Raised garden bed question

[Sigarms]

What type of lumber are you using for your raised garden beds?

My wife only wants cedar, as that's what we have now, but we bought small boards (only like 1" in thickness) a couple of years ago, and they look like they are starting wearing out.

Was looking at going with 4x4 post of cedar, and dang it, for all the beds, I may have to put up with what we have for next spring because that's a boatload of money..

My line of thinking is there anyway to line pressure treated lumber so the interior wood "wall" doesn't come into contact with the soil? That could save me a boat load of money. I need to do some research, as I'm even wondering about using 26 gauge galvanized metal to line the beds if I go with pressure treated lumber. Will need to do some research, just wondering what everyone else does.

 

[fishdrivel]

What type of lumber are you using for your raised garden beds?

My wife only wants cedar, as that's what we have now, but we bought small boards (only like 1" in thickness) a couple of years ago, and they look like they are starting wearing out.

Was looking at going with 4x4 post of cedar, and dang it, for all the beds, I may have to put up with what we have for next spring because that's a boatload of money..

My line of thinking is there anyway to line pressure treated lumber so the interior wood "wall" doesn't come into contact with the soil? That could save me a boat load of money. I need to do some research, as I'm even wondering about using 26 gauge galvanized metal to line the beds if I go with pressure treated lumber. Will need to do some research, just wondering what everyone else does.

Heavy roofing paper works fine and it's cheap. The asphalt keeps the chemicals away from your soils and helps prevent wood decay also. I have used it many times on customer projects and my own.

 

[MossRoad]

Well, there used to be concerns with PT lumber leaching chemicals into the garden soil, so that might be a concern.

 

[beowulf]

I don't know how large or how many beds you are planning. What worked well for us (four 4 x 8 beds) is this:

8 x 8 x 16 concrete blocks staggered and stacked three high (two high would work) with caps
Metal lath in the bottom to keep the critters out.

We did not use any mortar - just stacked the blocks. We filled the blocks with dirt but did not use any rebar. They have served us well for over ten years, though one bed - with blackberries - is starting to push out and needs some attention.

It may be more expensive than lumber at the outset, but no rot or upkeep.

We ran bibs to one end or side of each bed, put down landscape fabric/weed barriers between the beds and mulch on top of that.

We once built beds with wood. We used 2 x 12 cedar pecky wood (because it was cheap) with 4 x 4 corners and braces. It did last a few years but eventually failed.

 

[arizona98tj]

I take the tractor out into the woods and cut poplar trees, about 8" across. I drill 1/2" holes in the logs and then use 24" or 36" long pieces of rebar so they stack on top of each other. Some landscape fabric is used to line the bed. The Mrs. sits on the top log while she gardens. Just did two beds this fall for the strawberry transplants. Can't beat the price. The first one I made 5 years ago is holding up just fine. I've no doubt it will eventually rot away and when it does, I'll just replace it with the same.

 

[Sigarms]

I take the tractor out into the woods and cut poplar trees, about 8" across. I drill 1/2" holes in the logs and then use 24" or 36" long pieces of rebar so they stack on top of each other. Some landscape fabric is used to line the bed. The Mrs. sits on the top log while she gardens. Just did two beds this fall for the strawberry transplants. Can't beat the price. The first one I made 5 years ago is holding up just fine. I've no doubt it will eventually rot away and when it does, I'll just replace it with the same.

I'd love to see a picture of that setup