDS
That is just too cool!!!Love the simple design and looks great also!!
Abel Nieto Thanks Abel, we're excited to get them planted and give an update of what they'll look like with some greenery in them!
Thanks for sharing Joe. The beds look great! And not having wood in contact with the soil is a MUST in AZ, since subterranean termites are endemic. I have a couple of questions though: 1. What keeps the metal from dropping down into the soil (like a knife) over time? 2. What do you do to keep gophers out of the beds (coming up from underneath)? When we start watering new ground, gophers show up within two years and act like we are providing them a buffet. We've used hardware cloth in the past, but it rusts out in about 5 years.
Great videography in this video! look forward to more.
EsparzaA5 Thanks Esparza! hopefully I'll keep improving in that department... hoping to get better little by little with each vid. So much to learn but it's fun and I'm glad you liked it:)
thanks for the reply ... makes me more comfortable in using our supply of used metal roofing
Llegando desde Aguascalientes México 🇲🇽 dejando mi super link 👍 y también mi comentario!
🤗Este video 😍 Hoooo 😉 Hoooo es uno de mis favoritos ! Me emociono mucho ver la realización de los fantásticos bancales! 👌Qué bonito trabajo ,que buen vídeo ,y muy bien explicado 👌👏🏻👏🏻volverlo a ver sigue siendo uno de mis videos favoritos saludos 🌵🌻👩🏻🌾🇲🇽
Joe, the few new camera angles are nice, and the beds look great, too.
Blackberry Hideout Thanks Jess! The slider clip was done with a pulley, a glass jar, lead weights, electrical conduit and some pvc fittings. As for the garden bed cam... that was some serious engineering with clamps and duct tape;) I'll have to show you next time you're down!
Thanks for your design with this. It's very similar to what I'm about to build, but I need to bury the corrugated steel down into the soil at least 6" to keep Bermuda grass from invading the garden soil.
This was a great project! You make it look easy and the results are phenomenal!
DURGANBUILT Much appreciated DB! It's a pretty simple project that would look good in most anybodys garden... provided they like the look of corrugated metal;)
Raised bed camera 😁😁 Good work mate. Thanks for sharing.
Had to give you a thumbs up for the "garden bed cam". Made me laugh. Thank.
Looks sharp, I like your garden design, God Bless...
CGLouisiana Thanks CGL! Much appreciated... btw, I was born in Bastrop and lived in LA for the first several years of my life!
Well, all be, your a Native then is your family from Louisiana? ... There is a huge sporting goods store there in Bastrop over priced but big, I like the Ouachita River bottoms near there, mostly Federal Land now but beautiful... We are in N. Louisiana about an hour from there... Have a Blessed one bud, nice talking to you.
CGLouisiana haha.. small world! I know the store your talking about, can't remember the name but one of my Dad's good friends, Davy Daniels lives in Mer Rouge and I think he know's the owner. Davy is a farmer that runs a duck/deer/turkey hunting operation on the side to make ends meet. One of the nicest guys you'd ever meet for sure!And yes, my Dad's side of the family is from LA but most have since moved so only my Aunt and a couple of my dad's cousins still live there. But we always enjoy it the few times we get back there!
That is exactly what I told my wife small world, watch a guy on UA-cam and it turns out he is from Louisiana, very small world... I like that whole area of Louisiana it reminds me of the farm I grew up on which is River Bottom on the west side of Louisiana; I knew you had some Southern in you, that is where all that creativity comes from! Nice to meet you bud, God Bless.
Very easy to follow up, good job, thank you.
thanks !!!
great stuff as usual
we have miles of roofing so now have a great use for it
PS someone now knows why not all old stuff has to go to the dump
Matthew Metzler Thanks Matthew! Yes, it's awesome stuff and has tons of uses.. I'm looking to do some other projects with some of my left overs as well:)
I am glad I saw this video after your first one, as this cuts down the wood used and I don't have to worry over the lower box wood rotting out. I am going to look at my outside cedar wood fence as my dog keeps digging out in places. I can make these boxes more narrow in width and put them directly in front of the fence and between each 4"X4" post. I can space them every other 8' run of the fence or look at how they may run the length of the fence line. I'll play about with how it may be placed there, but once in place and filled as a raised bed, it will serve the purpose of keeping my dog from digging under my fence and become a garden or flower bed, as well.
The cedar fence pickets are stained with a mixture of vinegar, water, hydrogen peroxide and bits of 0000 steel wool. It makes a really nice brown-tinged stain. I am not sure how it will weather in direct sun light, but I plan to try that with whatever I end up as planter boxes in the design you have inspired me to make. Like say, mine will likely be less wide and all, but should work out very well to repurpose the wood and metal and defeat that silly dog at the same time. He'll get the last word though, as he lifts his rear leg to anything in the back yard and everything to him is a fire hydrant. :-)
Thanks for posting the first video and thanks even more for posting this one for additional inspiration and ideas.
Those look great!!
I built some! Thanks for the idea!!
I love your fence behind you
Oh my god! I just can't wait to build these.. Just beautiful!
+Hannah Farfalla Thanks Hannah! Spring is just around the corner... give it a shot... I think you'll like em' :)
Joe
Very nice!
LFoote Thanks much!
Excellent.
Great looking boxes. I like them without the bottoms better on the dirt like that I think. Looks like they grew out of the dirt too. Cheers!
Canadian Sasquatch Brewery Thanks CSB, it gives a clean look without the bottom boards... not to mention saves and lumber costs too!
Fantastic, they look great!
Brilliant! Looks really great!
Thanks for the info on the corner pieces. Although the local Home Depot lists this product on it's website, it no longer sells or ships it to the local store here. I was able to find some similar, but thicker pieces at a local sheet metal supply and they will work well for building the raised beds as you described.
Well done, and nice tutorial.
Nice garden beds, gives your garden an upscale look.....btw....I had a glimpse of things to come if you know what I mean 👀...... 😎
my2cents0 haha... I was wondering if you'd notice! Now you know my secret to bending the rings;) I actually have all the portions of that video filmed except for the final install with the stones. This was actually one I built for someone but they are waiting on some landscaping work before they want me to install it.... so it's all hinging on them. Hopefully soon:)
Looks great and easy to make. Might add 4 4 to corners to add weight and stronger .
Nice build and video!
Scrap wood City Thanks SwC!
nice job my brother, looking good time to level up !
Permaculture Prepper Thanks PP! Can't wait to get these things filled with veggies:)
Thanks for the inspiration. I will be building mine almost exactly like this.
Here are the differences I plan on:
1. 18" tall with 6" of that beow ground blocking bermuda grass from going into the grow bed from below.
2. Stain the wood and paint the metal with some protective coating (probably epoxy), to have everything last longer, as well as to prevent leeching metals into the soil.
sounds like a cool plan Keith! but if you're going that tall I'd definitely add the bottom board as the metal will need that extra support on the longer length. And regarding that, I'm actually going to be putting up another video of making some planters very similar to this but with 24" metal... so stay tuned... should be up in a week or so!
Joe
Do you think that if one submerged the metal 6" into the ground, that the ground would provide the necessary support?
I guess if there are issues, along the outside, I could add a couple spikes that go 1 foot deep.
Thinking about painting, Maybe I can avoid painting the metal if I use something like this. www.homedepot.com/p/Metal-Sales-16-ft-Classic-Rib-Steel-Roof-Panel-in-Charcoal-2313617/204255262
Hi Steve... I think that might work. And for painting the metal... i think the galvanized will do you fine for quite a while. I'd only paint it if you didn't like the look of galvanized. Good luck and let me know how it goes:)
Joe
Wow these are beautiful beds! You have such a organized garden site! you talk about termites! Really? I notice you have everything really enclosed..what a fence! What type of animals are you trying to keep out?? You have a beautiful setup..so different then ours and our mountainous terrain! Thanks for sharing
Starry Hilder Thanks Starry! We like the area we are in but I'd be lying if I wasn't a bit jealous of your beautiful place in the ID mountains:) I really like that area of the country but my wife's family homesteaded in this area in the 1890's and she wanted to stay close... so we did :)
Yes, the garden area is pretty enclosed for a few reasons. The two sides of the garden fence with corrugated tin are to shield against the wind. We have pretty good winds where we are at and the plants used to get pummeled like crazy. The rest is just standard garden style to keep out deer, rabbits, javelina, etc,.
In regard to termites... we have 'subterranean termites' down here in Arizona... not the worst kind but definitely a concern:)
Anyways, thanks for the comment and keep the content coming on your channel too!
Joe
wow' great & awesome garden bed ideas, thanks for sharing sir' i love it :)
AWESOME!
awesome videos man good channel very well done.
Ismail Eren Thanks Ismail.. much appreciated and hopefully I'll continue improving as I go:)
Joe
Great video.
Great idea! Thanks for sharing
Thanks for the videos. Your channel is very good.
thanks so much! Just remember, the older videos the worse in audio and video quality ; D
looks great and thanks for sharing!
thanks David!
very nice!
***** Thanks Nicole:)
Pretty!
Love this!! Thx for sharing 😊
Awesome video! :D
MrSongLamb Thanks MrSongLamb!
how well to they keep their support? Also what was the cost to build them? Thank you.
Really beautiful and fun!
Very nice
That roofing is galvanized and can sometime have trace amounts of lead... FYI. I would use a lead kit to test it.
+Mekhanic1 Will do, thanks for the info:)
I checked out an ecology website (below) to see the recommendations for using scrap metal (galvanized or not) for garden beds, and the information in their materials chart and comments suggest that it's ok to use, but test if the metal contains paint- it could have lead. They also recommend to line the metal with garden cloth to prevent erosion. There's a nice chart for other materials as well. But my unprofessional advice would be to test it just in case to be safe. Walmart sells lead test kits for $10. Happy gardening! ecologycenter.org/blog/building-raised-beds-for-planting/
Good idea thanks
brans No problem, brans... glad you liked it:)Joe
Looks damn good. Thanks!
Where did the metal corners come from? Are they flashings?
What metal are you using for those corners? Ill have to go find your other video....
Great designs,,please try cutting roofing sheets with shears they can be attached to most drills,or roofing snips,,it helps the product from rusting,, but I love your designs great job 👏
Looks really great and relatively simple to construct.
Although the elimination of the wooden bottom is great from a non-rotting perspective, there seems to be a drawback. Specifically, having the wooden bottoms provided a good way to attach hardware cloth which prevents gophers, moles, etc. from getting into the beds from beneath. What would you recommend to be the best way to accomplish this without the wooden structure on the bottom?
Peter K. Thanks Peter! You do have a good point on the attachment issue. I think you could probably just bend up the edge of the hardware cloth to match up with the inside of the bed, then use sheet metal screws to attach it to the tin... maybe every 6" or so? Might be tedious, but I think it just might work? Let me know what you think:)Joe
homesteadonomics Your suggestion (i.e., bending the h/w cloth to fasten to the tin) would certainly work, but is seems like a real PITA to do on all four sides and also to get the corners right. It might be that screwing galvanized corner brackets to the tin every TBD inches and attaching the h/w cloth to the brackets would be a way to reduce the PITA of the bending and the corner hassles with the cloth, but would add somewhat to the cost. Unfortunately, I can't think of anything quite as simple and straightforward as just nailing/screwing the h/w cloth to wood.
DAMN those look GREAT!!! Gave me better idea how to deal with some old roof panels have here.
They look amazing! I need to know how or what the corners are made of? Thank you!
good job!!
Thanks Anthony!
Joe
NICE!!
nice looking beds..may i ask you what you have used for corners? what is it called and where did you get that from? Thanks
great look..You could have filed the edges and galvanise sprayed the cuts for longer life
Thank you so much. I have watched this video and that tool you used cut through so easy. Just wanted to purchase the correct tool.
+GardenMan No Prob:) Yes, the angle grinder I have can be bought at Harbor Freight for under $20... makes pretty quick work of it too:)
Joe
I did get one but my cuts were not very straight. You must have a steady hand.
You make it look so easy. Thanks again
don't worry... a little practice and you'll be cutting straight in no time:) It does take a little while to get used to but in time you'll find what works for you. I still get times when it wanders off path:)
Also, make sure you have the thinnest metal cut off wheel( with low grit... like 40 or so) that they sell as it will cut thru much easier.
Hope that helps!
Joe
Wow I loved that shot of you driving that bed into it's spot. Great video. I bet you got sick of making those beds. What metal did you use for the corners and what type grinder bit did you use to cut the tin?
+Cheeto Fingers Thanks CT! I used an angle grinder with 4.5" metal cutting wheels to cut the tin and the corner pieces are 3x3" corner flashing. Hope that helps and thanks for watching!
Joe
It does help and thank you.
Hey. Love these, will be making my own soon. I'd like to know how supportive the woodless base was when filled with dirt? Did the sides keep their shape or bow out? I'm still debating on using a bottom base. Thanks.
That's the same thing I though about too. I dont think it those corner flashing will be strong enough. I think that's why he made it only 9" high.
Nice beds. I was wondering if the might tend to sink in softer soil without some sort of base with the weight of leaning on them.
Hi Jeff, yes the tin will sink into softer soils. If you didn't want it do you can add a bottom boards like the beds I was sitting on at the beginning of the video. I also just did a video making some like these but much taller and with the boards on the bottom half.
... and they can also be good for attaching hardware cloth to the bottom if you have mole or ground hog problems too!
Joe
breaking bad style filming made me smile :)
Great looking and functional. My question is why did you not make them higher?
Wendell Orr Thanks Wendell! I made them a bit lower because I had dug down about 10" and had the beds partially sunken to start with. Out here in AZ it is so dry that beds that are too high end up needing a bit more water. Not to mention I could get more strips of the metal out of a sheet... for a small bit of cost savings;) The beds in the beginning are about 12" though.
Ultimately it's just a matter of preference though. I have made them up to nearly 24" tall for some people who had requested the higher height... so higher will work just as well and they look sharp too:)
Hope that answered your questions:)
Joe
Great looking raised beds. Could you make them 3-4 feet high?
Angely1914 Hi Angely, I have made them up to 24" in the past but I probably wouldn't go any higher than that due to the limitations of the corrugated steel. I've seen commercial planters installed in the 3-3.5' range but they used much thicker corrugated panels that were MUCH more expensive than these corrugated sheets. So I guess the answer is yes... but at a substantial cost increase with the added metal and extra soil. Hope that answered your question:)
Joe
Would be great for Someone in a wheelchair
Good idea. I think the beds would be easier to level on the ground without the bottom 2x4's
I like the fenced in area around the raised beds you created. Where I live in NJ we have deer and woodchucks. The woodchucks will burrow under the fencing and the deer will jump over it if its not say 5ft. Do have varmints and does it keep them out?
Hi Robert. Yes, we do have varmints in the area... deer actually aren't too much of a problem here, as the desert, believe it or not, usually has something flowering or sprouting nearly all year and the deer prefer the browse for leaves and prickly pears, etc,. But we do have rabbits, ground hogs (although not real common in my specific location), chipmunks, squirrels, etc,. But birds seem to be more of a problem as they fly over a desert and see a little haven of green leaves and moisture.
Joe
Should I do anything to protect the cut edge of the metal from rust? The cut breaches the galvanised layer right?
Great looking beds! Can we sit on them? Do they rust?
They look really nice. I'd love an idea of the cost on each of these!
Dolly Perry Hey Dolly, the tin is about $15 per 8ft piece (one sheet per 4x8 bed), the corner flashing is $10 for a 10ft peice (you'll use 36" or $3 worth per 4x8 bed), the 2x3's are $2.15 each (3 per bed), and the cedar fence boards are $1.49 each (need 4 per bed)...So $15(tin) + $3(corner flashing) + $6 (2x3's) + $6 (cedar fence boards) would come out to roughly $30 per 4x8 bed... give or take. Mine were a bit cheaper as I had tin scraps from past projects and came into some free pieces recently as well. And being that I had a head start on some of the material... it made pulling the trigger on the project a bit easier as well.
Anyways, hope that helps :)
Joe
Thank you!
Will the metal hold up to someone sitting on the wooden frame?
Any plans for an outdoor shower??
After 8 years, have you had any rust problems where the soil touches the metal?
Is the corrugated metal galvanized? If so, I am assuming the galvanizing chemical will not leach into the soil?? I like them and am thinking about building some.
mcLuvineer Hey Mcluvin! it is galvanized and from what I've read the zinc galvanizing isn't much of a leaching problem. I've been very happy with mine so far... I think you're gonna like em:)
hmm great idea! I'll make some.. are you sure it's not thin steel sheets? I can't seem to find any tin sheets like those online anywhere.. Found thin steel sheets like those for the price you stated.. .. Like the fence in the background at around :40 sec, I'm worried they may rust in the latter years. I dunno Thanks! Oooo and what kind of wood did you use for the footers?
Hi, they look great and was just wondering having built them and seen how much they sunk down if your happy with the 9" or if you wish you had gone slightly taller?
Hi Steve... I was trying to save on money by cutting them at 9". If I had to do it again I might make them 12"... but overall I've been very happy with 9"... as well as it requires less additional soil;)
Joe
... but if you go too much higher then you'd probably want to add the bottom board like how I had it on the beds in the beginning of the video:)
Thanks, that's what i was wondering :). bottom board or not I really like the look of them!
Nice job! A couple quick questions...How thick is the corrugated you used? Or better said--what gauge metal is it? How high do you recommend going without a bottom support beam?
+Bill Anderson HI Bill, the corrugated metal is the standard cheap stuff at HD/lowes... I think it is 29ga. As for height with out the bottom beam.. I wouldnt go past 12 inches.. these are 9". But they are plenty sturdy enough... but a bottom beam would help in structure... for a higher bed. Hope that answered your questoin:)
Joe
Can u tell me what is the blue thing around the base of your plants (looks like tomato or peppers) in the raised beds?
Where does one buy the corrugated tin?
Hi, fantastic job. I will do a bunch of these for my wife
Could you give me the name of the song, I was unable to find it with Trey Harris as the artist
Thanks for all