Regarding the amount of space BETWEEN the beds: I have always based it off of the widest wheelbarrow (or gorilla cart) that I’m using. I look at the widest part of that wheelbarrow (usually the handles) and add 6-8 inches. This ensures you’re not scraping/damaging your plants as you move down the aisles with your wheelbarrow.
Plus you need room at either end to turn around (1). Gorilla or garden carts do not backup very well. Myself I would want beds tall enough to do anything you need to do with minimal bending over. Or being able to work sitting on a wheeled chair. 1) If you live where you get a lot of snow you Snowball about the joys of turning the snowblower around. Usually I will go a couple of houses down just to turn around.
We are experimenting with raised beds here in Costa Rica, not because the soil isn't nutrient rich and fertile, but because of the need to control moisture levels, which varies to the extreme between our two seasons--rainy season and dry season. We're playing around with hugelkultur techniques but modified; for example, beds with bottom fill of madera negra limbs offer great drainage for the wet months, while beds with bottom fill of banana "tree" stems are great for retaining moisture in the dry months. We're also channeling ancient Mayan gardeners by using the gloopy muck from the bottom of swampy areas to mix with compost for a really nutrient-dense middle layer for our hugelkulturs. Over time, we'll know more about whether these strategies work, but for now it is certainly fun to experiment!
We use wood that has come off the beach at the lake near our house. We use it for same reason you use it for, water retention. Works very well, the other good thing is it makes the bed cheaper to set up
I built one of these beds three years following your video and I am probably the least handy person I know. I've gotten so many tomatoes using the bed you designed and I can't wait to fill it with tomatoes again this year. Appreciate all the work you do Brian!
I've gotten turned on to planter blocks. They are bricks with a 2 inch slot on each side so you can just slide in a 2x6 to make the walls of your raised beds. I like them because they are more modular and because I rent my home if I move i can disassemble them and take them with me.
Way better looking than, say, buckets (which is what I used when I lived in a trailer park/modular home community). I got free 5 gallon buckets from a local bakery and deli.
I used the raised-bed corner bricks from Home Depot: the brick sides have slots for 2x6s and can be anchored with a bit of rebar. I stacked 2 for my 2x12 boards. Easy!
@@viper04af true but in Deep South it gets so hot and the metal beds get hotter so they need to be watered more often. Just another variable that people need to consider when making their choice
@@lysan4878 I live in the high plains where it's hot and very dry. Layering the bottom of the metal beds with tree logs, stump, yard waste, etc, should help as it retains moisture. Putting a thick layer of straw on the top as mulch helps a immensely because it actually retains moisture, too. People use raised metal beds successfully in most climates by layering.
@@viper04afSame here. I was going to pay my next door neighbor to make one and the wood cost more than a new metal bed from Canada. I plan to eventually replace them all with metal beds over time.
We built 3 beds this way, 5 bricks high and filled them with logs from a tree we trimmed, a mix of local dirt, bio char, peat moss, vermiculite and mushroom compost. This year we topped off with the peat moss/vermiculite/compost mixture. We had to move one bed this year and the soil we created was amazing - we had a few grubs but the roadrunners enjoyed stealing them while we were moving the bricks and boards.
Im in Northern Colorado and eventually ripped out my numerous 4’ x 10’ x 8” beds in favor of in ground beds and haven’t regretted it for even a second. I recognize as valid only about 3 of the typically claimed benefits of wood/concrete/etc. raised beds and as I near my 70th birthday I firmly believe the incremental bending, kneeling, etc. is a giant benefit that will help keep me spry until it’s my turn to become part of the compost heap.
Hey Brian! My husband built three 8x4 elevated raised beds. A game changer for the more mature gardeners 😊 Also Gardeners Supply has something made out of juniper oil that is safe for organic gardeners. This solution helps protect wood from moisture on the inside of the bed.
2 things, I built my raised beds with redwood 2x6 over 17 years ago and they are still in great shape. Secondly, I use a local tree service for trimming in the winter and they always bring me shredded wood when I ask; they know I only need a couple wheelbarrows full so they only drop off that amount. Good to get to know a tree trimmer or arborist for mulch for free!!
Your hills remind me of the geography near Temecula. My grandma was born on the Ludy Ranch in 1895, and each time we would drive down rt. 395 to go to Oceanside, she would reminisce about her early childhood memories.
I am using for years a trellis made of the wire mesh from HD - 6” net, 8’x4’. ( used for concrete slabs). It looks like a cattle fence, but smaller. I connect two on upper end - as A. They are perfect for beans, cucumbers, peas , Malabar spinach… They work really well for many years.
My husband & I JUST finished building my DREAM raised bed garden, I have wanted for over10 years! When I forst started gardening people talked like clay soil wasnt good enough to grow veggies in, & that you needed to have raised beds filled with really good spil to have success. But I learned that clay soil actually has a lot of nutrients usially. But it is a pain to plant in... but just laying down a few inches of loose compost before planting solves that problem. It makes it east to plant your seedlings into the loose compost, & as they for they can get their roots into the clay soil no problem. So since i couldn't afford to build my dream raised bed garden (which is 12 total beds, with mulched paths & a border of some kind)- which is really just for aestetic purposes- weve been just building & filling a couple beds each year for the last 3 years. But this fall were finishing the rest of the entite project! Laying down landscapefabric & Mulch in the paths, etc. 👏
We built raised beds years ago, and the trees are not providing too much shade..Anyway, our son just earned his Eagle in boy scouts. His Eagle project was to build six ADA height raised bed gardens for our local Food Cupboard. They love them and have grown alot of spinach etc since last Oct.
I built tables out of 2x4s. 2'x4' beds. Great working height, and the neighbor's tree roots aren't a problem with these beds! I also have in-ground beds, but it is always a fight.
For those in the northern climes who may want to use hoop houses over their raised beds for winter, the 4 foot width can be a little cumbersome to reach the "back" when the hoop house is installed.
we built our beds at 10x4. But we also got free wood from hubby's work (construction) and they were 2x4x10. Our beds are a foot tall for ease of work for me while sitting. We have 4x4 posts in the corners that we do sink into the ground to hold beds solid. We also get partial rolls of chicken wire there too. We are lucky. Made building our garden much more affordable. We filled all our beds with compost. Our local landfill compost all yard waste & offers it for free.
I built 3 big raised beds and rookie error filled with Garden soil. The crops did fine but I had to water nearly twice as much. Amended over the seasons and now it's fine.
Props to all UA-camrs for trying to teach people. I helped some inlaws with their garden a few years back. They wanted raised beds mostly due to reduced weeding. Well, my brother in law would eat dogfood if socially acceptable to save a buck. So they built them four inches tall, would not invest in automated watering, refused to bother composting their scraps even in the garden directly. Two years later, the garden went unused this year, they complain about back pain because theyre so low, and hated watering all the time. Im not one to hold my tongue. I guilt trip the crap out of em for wasting their money, their time, and my time. 😅
Chatbot, yes, I get you. Some people are just slow learners. They have to experience the results of their not listening/paying attention to, or asking enough questions to people who have more experience than they do. Unfortunately, this seems to be the way of haughty people. By the time they learn from their mistakes, they're too old to make a difference. Maybe offer to show them about container gardening where they could still grow a few vegetables and flowers without hurting their backs as much. Let their obstinate resistance go. You've been proved correct and they've been proved wrong. Maybe they'll listen to you now. ❤
In my husband's field, you cannot talk about projects they worked on. When interviewing for a new job, since he couldn't talk specifics about what he did at his job, he used building a raised bed as an example 😂. Got mult job offers, so it worked. We watched Brian's videos at old house as a guide.
I used 2x6 redwood, with concrete corner blocks stacked three high. Still need to cut planks to bring the wood level to the top of the corners as I add soil through the years, I will do that. I drove rebar into the center holes of the corner blocks to hold them. Just finished the third year.
You are correct for certified organic not to use pressure treated, but a study in 2014 did show that root veggies do not uptake the copper. I also prefer not to use pressure treated.
I've been experimenting growing behind a wooden fence that gets near no sunlight, contaminated and compact soil no matter how much you turn it up and water it. It's amazing to see what struggles and what flourishes. by year 3 I dont have a space that doesn't have colourful growth .
Great tips! When I first built my raised beds I was told to use cedar because it would last the longest. Unfortunately for me it only lasted 3 years before they were rotting so bad the soil was totally spilling out onto the ground in the paths. To me it doesn’t make sense to spend that much money to build the bed just to have to replace it a few years later. I ended up replacing them with Vego metal raised beds and am so glad I did. They work really well, look so much nicer and will last a long time. I also experimented with using one of those fabric raised beds and didn’t like that much. The soil in that bed was the same as my wooden beds but it dried out much faster and plants wouldn’t grow because within 24 hours after watering really well the soil was bone dry again.
We made our new garden out of cinder blocks, double stacked. It took a lot more dirt, of course, but it has really paid off since I am somewhat disabled. The blocks are laid with the holes up, and are perfect for growing something small like radishes or lettuces.
Us too. I am fine but both my parents are pushing 70 and disabled. My dad was born with a club foot, and my mom has rheumatoid arthritis in her knees. We chose cinder blocks because we would never have to replace them. It was cheaper than we imagined. Mostly I garden on my own, my dad helps maintain the drip irrigation and some lighter work. My mom doesn't do anything.
I love that you mentioned the Kellogg Raised Bed soil. I've tried them all and the Kellogg RB Soil has so many nutrients in it that is like putting your plants on steroids. Example; my raised bed plants were all planted April 14th in a 50/50 loam compost mix with Black Cow Manure worked into the top 6 inches. My 5 gal buckets I filled with Kellogg RBS and planted my extra seedlings in those on June 21. Here it is July 14 and my plants in containers are already bigger than the ones in my RB. I wouldn't believe it if someone told me this but seeing is believing. I'm a DAV full of rods pins and screws and had a friend build my RB's 4'x8'x32" high because I can't bend. In the bottom of each RB I put 4-5" of non printed corrugated cardboard followed by 6" logs on top of that, branches on top of that follwed by 4-5" of mulched leaves and grass mixed, and then topped with a 50/50 mix of loam and compost. The Germans call this Hugelkultur. Over the last 4 months the soil has sunken down 6.5 inches. I topped it off with Kellogg RBS because roots were starting to show on a few tomato plants and two of them were actually falling over so I mounded up around the base with Kellogg RBS and then dumped more all around the bed. I didn't mulch the top of the soil. When the season ends I'll mix it all in with the other soil and add more in the spring before planting. Best soil ever sold at Homie Depot. My 32" high raised beds are 2 x10 x 8 Pressure treated on the bottom making the lower 20" and then above those I have two 2x6x8 Douglas Fir boards making up the walls for the top 12" required for the roots to grow in. The PT boards I was told do not leach out into the soil like past PT boards. Also I started every plant with heirloom varieties from Baker Creek Seeds. Every seed I planted grew and wasn't expecting 100% rate. My kitchen table was covered in seedlings. Not wanting to waste them I started hitting up restaraunts for 5 gallon empty pickle buckets that were all happy to share. So now my yard has 32" high raised beds and dozens of 5 gal buckets. I drilled 12- ½" holes in thd bottoms of each bucket and put them on bricks two high so the rabbits won't touch them. Just mentioned the bucket idea for anyone restricted to a patio garden. 5 gallon buckets filled with Kellogg's Raised Bed soil might be taking over my entire yard one day. My pepper plants love them as well as many tomato plants
I had to make some gopher proof beds (actually not gophers but voles and moles - the galvanized wire did not last very long at all. So the next time I found that Amazon sells stainless hardware cloth for just marginally more than the galvanized equivalent. I used 1/2" by 1/2 inch X 4 ft wide roles and after 4 years they are still liker new. Well worth the added cost. It will likely outlast me! Great videos on raised beds. My soil (I cleard a couple of acres of forest to build my house and there was NO topsoil so had to bring in all my soil and compost. I use (3) 2x6 width decking (plastic lumber for the sides - so about 15 inches in depth. Quite adequate and the trex-like lumber will never rot or leach... Not cheap but you only have to build it once. Thanks for your videos and help!
My raised container garden, is buckets, and totes, that are on beams laid across milk crates. That way, the top of my soil level is about 24-30 inches above the driveway! That makes it MUCH easier for me to reach without having to bend down so much. I've even been considering lifting them up a little bit higher, but I'm concerned about wind!
You are so smart. I wish there was a picture I could see. I'm wanting to do elevated beds since I'm VERY mature (old) and need some ideas on how to make it easier. I also have a sloping area and need to make the beds level. Thank you for the iidea you gave me!
@@adriankap2978 get some of those plastic milk crates, and put them upside down. Then, lay some boards (I have 2x8's) on top, making a platform. Use 5 gallon buckets (I use cat litter buckets) for your "garden" Make sure to drill holes in the bottom for drainage!!! I used a 3/4 in spade bit for the holes. You can see how mine is at: freaky gardener, on UA-cam
In tropical/sub tropical climates see if you can get banana leaves/plants that are cut down after production of fruit is done. They are great for filling the bottom of your beds. You can even use the “trunks” to grow directly in for things like lettuce and then add to compost when it starts to break down. Banana plants hold a lot of usable water well after they are cut.
You can also use rotational molded polyethylene timbers commonly found as edging with commercial playground equipment. I was able to get my hands on thirty 4'X4'X12" which made five 4'X8'X12" beds. They will never rot, are food safe and look great.
We have the Vego metal raised beds. We tried filling the 32in with all the soils, but when we put in the U shape 17inch high. We went to Arizona's worm compost for raised beds. What a difference. We even went back and took the worm class and brought home our own worms..
While you didn't talk about it, I noticed that you used screws to connect your pvc pipes. I think that's a great idea and will try it this year rather than using pvc cement to construct my tomato trellis.
This was so very informative. So many things I must do. Not sure how to set up a leaching water system but have sprinklers that haven’t hurt me in the past. Have a bunch of wood ships that I will distribute to my garden.
I had 4x8 bed for several years but found I much prefer smaller beds I can move around more easily. All my beds are plain Doug fir, still going strong.
You’re by far my favorite YT gardener. Love all the solid info shared calmly with your pleasant voice. Thank you for all you put into each gardening lesson!
If doing hugelkultur (logs/branches on the bottom if your plot, you may want to avoid using walnut tree family (Jugulandaceae) cuttings, esp if your plans are to plant things from the nightshade family (Solanaceae; tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants, etc) in that location in the following 1-3 yrs. Jugulandaceae trees produce juglones, an allelopathic chemical that suppresses the growth of other species, & Solanaceas are particularly susceptible to it. It will eventually leach out of the leaves after a yr or so, but not sure how long for branches. Leaves can be added to the general compost pile after it leaches out (after abt a yr) but if it hasn't, it will actually delay the composting process. Logs/branches that are below the reach of sensitive plants might be ok, eventually, but there is the possibility of some kind of effect for a while.
You may want to try wood pellet made for horse bedding. So easy to handle, don’t blow away in the wind when you are applying them, and a quick misting of water expands the pellets and breaks them apart into a beautiful fluffy mulch. When I was still in the states I used these for all my gardens. Each bag covers much more than you think it will.
We use the pine pellets regularly for our animals but I can't recommend it for a mulch in your gardens. In my experience, it retards growth. Pine does not break down quickly and really doesn't help in a raised bed. It takes years to break down.
@lSheryl C I have. In my experience it creates a sort of carpet right next to the soil and easily grows mold. Which...has never hurt my plants. But I'm moving away from it this season. I may have used too much. Idk. Just be cautious!
I use it for kitty litter and mix it with 25% clay clumping litter. I usually wet it with water until it expands to double the volume; pour it in the litter pan and sprinkle the clay "clumping" litter on top. Buying it as horse bedding is a fraction of the cost as buying the same thing marketed as cat litter.
Perfect tutorial! You got right to the point and explained everything so well....and you answered any questions I had about 2 seconds after they popped into my brain. Bravo!
I have spent a couple months in the Fall and early Winter prepping 30 new raised beds for the Spring. All but one are metal with the one being a 14 x 3 cedar board bed. It is designed for my tomatoes, and leafy greens as I am installing a 20 x 7 mesh greenhouse over. I purchased this property (1.2 acres) in the country because it had a major selling feature---concrete pads in the back. They were used as foundations for buck barns previously I filled in the cracks in between with concrete so I had a massive continuous pad. I spaced my beds 3ft apart so accept my wheelbarrow. Since I had recently moved I kept all my boxes and removed the tape from them to use as the flooring material for each bed. I had my landscaper collect twigs and small branches from his customers and used those on top of the corrugated board foundation. I then used stump grinds (I had three trees cut down and stumps ground) which made excellent base fill. I then measured powdered Urea onto the stump grinds because I knew the twigs and stump grinds would suck up the nitrogen. Becuase filling that many beds would have been impractical to fill by bag, I ordered several tons of top soil with an equal amount of compost. I then added 150 soaked and expanded coco coir bricks along with several yards of vermiculite. I took a tiller and tilled the top soil, compost, vermiculite and coco coir mix together. That was used as the primary raised bed fill. I bought 8 bags of Royal Oak Wood Charcoal and put each in a contractors bag and ran over it with my vehicle several times to crush it. I bought a metal tamper from Harbor Freight and dumped each bag into a 20 gallon bin. The balance of the charcoal wa crushed to a small grade no larger than a marble to form my biochar. The biochar was innoculated or charged with approximately 3 gallons of Compost Tea diluted so that I had over 100 gallons of biochar that charged for about a week. This was distributed on the top soil/compost mix. I then mixed shredded paper (no print colors or tape) along with equal parts pine mulch to form the top protective layer. This will sit for about four months. I have also been making four tumblers of compost for several months to use to supplement bed material that sinks come Spring. I will gather some soil samples and send off for analysis and be prepared to add worm casings and alphalfa pellets to get a balanced NPK. I was raised with a garden and garden as an adult all through grad school before giving it up. As an engineer I knew I could maximize my productivity and yields if I took the time and learned soil science. What did I find out? I knew very little about soil science before and there is so much to learn. Having spent about five months studying soil science, I am eager to see the results this growing season.
I’m so impressed with the amount of work and care you have put into your garden area as well as your entire property! Thanks for sharing this with us. It gives me hope that I can make something out of the space we have been given! Great job and fabulous channel!!🙏🤗
I have used free 5 gallon buckets (local bakeries and deli’s) with drilled drainage holes, also old wheelbarrows & wagons for shallow rooted crops - the rust holes were the drainage, and I could move them all to sunnier areas as the season progressed.
Hi Brian, I am new to your channel and live in south australia! We are building our food garden and wanting to make raised garden beds for a few different reasons but generally for ease of access and so that our dog does not run through our plants! I really like your easy garden beds and the information you have given about things to watch out for is so valuable when starting out. We have a lot of sugar can mulch here because Queensland is a huge cane producing state BUT I had not thought about chemicals used on the cane??? will need to do some research on that one. anyway, thanks so much for taking time to share your knowledge and ideas with us!!! cheers, Rosie from Down Under
Just an FYI, in zone 5a with pretty cold winters and lots of snow, winter rye cover crop doesn't die. But you just mow it tight in the spring and dig it in.
I have a 4x8 no till fabric raised bed for my medicinal plants. No till growing is the best by far. I plan on using what I’ve learned to make some outdoor beds for a garden next year.
I’ve been listening, so I’m doing some of the things you’ve suggested. I am indeed building my beds on a cement pad, so I chose 2x6 cedar and made it three layers, equals to about 16 inches or so. I’m using raised garden bed mix for about the top 8 inches, hopefully that will work, you suggested 12. Bottom is filled with a layer of card board and some so limbs or shredded wood and then a layer of half composted leaves, they aren’t broken down all the way yet. Hopefully that layer isn’t to thick.
I filled 36 inch metal raised beds w weed barrier, landscape rocks they wanted 2 get rid of, weed barrier, tree branches, cardboard, and a miv of 12-15 inches f peat/ coco coir/ horticulture grade pearlite/ chicken manure n fox farms frog bio culture (to make a network) over my kids asphalt back yard. U should b good.
I like the spaces between the beds to be wide enough for a wheel barrel to get around. So 36” gives me enough room to maneuver a wheel barrel around to add soil or for weeding.
First time viewer here! I really appreciate your video! It was informative without being too long or boring! I really took away some great bits of knowledge. Thank you!
14:30 I doubt you will even see this but instead of adding more soil I add more cedar shavings used for horse beds. It does a great job holding moisture in and creates a microrizal layer just under it. This actually adds more nutrients to your garden soil and reduces the need for watering by a factor of at least 5. Without that layer I would have to water pretty much every day. With it I only have to water maybe once or twice a week. I like cedar shavings because they also are a good slug deterant and other unwanted bugs. If you found this useful check out Pawsuasive Dog Teaching. My Ruby Doo knows over 60 service dog tasks. We would love your support.
19:05 the main reason you dont want to encorporate new wood shavings into the soil is because it will actually take away from nutrients for the first year. Which is why its best to put down a layer in the fall so it has time to break down a bit so when you do plant in the spring and you if you do get some wood mixed in its not taking away from the soil. I used the no till method in my own garden even though my garden has gotten away from me currently. Even after I do that I still try to not mix it in with the soil when I do plant but thats because I am a cheap bastard and want my wood shavings to last as long as possible before I have to buy more.
I have 2 high raised beds, they are above ground and narrow about 36" high and 20" deep. Just the best for the small space and limited sun, not to mention my back appreciates them :) Pressure treated wood but fully lined with 2 6mil food safe plastic so should be good to go for a long time and the joy I get from them, just awesome. :D
Thats what I been thinking about doing is lining the inside "not the bottom"with sheet of food grade plastic to help promote the longer life of the wood.
I live in S. Indiana and here, Hay and straw are two entirely different things. I learned a lot from your video however. Friendly suggestion about the hay/straw.
Another great video. After watching your show, back a few years, I redid my garden until it is almost all in raised beds. I love it!! One quandary I’m having is winterizing the garden. Here in MN, we have a lot of beneficial insects that winter over in the soil and/or hollow plants, bees in particular. We also have birds that come eat the seeds. I’m working toward cover crops but so far, am harvesting up until frost so don’t get the cover crop in the ground. Maybe this fall. Love your show. I’ve learned lots!!
I'm starting to use cover crops and learning. Can you inter sow some cover crop while you have things growing? So they get a start. I tried so hard to do field beans but the voles got all and I mean all of them! I was so mad!
Great video. Thanks for the reminder to amend the soil in spring. I was thinking of doing it right before planting in the summer but I'll get it done soon now.
I have used cinder blocks for my 4X4 square foot raised beds instead of wood, material or metal. In the holes I plant companion plants to make use of the holes .
I have built my raised bed on top of landscaping cloth because I have a problem with voles and grub worms. I do not use any soil. I use compost, peat moss, worm castings and fertilizer. Should I add worms? Also, since not using soil, should I add Azomite (rock dust)?
Great video! But we can't use wood here in my part of West Tennessee, too many termites! So hubby and I purchased plastic food safe 4' x 4' x 12" tall raised beds and used the same hardware cloth (we have tons of moles/voles too!) And put down cardboard then put in Kellogg's with black cow manure. We did find plastic, soft and hard, glass and some wire in it, and some had mold, I'm sorry to say, but not as much as some of the other ones I've bought. I like it better than the other organic mixes, it looks and feels nicer so far. It also seems to have more of the white vermiculite or perlite in it, which even my hubby noticed! I still have 3 more beds to fill this coming weekend, 😂, and it will be with Kellogg's! Just wanted to add plastic raised garden beds are an option for those in spots like we are, didn't mean to ramble on and on!
I have gardened in a lot of raised beds of various types, over the years. Can't wait to hear your perspective! I am a foodie and home cook and having high quality herbs and produce is the reason I garden! Nothing better than your own home grown produce and herbs! I grew carrots and potatoes in resin barrels from Home Depot. I drilled holes in the bottom for drainage. The resin barrels are light weight and not expensive. Carrots need fluffy dirt! They are prissy lil things and don't like hard dirt. The resin barrels I bought were about 14" tall and 17" across, as I recall.
I’m Glad i Found your Channel Today! Thank You for sharing your knowledge and mentioning the word disabilities!! Gardening reaches across many diverse communities!! Such a Beautiful Property You Have. Happy Gardening Everyone🤗🤗🤗
Last fall I dug some drainage trenches around my back yard and ended up with several significant piles of dirt. I plan to add several more metal raised beds in the back garden by putting branches, yard and food waste (including ground eggshell), and add some of that soil to fill the voids in the bottom. Then I mix bagged garden soil, mushroom compost, and pete moss to fill it up the rest of the way. So far it has worked well for me. I just give the worms food at the bottom to draw them in and they work their way up to the top... but since I'm building these over existing beds, they don't need new zip codes.
I went completely overboard and made my beds 22” to 24” deep. When we moved in to our house, I found we were sitting atop a clay slab that roots can’t penetrate and turns to the consistency of concrete during our summers (Sacramento, CA). A benefit I’m finding is the deeper the bed, the less watering I have to do. I turn the drip system on maybe once every 1-2 weeks even during the hottest part of the summer.
I hear you. I grew up in the CA Bay area, but started gardening at age 15 in Sacramento after the company my dad worked for moved thir main office to Sacramento. After my dad retired we moved out to the Mojave (he grew up, out here) so a raised bed is mandatory. The Mojave is a gravel pit. 🤣 So I went from a clay slab under my beds, to a gravel pit under them. Digging holes out here is hell, a bucket and mattock is the only way to do it without heavy equipment.
Brian, your gardens are coming along nicely! Beautiful. An enormous amount of work. I can’t wait for your cottage garden to bloom and the rest to start producing! It looks like a lot of fun! I hope you can finish the brick laying project, even though it’s hard, boring work at this point. The whole thing is beautiful!
I know we try to stay away from plastic but I have a small raised bed. Can I just cover it with small tarp or even a shower curtain to keep it over winter and from erosion
Good to hear ur take on the pressure treated wood. So many people just say tgat yes, it totally safe nowadays..... My intuition keeps on saying it might not be that safe 😮💨 we ve got so huge toxicity issues on the planet that any tiny bit that can be avoided is a win 😊
A couple great budget options not discussed here - Building beds from concrete blocks/cinder blocks. They are made with concrete now, NOT fly ash, and they are safe. For me, using the skinny partition blocks was HALF the price of even the cheapest wood option for my beds. As wood prices slowly go down this may not be as big a difference, but last year when I was building it was a massive money saver. Soil - no you don't want to use "garden soil" but you don't have to buy potting mix or other expensive options. Get potting soil (usually goes on sale for $2 a bag), a bale of peat, and some bags of midrange compost. Mix those three roughly evenly. The peat retains moisture but also keeps it light, the compost is good, and the soil is to bulk it out. I grew a massive and successful garden using this mix last year. And saved hundreds of dollars over buying 50+ bags of potting soil or raised bed mix, or ordering in a load of compost.
That is my plan. I injured my back with an on the job injury. Making raised beds at a height for my back. Will fill with a load of top soil and add my augmentation.
@@MorbidSaintInfo my beds will be taller. Have a OJI back injury so a higher bed is better for me. No many trees here to trim and place into the bottom of the beds. To take up the space and add matter to decompose. I also can see that I will need to help guard against birds, squirrel, opossums, armadillos and raccoons. As well as a means to mitigate destruction from tropical systems. I have a plan.
I put a bunch of trimmed shrubs at the bottom of mine too. I sm actually planting more shrubs, but not trees because I can, and love to prune shrubs, but not trees. Thankfully there was only two trees on our property when we moved here. Dwarf, and very thirsty, but one had white mildew so we just took them both out and planted shrubs in thier place. I have planted tons more shrubs, and still plan more. All water-wise.
Thank you for another great video! You've done a beautiful job in your landscaping/ garden. Can't wait for a midsummer garden tour!😊 Something you might consider trying if you've had grazon damage is to try planting sunflowers in that spot. I got in a conversation in the comment section of another channel I use with someone who said sunflowers will pull heavy metals from the soil. Could be a possibility sunflowers would pull that out too. There's plot of ground I'm going to try this. Anything to clean the soil.
The soil where ai live in Alabama is red clay. There is little top soil, so I opted to use raised beds. I use Kellogs organic raised bed mix to fill them. and alternate topping them with the same, and black cow. Thus far, my experience has been very good. Soil compacting hasdn't been a problem, and weeds are very few. I probably spend less than two minutes on any given day weeding. For mulch, I use chopped up leaves that I collect in the fall. I have more leaves than I can use filling a compost bin, and a compost pile.
@@viper04af I mow over them with a lawn mower, and empty the collection bag into two trashcans, for later use in the garden after topping off my compost bin. The rest og the leaves around my garden are raked into a pile, and left to break down. I have a mix of Poplar, Oak, Maple, Pine, Hickory, Sweet Gum, and Dogwood trees around on my property, more leaves than I can use. I live in a heavily wooded area. What I don't use in my garden and compost bin, are mowed over, and allowed to breakdown, and replinish the nutrients in the ground. It saves me fom having to fertilize the grass.
@@jaytoney3007 Our leaf pile was threatening to take over our back yard. So last fall I built a "leaf tower" with a ring of 2x4" wire fencing, I think it's 4' high, lined with cardboard because our summers are so dry. I've got some plants in containers sitting on top now.
Something I used as a mulch when I lived in Northern California was “rice halls” from wineries. At the time it was free. Not sure what other wineries use elsewhere but the rice halls are used as a filter in the making of the wine. The rice halls are clean and free of any contaminants. Rice is grown in California,Texas and many other states. I also used the rice halls for padding the bottom of swimming pool liners. “Rice halls” good for the soil, cheap and breaks down slowly.
Thank you, Brian!!! Planted some Crimson Clover on Saturday. I'm definitely going to try the pine shavings as mulch this year. Last year I bought a few bags of brown mulch from Walmart and the dye run off was awful! Looked like chocolate milk all over the place every time I watered or it rained. I won't make that mistake again!
I just built some raised beds. My question is, I know I have worms in my yard, but now I have 12" more of soil on top. Will the worm make it up to the raised beds, or should I add worms to the raised beds?
I got the perfect yard, I think, that ends at a lake. It came with 2 lemon trees, and i just started my first raised bed. 5 x 20. Ive been following you as well as a few others and im trying to transform my back yard, maybe a 1/4 of an acre, to one big garden. Id like vegetables and fruit, but Im definitely making some mistakes and have alot of growing pains. I realize, due to space, that turning an old 4ft high raised playhouse to a green house to help start my seeds. I just tried about 20 different fruits and veggies and planted what sprouted so we'll see what happens. Think I need some help! LoL
I'm not sure if this video is shot using two different cameras or if it's just the lighting but part of this video looks much crisper (4k possibly) but over exposed while other parts look more dull (1080i) but more accurate with colour.
Interesting. I built 2x12 walls 30 years ago, and they are still going strong. Obviously some wear and tear, but still viable! I did take them apart after 15 years and rebuild them, but still the same boards.
We use something similar to gopher wire in a couple of raised beds that were in a rat travel corridor. It kept the rats from burrowing under them to use them as nesting boxes.
This was excellent! I!would like 6 4x8 beds may may only get 3 or 4 due to cost. How do you feel about painting the wood? You should see the HUGE leaf pile with twigs I have waiting for the bottom if the beds.
I build 30-33 inch tall beds for my wife's veggie garden. I filled the bottom with free wood chips. That was a little over a year ago, and it's all pretty well decomposed now.
If I kneel on the ground I better have a back up plan as to how I’m going to be able to get up! 🌷💚🙃
I can't kneel down. I will have to sit rather.
The good thing about raised beds, you can get them as high as you need!
I just roll over and crawl until I can find something to push myself up!😆
@@wifeofagrumpyoldmarine428 🤣
Me to😅. My knee was replaced in 2009
Regarding the amount of space BETWEEN the beds: I have always based it off of the widest wheelbarrow (or gorilla cart) that I’m using. I look at the widest part of that wheelbarrow (usually the handles) and add 6-8 inches. This ensures you’re not scraping/damaging your plants as you move down the aisles with your wheelbarrow.
Plus you need room at either end to turn around (1). Gorilla or garden carts do not backup very well. Myself I would want beds tall enough to do anything you need to do with minimal bending over. Or being able to work sitting on a wheeled chair.
1) If you live where you get a lot of snow you Snowball about the joys of turning the snowblower around. Usually I will go a couple of houses down just to turn around.
I use trees that have come down in the winter or slab wood.
No comment. I'm just feeding the algorithm monster and tapping the thumbs 👍 button.
Appreciate it!
Finally someone explained the soil mixture correctly.
lol no definitely didnt
We are experimenting with raised beds here in Costa Rica, not because the soil isn't nutrient rich and fertile, but because of the need to control moisture levels, which varies to the extreme between our two seasons--rainy season and dry season. We're playing around with hugelkultur techniques but modified; for example, beds with bottom fill of madera negra limbs offer great drainage for the wet months, while beds with bottom fill of banana "tree" stems are great for retaining moisture in the dry months. We're also channeling ancient Mayan gardeners by using the gloopy muck from the bottom of swampy areas to mix with compost for a really nutrient-dense middle layer for our hugelkulturs. Over time, we'll know more about whether these strategies work, but for now it is certainly fun to experiment!
We use wood that has come off the beach at the lake near our house. We use it for same reason you use it for, water retention. Works very well, the other good thing is it makes the bed cheaper to set up
I built one of these beds three years following your video and I am probably the least handy person I know. I've gotten so many tomatoes using the bed you designed and I can't wait to fill it with tomatoes again this year. Appreciate all the work you do Brian!
Awesome! Thanks for sharing that!
I've gotten turned on to planter blocks. They are bricks with a 2 inch slot on each side so you can just slide in a 2x6 to make the walls of your raised beds. I like them because they are more modular and because I rent my home if I move i can disassemble them and take them with me.
Oh yes! I went up 2 high and used the round hole in the middle to add rebar. This makes it more sturdy and gives me a place to add vertical supports.
Way better looking than, say, buckets (which is what I used when I lived in a trailer park/modular home community). I got free 5 gallon buckets from a local bakery and deli.
I used the raised-bed corner bricks from Home Depot: the brick sides have slots for 2x6s and can be anchored with a bit of rebar. I stacked 2 for my 2x12 boards. Easy!
we did this also in 2020 however, metal beds are cheaper right now due to wood cost so high....
@@viper04af true but in Deep South it gets so hot and the metal beds get hotter so they need to be watered more often. Just another variable that people need to consider when making their choice
@@lysan4878 I live in the high plains where it's hot and very dry. Layering the bottom of the metal beds with tree logs, stump, yard waste, etc, should help as it retains moisture. Putting a thick layer of straw on the top as mulch helps a immensely because it actually retains moisture, too. People use raised metal beds successfully in most climates by layering.
@@viper04afSame here. I was going to pay my next door neighbor to make one and the wood cost more than a new metal bed from Canada. I plan to eventually replace them all with metal beds over time.
We built 3 beds this way, 5 bricks high and filled them with logs from a tree we trimmed, a mix of local dirt, bio char, peat moss, vermiculite and mushroom compost. This year we topped off with the peat moss/vermiculite/compost mixture. We had to move one bed this year and the soil we created was amazing - we had a few grubs but the roadrunners enjoyed stealing them while we were moving the bricks and boards.
Im in Northern Colorado and eventually ripped out my numerous 4’ x 10’ x 8” beds in favor of in ground beds and haven’t regretted it for even a second. I recognize as valid only about 3 of the typically claimed benefits of wood/concrete/etc. raised beds and as I near my 70th birthday I firmly believe the incremental bending, kneeling, etc. is a giant benefit that will help keep me spry until it’s my turn to become part of the compost heap.
Dac 😂😂😂😂😂! Love that! EVERYONE ends up in the compost heap!!!!
I just put in a tall raised bed using logs and branches. I was shocked that it dropped by a foot over my zone 5 winter. Crazy 😮
Hey Brian! My husband built three 8x4 elevated raised beds. A game changer for the more mature gardeners 😊 Also Gardeners Supply has something made out of juniper oil that is safe for organic gardeners. This solution helps protect wood from moisture on the inside of the bed.
2 things, I built my raised beds with redwood 2x6 over 17 years ago and they are still in great shape. Secondly, I use a local tree service for trimming in the winter and they always bring me shredded wood when I ask; they know I only need a couple wheelbarrows full so they only drop off that amount. Good to get to know a tree trimmer or arborist for mulch for free!!
Your hills remind me of the geography near Temecula. My grandma was born on the Ludy Ranch in 1895, and each time we would drive down rt. 395 to go to Oceanside, she would reminisce about her early childhood memories.
It reminds me of M*A*S*H
He's not too far from Temecula. I used to live up that way in Fallbrook... wish I knew then what I know now about gardening.
What a view! It’s beautiful. What a blessing to have a property to garden and live with such a beautiful view. So happy for you!
Thank you so much!
I am using for years a trellis made of the wire mesh from HD - 6” net, 8’x4’. ( used for concrete slabs). It looks like a cattle fence, but smaller. I connect two on upper end - as A. They are perfect for beans, cucumbers, peas , Malabar spinach…
They work really well for many years.
My husband & I JUST finished building my DREAM raised bed garden, I have wanted for over10 years!
When I forst started gardening people talked like clay soil wasnt good enough to grow veggies in, & that you needed to have raised beds filled with really good spil to have success. But I learned that clay soil actually has a lot of nutrients usially. But it is a pain to plant in... but just laying down a few inches of loose compost before planting solves that problem. It makes it east to plant your seedlings into the loose compost, & as they for they can get their roots into the clay soil no problem.
So since i couldn't afford to build my dream raised bed garden (which is 12 total beds, with mulched paths & a border of some kind)- which is really just for aestetic purposes- weve been just building & filling a couple beds each year for the last 3 years. But this fall were finishing the rest of the entite project! Laying down landscapefabric & Mulch in the paths, etc. 👏
The view from your property is absolutely stunning!
We built raised beds years ago, and the trees are not providing too much shade..Anyway, our son just earned his Eagle in boy scouts. His Eagle project was to build six ADA height raised bed gardens for our local Food Cupboard. They love them and have grown alot of spinach etc since last Oct.
I built tables out of 2x4s. 2'x4' beds. Great working height, and the neighbor's tree roots aren't a problem with these beds!
I also have in-ground beds, but it is always a fight.
For those in the northern climes who may want to use hoop houses over their raised beds for winter, the 4 foot width can be a little cumbersome to reach the "back" when the hoop house is installed.
You have clearly been busting hiney on your dream of your different garden areas! Looking fantabulous!
Thank you!
we built our beds at 10x4. But we also got free wood from hubby's work (construction) and they were 2x4x10. Our beds are a foot tall for ease of work for me while sitting. We have 4x4 posts in the corners that we do sink into the ground to hold beds solid. We also get partial rolls of chicken wire there too. We are lucky. Made building our garden much more affordable.
We filled all our beds with compost. Our local landfill compost all yard waste & offers it for free.
I built 3 big raised beds and rookie error filled with Garden soil. The crops did fine but I had to water nearly twice as much. Amended over the seasons and now it's fine.
Props to all UA-camrs for trying to teach people. I helped some inlaws with their garden a few years back. They wanted raised beds mostly due to reduced weeding. Well, my brother in law would eat dogfood if socially acceptable to save a buck. So they built them four inches tall, would not invest in automated watering, refused to bother composting their scraps even in the garden directly. Two years later, the garden went unused this year, they complain about back pain because theyre so low, and hated watering all the time. Im not one to hold my tongue. I guilt trip the crap out of em for wasting their money, their time, and my time. 😅
Chatbot, yes, I get you. Some people are just slow learners. They have to experience the results of their not listening/paying attention to, or asking enough questions to people who have more experience than they do. Unfortunately, this seems to be the way of haughty people. By the time they learn from their mistakes, they're too old to make a difference. Maybe offer to show them about container gardening where they could still grow a few vegetables and flowers without hurting their backs as much. Let their obstinate resistance go. You've been proved correct and they've been proved wrong. Maybe they'll listen to you now. ❤
In my husband's field, you cannot talk about projects they worked on. When interviewing for a new job, since he couldn't talk specifics about what he did at his job, he used building a raised bed as an example 😂. Got mult job offers, so it worked. We watched Brian's videos at old house as a guide.
🤣
Great video Brian, i used 100 liter (26 gal) food-safe plastic barrels (cut in half) and old baths.
I used 2x6 redwood, with concrete corner blocks stacked three high. Still need to cut planks to bring the wood level to the top of the corners as I add soil through the years, I will do that. I drove rebar into the center holes of the corner blocks to hold them. Just finished the third year.
You are correct for certified organic not to use pressure treated, but a study in 2014 did show that root veggies do not uptake the copper. I also prefer not to use pressure treated.
I've been experimenting growing behind a wooden fence that gets near no sunlight, contaminated and compact soil no matter how much you turn it up and water it. It's amazing to see what struggles and what flourishes. by year 3 I dont have a space that doesn't have colourful growth .
Great tips! When I first built my raised beds I was told to use cedar because it would last the longest. Unfortunately for me it only lasted 3 years before they were rotting so bad the soil was totally spilling out onto the ground in the paths. To me it doesn’t make sense to spend that much money to build the bed just to have to replace it a few years later. I ended up replacing them with Vego metal raised beds and am so glad I did. They work really well, look so much nicer and will last a long time. I also experimented with using one of those fabric raised beds and didn’t like that much. The soil in that bed was the same as my wooden beds but it dried out much faster and plants wouldn’t grow because within 24 hours after watering really well the soil was bone dry again.
Dud you use grassroots or another brand. Other brands did the same for me. Grassroots have a moisture holding barrier
@@NextLevelGardening it’s was smart pots brand. I hadn’t heard of grassroots at the time I bought it. I might have to try them though. Thanks!
Oh great, we built ours with cedar as well because I thought that was the best😢
@@whipsandchains1 I hope your works out better for you than mine did.
We made our new garden out of cinder blocks, double stacked. It took a lot more dirt, of course, but it has really paid off since I am somewhat disabled. The blocks are laid with the holes up, and are perfect for growing something small like radishes or lettuces.
Us too. I am fine but both my parents are pushing 70 and disabled. My dad was born with a club foot, and my mom has rheumatoid arthritis in her knees. We chose cinder blocks because we would never have to replace them. It was cheaper than we imagined. Mostly I garden on my own, my dad helps maintain the drip irrigation and some lighter work. My mom doesn't do anything.
If I made a bed from concrete, what food safe liner do you suggest?
I love that you mentioned the Kellogg Raised Bed soil. I've tried them all and the Kellogg RB Soil has so many nutrients in it that is like putting your plants on steroids. Example; my raised bed plants were all planted April 14th in a 50/50 loam compost mix with Black Cow Manure worked into the top 6 inches. My 5 gal buckets I filled with Kellogg RBS and planted my extra seedlings in those on June 21. Here it is July 14 and my plants in containers are already bigger than the ones in my RB. I wouldn't believe it if someone told me this but seeing is believing.
I'm a DAV full of rods pins and screws and had a friend build my RB's 4'x8'x32" high because I can't bend. In the bottom of each RB I put 4-5" of non printed corrugated cardboard followed by 6" logs on top of that, branches on top of that follwed by 4-5" of mulched leaves and grass mixed, and then topped with a 50/50 mix of loam and compost. The Germans call this Hugelkultur. Over the last 4 months the soil has sunken down 6.5 inches. I topped it off with Kellogg RBS because roots were starting to show on a few tomato plants and two of them were actually falling over so I mounded up around the base with Kellogg RBS and then dumped more all around the bed. I didn't mulch the top of the soil. When the season ends I'll mix it all in with the other soil and add more in the spring before planting. Best soil ever sold at Homie Depot. My 32" high raised beds are
2 x10 x 8 Pressure treated on the bottom making the lower 20" and then above those I have two 2x6x8 Douglas Fir boards making up the walls for the top 12" required for the roots to grow in. The PT boards I was told do not leach out into the soil like past PT boards. Also I started every plant with heirloom varieties from Baker Creek Seeds. Every seed I planted grew and wasn't expecting 100% rate. My kitchen table was covered in seedlings. Not wanting to waste them I started hitting up restaraunts for 5 gallon empty pickle buckets that were all happy to share. So now my yard has 32" high raised beds and dozens of 5 gal buckets. I drilled 12- ½" holes in thd bottoms of each bucket and put them on bricks two high so the rabbits won't touch them. Just mentioned the bucket idea for anyone restricted to a patio garden. 5 gallon buckets filled with Kellogg's Raised Bed soil might be taking over my entire yard one day. My pepper plants love them as well as many tomato plants
I had to make some gopher proof beds (actually not gophers but voles and moles - the galvanized wire did not last very long at all. So the next time I found that Amazon sells stainless hardware cloth for just marginally more than the galvanized equivalent. I used 1/2" by 1/2 inch X 4 ft wide roles and after 4 years they are still liker new. Well worth the added cost. It will likely outlast me!
Great videos on raised beds. My soil (I cleard a couple of acres of forest to build my house and there was NO topsoil so had to bring in all my soil and compost. I use (3) 2x6 width decking (plastic lumber for the sides - so about 15 inches in depth. Quite adequate and the trex-like lumber will never rot or leach... Not cheap but you only have to build it once.
Thanks for your videos and help!
My raised container garden, is buckets, and totes, that are on beams laid across milk crates. That way, the top of my soil level is about 24-30 inches above the driveway! That makes it MUCH easier for me to reach without having to bend down so much. I've even been considering lifting them up a little bit higher, but I'm concerned about wind!
You are so smart. I wish there was a picture I could see. I'm wanting to do elevated beds since I'm VERY mature (old) and need some ideas on how to make it easier. I also have a sloping area and need to make the beds level. Thank you for the iidea you gave me!
@@adriankap2978 get some of those plastic milk crates, and put them upside down.
Then, lay some boards (I have 2x8's) on top, making a platform.
Use 5 gallon buckets (I use cat litter buckets) for your "garden"
Make sure to drill holes in the bottom for drainage!!!
I used a 3/4 in spade bit for the holes.
You can see how mine is at: freaky gardener, on UA-cam
@@freakygardener8033 Awesome, Thank You!
In tropical/sub tropical climates see if you can get banana leaves/plants that are cut down after production of fruit is done. They are great for filling the bottom of your beds. You can even use the “trunks” to grow directly in for things like lettuce and then add to compost when it starts to break down. Banana plants hold a lot of usable water well after they are cut.
Great tip!
You can also use rotational molded polyethylene timbers commonly found as edging with commercial playground equipment. I was able to get my hands on thirty 4'X4'X12" which made five 4'X8'X12" beds. They will never rot, are food safe and look great.
We have the Vego metal raised beds. We tried filling the 32in with all the soils, but when we put in the U shape 17inch high. We went to Arizona's worm compost for raised beds. What a difference. We even went back and took the worm class and brought home our own worms..
While you didn't talk about it, I noticed that you used screws to connect your pvc pipes. I think that's a great idea and will try it this year rather than using pvc cement to construct my tomato trellis.
This was so very informative. So many things I must do. Not sure how to set up a leaching water system but have sprinklers that haven’t hurt me in the past. Have a bunch of wood ships that I will distribute to my garden.
LOL! I'm glad you told us what you were using for mulch. I kept looking at it, thinking 'is that sand?'! 😂👍
Thanks for the ‘101’ lesson for raised bed gardening. Hadn’t really considered the need for winter mulching but will plant cover mulch from now on.
I do container gardening but these are also great tips for my type of gardening - thanks!
I had 4x8 bed for several years but found I much prefer smaller beds I can move around more easily. All my beds are plain Doug fir, still going strong.
You’re by far my favorite YT gardener. Love all the solid info shared calmly with your pleasant voice. Thank you for all you put into each gardening lesson!
If doing hugelkultur (logs/branches on the bottom if your plot, you may want to avoid using walnut tree family (Jugulandaceae) cuttings, esp if your plans are to plant things from the nightshade family (Solanaceae; tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants, etc) in that location in the following 1-3 yrs. Jugulandaceae trees produce juglones, an allelopathic chemical that suppresses the growth of other species, & Solanaceas are particularly susceptible to it. It will eventually leach out of the leaves after a yr or so, but not sure how long for branches. Leaves can be added to the general compost pile after it leaches out (after abt a yr) but if it hasn't, it will actually delay the composting process. Logs/branches that are below the reach of sensitive plants might be ok, eventually, but there is the possibility of some kind of effect for a while.
You may want to try wood pellet made for horse bedding. So easy to handle, don’t blow away in the wind when you are applying them, and a quick misting of water expands the pellets and breaks them apart into a beautiful fluffy mulch. When I was still in the states I used these for all my gardens. Each bag covers much more than you think it will.
We use the pine pellets regularly for our animals but I can't recommend it for a mulch in your gardens. In my experience, it retards growth. Pine does not break down quickly and really doesn't help in a raised bed. It takes years to break down.
They said wood pellet not pine, so maybe there is a difference?
Has anybody used shavings ? The ones used for animal bedding? Seems so much more tidy then messy straw
@lSheryl C I have. In my experience it creates a sort of carpet right next to the soil and easily grows mold. Which...has never hurt my plants. But I'm moving away from it this season. I may have used too much. Idk. Just be cautious!
I use it for kitty litter and mix it with 25% clay clumping litter. I usually wet it with water until it expands to double the volume; pour it in the litter pan and sprinkle the clay "clumping" litter on top. Buying it as horse bedding is a fraction of the cost as buying the same thing marketed as cat litter.
Perfect tutorial! You got right to the point and explained everything so well....and you answered any questions I had about 2 seconds after they popped into my brain. Bravo!
Glad it was helpful!
I have spent a couple months in the Fall and early Winter prepping 30 new raised beds for the Spring. All but one are metal with the one being a 14 x 3 cedar board bed. It is designed for my tomatoes, and leafy greens as I am installing a 20 x 7 mesh greenhouse over. I purchased this property (1.2 acres) in the country because it had a major selling feature---concrete pads in the back. They were used as foundations for buck barns previously I filled in the cracks in between with concrete so I had a massive continuous pad. I spaced my beds 3ft apart so accept my wheelbarrow. Since I had recently moved I kept all my boxes and removed the tape from them to use as the flooring material for each bed. I had my landscaper collect twigs and small branches from his customers and used those on top of the corrugated board foundation. I then used stump grinds (I had three trees cut down and stumps ground) which made excellent base fill. I then measured powdered Urea onto the stump grinds because I knew the twigs and stump grinds would suck up the nitrogen. Becuase filling that many beds would have been impractical to fill by bag, I ordered several tons of top soil with an equal amount of compost. I then added 150 soaked and expanded coco coir bricks along with several yards of vermiculite. I took a tiller and tilled the top soil, compost, vermiculite and coco coir mix together. That was used as the primary raised bed fill. I bought 8 bags of Royal Oak Wood Charcoal and put each in a contractors bag and ran over it with my vehicle several times to crush it. I bought a metal tamper from Harbor Freight and dumped each bag into a 20 gallon bin. The balance of the charcoal wa crushed to a small grade no larger than a marble to form my biochar. The biochar was innoculated or charged with approximately 3 gallons of Compost Tea diluted so that I had over 100 gallons of biochar that charged for about a week. This was distributed on the top soil/compost mix. I then mixed shredded paper (no print colors or tape) along with equal parts pine mulch to form the top protective layer. This will sit for about four months. I have also been making four tumblers of compost for several months to use to supplement bed material that sinks come Spring. I will gather some soil samples and send off for analysis and be prepared to add worm casings and alphalfa pellets to get a balanced NPK. I was raised with a garden and garden as an adult all through grad school before giving it up. As an engineer I knew I could maximize my productivity and yields if I took the time and learned soil science. What did I find out? I knew very little about soil science before and there is so much to learn. Having spent about five months studying soil science, I am eager to see the results this growing season.
You have a beautiful setting. Thanks for sharing this video. My raised bed garden is near my patio and easy to get to. It is also my happy place 😊
Thank you
I’m so impressed with the amount of work and care you have put into your garden area as well as your entire property! Thanks for sharing this with us. It gives me hope that I can make something out of the space we have been given! Great job and fabulous channel!!🙏🤗
So nice of you
I have used free 5 gallon buckets (local bakeries and deli’s) with drilled drainage holes, also old wheelbarrows & wagons for shallow rooted crops - the rust holes were the drainage, and I could move them all to sunnier areas as the season progressed.
Hi Brian, I am new to your channel and live in south australia! We are building our food garden and wanting to make raised garden beds for a few different reasons but generally for ease of access and so that our dog does not run through our plants! I really like your easy garden beds and the information you have given about things to watch out for is so valuable when starting out. We have a lot of sugar can mulch here because Queensland is a huge cane producing state BUT I had not thought about chemicals used on the cane??? will need to do some research on that one. anyway, thanks so much for taking time to share your knowledge and ideas with us!!! cheers, Rosie from Down Under
I put my garden in what used to be my front yard. I also cut down all my trees in my front yard facing south 😂. It’s awesome. Full Sun all day
Just an FYI, in zone 5a with pretty cold winters and lots of snow, winter rye cover crop doesn't die. But you just mow it tight in the spring and dig it in.
I have a 4x8 no till fabric raised bed for my medicinal plants. No till growing is the best by far. I plan on using what I’ve learned to make some outdoor beds for a garden next year.
I’ve been listening, so I’m doing some of the things you’ve suggested. I am indeed building my beds on a cement pad, so I chose 2x6 cedar and made it three layers, equals to about 16 inches or so. I’m using raised garden bed mix for about the top 8 inches, hopefully that will work, you suggested 12. Bottom is filled with a layer of card board and some so limbs or shredded wood and then a layer of half composted leaves, they aren’t broken down all the way yet. Hopefully that layer isn’t to thick.
I filled 36 inch metal raised beds w weed barrier, landscape rocks they wanted 2 get rid of, weed barrier, tree branches, cardboard, and a miv of 12-15 inches f peat/ coco coir/ horticulture grade pearlite/ chicken manure n fox farms frog bio culture (to make a network) over my kids asphalt back yard. U should b good.
I like the spaces between the beds to be wide enough for a wheel barrel to get around. So 36” gives me enough room to maneuver a wheel barrel around to add soil or for weeding.
Me too. I also like to bring a wagon through for easier harvesting or lugging tools.
First time viewer here! I really appreciate your video! It was informative without being too long or boring! I really took away some great bits of knowledge. Thank you!
14:30 I doubt you will even see this but instead of adding more soil I add more cedar shavings used for horse beds. It does a great job holding moisture in and creates a microrizal layer just under it. This actually adds more nutrients to your garden soil and reduces the need for watering by a factor of at least 5. Without that layer I would have to water pretty much every day. With it I only have to water maybe once or twice a week. I like cedar shavings because they also are a good slug deterant and other unwanted bugs. If you found this useful check out Pawsuasive Dog Teaching. My Ruby Doo knows over 60 service dog tasks. We would love your support.
19:05 the main reason you dont want to encorporate new wood shavings into the soil is because it will actually take away from nutrients for the first year. Which is why its best to put down a layer in the fall so it has time to break down a bit so when you do plant in the spring and you if you do get some wood mixed in its not taking away from the soil. I used the no till method in my own garden even though my garden has gotten away from me currently. Even after I do that I still try to not mix it in with the soil when I do plant but thats because I am a cheap bastard and want my wood shavings to last as long as possible before I have to buy more.
Super helpful. Thanks!
I have 2 high raised beds, they are above ground and narrow about 36" high and 20" deep. Just the best for the small space and limited sun, not to mention my back appreciates them :) Pressure treated wood but fully lined with 2 6mil food safe plastic so should be good to go for a long time and the joy I get from them, just awesome. :D
Thats what I been thinking about doing is lining the inside "not the bottom"with sheet of food grade plastic to help promote the longer life of the wood.
I live in S. Indiana and here, Hay and straw are two entirely different things. I learned a lot from your video however. Friendly suggestion about the hay/straw.
Another great video. After watching your show, back a few years, I redid my garden until it is almost all in raised beds. I love it!! One quandary I’m having is winterizing the garden. Here in MN, we have a lot of beneficial insects that winter over in the soil and/or hollow plants, bees in particular. We also have birds that come eat the seeds. I’m working toward cover crops but so far, am harvesting up until frost so don’t get the cover crop in the ground. Maybe this fall. Love your show. I’ve learned lots!!
I'm starting to use cover crops and learning. Can you inter sow some cover crop while you have things growing? So they get a start. I tried so hard to do field beans but the voles got all and I mean all of them! I was so mad!
Great video. Thanks for the reminder to amend the soil in spring. I was thinking of doing it right before planting in the summer but I'll get it done soon now.
Beautiful property! I'm tackling raised beds this year and this video is perfect!! Thanks so much Brian!
I have used cinder blocks for my 4X4 square foot raised beds instead of wood, material or metal. In the holes I plant companion plants to make use of the holes .
I have built my raised bed on top of landscaping cloth because I have a problem with voles and grub worms. I do not use any soil. I use compost, peat moss, worm castings and fertilizer. Should I add worms? Also, since not using soil, should I add Azomite (rock dust)?
Great video! But we can't use wood here in my part of West Tennessee, too many termites! So hubby and I purchased plastic food safe 4' x 4' x 12" tall raised beds and used the same hardware cloth (we have tons of moles/voles too!) And put down cardboard then put in Kellogg's with black cow manure. We did find plastic, soft and hard, glass and some wire in it, and some had mold, I'm sorry to say, but not as much as some of the other ones I've bought. I like it better than the other organic mixes, it looks and feels nicer so far. It also seems to have more of the white vermiculite or perlite in it, which even my hubby noticed! I still have 3 more beds to fill this coming weekend, 😂, and it will be with Kellogg's! Just wanted to add plastic raised garden beds are an option for those in spots like we are, didn't mean to ramble on and on!
i love using the scraps from my woodworking as mulch, especially cedar! keeps some bugs away
I have gardened in a lot of raised beds of various types, over the years. Can't wait to hear your perspective! I am a foodie and home cook and having high quality herbs and produce is the reason I garden! Nothing better than your own home grown produce and herbs!
I grew carrots and potatoes in resin barrels from Home Depot. I drilled holes in the bottom for drainage. The resin barrels are light weight and not expensive. Carrots need fluffy dirt! They are prissy lil things and don't like hard dirt. The resin barrels I bought were about 14" tall and 17" across, as I recall.
that opening shot it just beautiful, you build a paradise
I’m Glad i Found your Channel Today! Thank You for sharing your knowledge and mentioning the word disabilities!! Gardening reaches across many diverse communities!! Such a Beautiful Property You Have. Happy Gardening Everyone🤗🤗🤗
Last fall I dug some drainage trenches around my back yard and ended up with several significant piles of dirt. I plan to add several more metal raised beds in the back garden by putting branches, yard and food waste (including ground eggshell), and add some of that soil to fill the voids in the bottom. Then I mix bagged garden soil, mushroom compost, and pete moss to fill it up the rest of the way. So far it has worked well for me. I just give the worms food at the bottom to draw them in and they work their way up to the top... but since I'm building these over existing beds, they don't need new zip codes.
I went completely overboard and made my beds 22” to 24” deep. When we moved in to our house, I found we were sitting atop a clay slab that roots can’t penetrate and turns to the consistency of concrete during our summers (Sacramento, CA). A benefit I’m finding is the deeper the bed, the less watering I have to do. I turn the drip system on maybe once every 1-2 weeks even during the hottest part of the summer.
I hear you. I grew up in the CA Bay area, but started gardening at age 15 in Sacramento after the company my dad worked for moved thir main office to Sacramento. After my dad retired we moved out to the Mojave (he grew up, out here) so a raised bed is mandatory. The Mojave is a gravel pit. 🤣 So I went from a clay slab under my beds, to a gravel pit under them. Digging holes out here is hell, a bucket and mattock is the only way to do it without heavy equipment.
Brian, your gardens are coming along nicely! Beautiful. An enormous amount of work. I can’t wait for your cottage garden to bloom and the rest to start producing! It looks like a lot of fun! I hope you can finish the brick laying project, even though it’s hard, boring work at this point. The whole thing is beautiful!
You and me both! Thank you!
I know we try to stay away from plastic but I have a small raised bed. Can I just cover it with small tarp or even a shower curtain to keep it over winter and from erosion
I plant Daikon Radish in the fall for cover. I leave the radishes in the ground, when they die off they leave behind nitrogen.
Great info. Measuring my calf for the path was something that was new to me. Thanks.
Good to hear ur take on the pressure treated wood. So many people just say tgat yes, it totally safe nowadays..... My intuition keeps on saying it might not be that safe 😮💨 we ve got so huge toxicity issues on the planet that any tiny bit that can be avoided is a win 😊
Omg everyone is a critic! Thank you for the information and taking the time to post this.
A couple great budget options not discussed here -
Building beds from concrete blocks/cinder blocks. They are made with concrete now, NOT fly ash, and they are safe. For me, using the skinny partition blocks was HALF the price of even the cheapest wood option for my beds. As wood prices slowly go down this may not be as big a difference, but last year when I was building it was a massive money saver.
Soil - no you don't want to use "garden soil" but you don't have to buy potting mix or other expensive options. Get potting soil (usually goes on sale for $2 a bag), a bale of peat, and some bags of midrange compost. Mix those three roughly evenly. The peat retains moisture but also keeps it light, the compost is good, and the soil is to bulk it out. I grew a massive and successful garden using this mix last year. And saved hundreds of dollars over buying 50+ bags of potting soil or raised bed mix, or ordering in a load of compost.
That is my plan. I injured my back with an on the job injury. Making raised beds at a height for my back. Will fill with a load of top soil and add my augmentation.
@Serenity Sealed I built 18 inch tall beds. Put pruned off tree branches at the bottom to take up a bunch of room and save on cost. Worked great.
@@MorbidSaintInfo my beds will be taller. Have a OJI back injury so a higher bed is better for me. No many trees here to trim and place into the bottom of the beds. To take up the space and add matter to decompose. I also can see that I will need to help guard against birds, squirrel, opossums, armadillos and raccoons. As well as a means to mitigate destruction from tropical systems. I have a plan.
Yeah, we moved back to the Mojave in 2019 and used concrete blocks. I was surprised that they were actually the cheapest option.
I put a bunch of trimmed shrubs at the bottom of mine too. I sm actually planting more shrubs, but not trees because I can, and love to prune shrubs, but not trees. Thankfully there was only two trees on our property when we moved here. Dwarf, and very thirsty, but one had white mildew so we just took them both out and planted shrubs in thier place. I have planted tons more shrubs, and still plan more. All water-wise.
That was a great refresher, I was about to make some mistakes! Thanks!
Once again great info. Good luck in your new home. Your gardens like fabulous! Happy gardening
Thank you for another great video! You've done a beautiful job in your landscaping/ garden. Can't wait for a midsummer garden tour!😊 Something you might consider trying if you've had grazon damage is to try planting sunflowers in that spot. I got in a conversation in the comment section of another channel I use with someone who said sunflowers will pull heavy metals from the soil. Could be a possibility sunflowers would pull that out too. There's plot of ground I'm going to try this. Anything to clean the soil.
You're better off removing the contaminated soil same as neonicotinoids.
I'm not convinced Gravson doesn't hurt the pollinators.
The soil where ai live in Alabama is red clay. There is little top soil, so I opted to use raised beds. I use Kellogs organic raised bed mix to fill them. and alternate topping them with the same, and black cow. Thus far, my experience has been very good. Soil compacting hasdn't been a problem, and weeds are very few. I probably spend less than two minutes on any given day weeding. For mulch, I use chopped up leaves that I collect in the fall. I have more leaves than I can use filling a compost bin, and a compost pile.
how do you collect the leaves? rake? vacuum ?
@@viper04af I mow over them with a lawn mower, and empty the collection bag into two trashcans, for later use in the garden after topping off my compost bin. The rest og the leaves around my garden are raked into a pile, and left to break down. I have a mix of Poplar, Oak, Maple, Pine, Hickory, Sweet Gum, and Dogwood trees around on my property, more leaves than I can use. I live in a heavily wooded area. What I don't use in my garden and compost bin, are mowed over, and allowed to breakdown, and replinish the nutrients in the ground. It saves me fom having to fertilize the grass.
@@jaytoney3007 Our leaf pile was threatening to take over our back yard. So last fall I built a "leaf tower" with a ring of 2x4" wire fencing, I think it's 4' high, lined with cardboard because our summers are so dry. I've got some plants in containers sitting on top now.
What about coco coir? Would that be okay?? I would like to use it on my veggie and herbs.
My parents used some recycled train track wood ties. It’s been 20 years and they are still working great and they get great yields every year.
excellent tips. I'm a complete and utter brown finger gardener. This gives me hope.
Something I used as a mulch when I lived in Northern California was “rice halls” from wineries. At the time it was free. Not sure what other wineries use elsewhere but the rice halls are used as a filter in the making of the wine. The rice halls are clean and free of any contaminants. Rice is grown in California,Texas and many other states. I also used the rice halls for padding the bottom of swimming pool liners. “Rice halls” good for the soil, cheap and breaks down slowly.
"hulls"
Your videos are awesome. Thank you : ) I love you're all organic.
I am in the process of putting hardware cloth on all my beds and raising my beds taller
Thanks. How much do you normally spend per raised bed like wood cost, soil , etc
Thank you, Brian!!! Planted some Crimson Clover on Saturday. I'm definitely going to try the pine shavings as mulch this year. Last year I bought a few bags of brown mulch from Walmart and the dye run off was awful! Looked like chocolate milk all over the place every time I watered or it rained. I won't make that mistake again!
I just built some raised beds. My question is, I know I have worms in my yard, but now I have 12" more of soil on top. Will the worm make it up to the raised beds, or should I add worms to the raised beds?
I got the perfect yard, I think, that ends at a lake. It came with 2 lemon trees, and i just started my first raised bed. 5 x 20. Ive been following you as well as a few others and im trying to transform my back yard, maybe a 1/4 of an acre, to one big garden. Id like vegetables and fruit, but Im definitely making some mistakes and have alot of growing pains. I realize, due to space, that turning an old 4ft high raised playhouse to a green house to help start my seeds. I just tried about 20 different fruits and veggies and planted what sprouted so we'll see what happens. Think I need some help! LoL
Plant ur fruit trees now so u have harvest in 3-5 yrs.
I'm not sure if this video is shot using two different cameras or if it's just the lighting but part of this video looks much crisper (4k possibly) but over exposed while other parts look more dull (1080i) but more accurate with colour.
Interesting. I built 2x12 walls 30 years ago, and they are still going strong. Obviously some wear and tear, but still viable! I did take them apart after 15 years and rebuild them, but still the same boards.
I am fixing to build some raised beds. Thanks for the tips!
We use something similar to gopher wire in a couple of raised beds that were in a rat travel corridor. It kept the rats from burrowing under them to use them as nesting boxes.
Great information! Especially about the space between boxes.. to be able to kneel comfortably-Thank you
This was excellent! I!would like 6 4x8 beds may may only get 3 or 4 due to cost. How do you feel about painting the wood? You should see the HUGE leaf pile with twigs I have waiting for the bottom if the beds.
This is some really good advice! You are the reason I have my raised beds and why they are doing so well!!
Thanks Mike!
I build 30-33 inch tall beds for my wife's veggie garden. I filled the bottom with free wood chips. That was a little over a year ago, and it's all pretty well decomposed now.