Raised Garden Bed Build Info

Ive been using the galvanized steel beds for the sake of ease. No complaints with them

Perfectly fine and how I vegetable garden, but why are you thinking of sealing the inside with caulk?

I just replaced my boards This past spring, I think I got 6 or 7 years out of the old boards. I used 2 x 12 treated lumber, though you don’t have to go that high. 3 feet is a good width as you can reach the middle of the bed from either side without crawling into the bed.

Your next question might be what should you use as a planting mix. Something similar to this is what I use, but the bulk of the planting mix is what the retail garden centers call “garden soil or garden mix” which is composted forestry products with added sand to help with drainage.

I just picked up 24 treated 8' 2x8s to build 4 beds with. Going to support the corners with 11" angled steel supports that I picked up on Amazon. Looks like I'll be caulking the inside seams as well. Any other suggestions??

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grab a 4x4 or 4x6 and cut it up to make your inside corners,

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Thanks man! I'm going to see how stiff the steel supports make them before going this route. My yard is on a slight slope so I'm still figuring out how to level them. 4x4s might be the way to go.

I built my first one out of cinder blocks. The next one will be this one.

LINK

Add another 2x12, or better yet, 2. That image is not deep enough for root structure for vegetables in the summer heat down here. And it'll save your back and knees.

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I built my first one out of cinder blocks

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Did you not like the cinder blocks? I would think they would be easy to use and have longevity

My treated wood ones lasted 2-3 years. Rebuilt a few years back with metal. Much better. They are open bottom and i used steel banding to keep the bottoms from bowing out with the weight of the soil.

I have done grow bags, raised beds, pots, etc. etc. I moved back into the ground this year and it is so much easier. Yeah, the ground is farther away from me than a raised bed or grow bag but it holds moisture better and honestly is cheaper. I basically square foot garden directly in the ground. At first my dirt was hard but now I can stick my broad fork down completely into the ground with pretty much just gravity.

I did amend the ground with peat moss to improve moisture retention and compost, but just growing the plants in that space and not stepping on it after has really loosened up my soil.

I did install edging to keep runners out, but it is at grass height, its not proud of the ground. I just ran my edger around the garden and slid in the metal edging and my mower can go over it. It really is more for pennywort than the grass, but it does make it easier to get the grass runners too.

I don't know yet. My neighbors have them and said they work great.