Raised beds

Mustang Jon

Mustang Jon

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We just built these raised garden beds and need to fill them with dirt. We were talking of putting some bails of straw in the bottom to take up some space so it doesn’t take so much topsoil. Will the straw decaying generate too much heat and cause a problem or do you think it will be alright? The bed is in the shape of a capital E and is 26 inches tall. The three legs are 9 feet long by 3 feet wide and the long back side is 15 feet long by 3 foot wide. EB8BBC19-97C3-4FEE-8EB0-44D59207661C.jpegA6238EB6-7403-4C10-A012-1D30C6745B7F.jpeg7F421D9A-1332-44C4-A42D-4E70720B91A5.jpeg
 
I would also like to know about the straw. That is an excellent question
 
I think by the time it actually starts to decay. It'll be late fall. Now next year it will probably be an issue.
 
I saw something recently where they filled the bottom with chunks of wood, fire wood size, and cardboard. It would decay and add to the beds while not taking so much soil to fill it originally.

If I used straw, I would probably break the bales apart and maybe stack the flakes up about half of the depth. Make sure that it is clean so that you are not introducing weed seeds.

You will need to kill all the grass underneath otherwise, it will eventually make its way to the top. I would spray it good with Roundup.

It looks like regular white lumber that it is framed with. It will not last long when it is in contact with the ground. Would be a shame if it rotted apart in a couple of years.
 
Put a couple layers of weed matt or a lot of news paper in the bottom. I wouldn't put straw in it since you might get a lot of seeds that you don't want. You can throw purty much anything you want in the bottom. Cheap mulch would be good. Those things will settle probably 4-6" this year and you'll need to supplement next year.

www.backyarddigs.com

How To Fill A Raised Garden Bed - BackyardDigs

Learn how to fill a raised garden bed without breaking your back, what materials to use and how much of each material will work best for your raised garden bed.
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Straw works but spread it out in layers less chance of cooking your plants and its fills up the bed the same. See if your local city or county sells yard debris mulch. Mine does screened and unscreened get screened unless you want to pick through trash and rocks. Went raised beds several years back and never looked back.
 
Cardboard in the bottom, check with your local landfill about composted dirt. The one here sells it for $20 a ton. If you have a way to haul it that would be the cheapest way to fill them
 
I have gone exclusively to raised beds.

Do not use screened topsoil. It’s rarely screened.

Do not buy bulk soil. Unless it’s to partially fill the bottom.

The worst mistake we made was trying to use topsoil. Build your own soil, at least the top 8-10”, with manure, good compost, Spanish moss or coconut coir, and raised bed or potting soil. Easier to work. Plants do better. Less garbage. Less frustration.

You spent good money on the box. Don’t think you can cheap the soil.
 
chiefjason said:
I have gone exclusively to raised beds.
Do not use screened topsoil. It’s rarely screened.
Do not buy bulk soil. Unless it’s to partially fill the bottom.
The worst mistake we made was trying to use topsoil. Build your own soil, at least the top 8-10”, with manure, good compost, Spanish moss or coconut coir, and raised bed or potting soil. Easier to work. Plants do better. Less garbage. Less frustration.

You spent good money on the box. Don’t think you can cheap the soil.
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^^^^^^^^^^^^
This
 
Make sure it can drain. Newspaper or cardboard might create a drainage issue.

I had similar raised beds when I lived in KY and I loved 'em.
 
Just made a couple for the wife. I I gave her straw bales that set out in the weather for over a year to fill the bottom. Straw is fine but not in the tied up bale. Break it up. No mulch for me. Anywhere, ever.
 
LeeMajors said:
I think by the time it actually starts to decay. It'll be late fall. Now next year it will probably be an issue.
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Mustang Jon said:
We just built these raised garden beds and need to fill them with dirt. We were talking of putting some bails of straw in the bottom to take up some space so it doesn’t take so much topsoil. Will the straw decaying generate too much heat and cause a problem or do you think it will be alright? The bed is in the shape of a capital E and is 26 inches tall. The three legs are 9 feet long by 3 feet wide and the long back side is 15 feet long by 3 foot wide. View attachment 466120View attachment 466121View attachment 466122
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👍 well done..
 
Are you planning to seal the wood? I'm afraid it might not last long as is in the weather.
 
Mustang Jon said:
Will the straw decaying generate too much heat and cause a problem or do you think it will be alright?
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I don't think there is any danger from heat... but seeds might be a problem. You'll find out in July.

I'm getting close to finishing our new hoop house with raised beds. It's an 8.5' wall 25 ft long on the north side... the hoops start on top of that wall and curve down to the ground 16' away to the south. Our beds are stair stepped, so we don't have to spend much time on our knees in the garden... one bed 3' high x3'x25' across the back wall on the north, two 18" high x4'x7' in the middle, and one flower bed 8" high x3'x25" across the front where the hoops reach the ground.

You only need cardboard on the bottom if the bed is shallow enough that weeds can grow up through it.

I agree with @chiefjason, don't think you should use any topsoil at all... we have several piles of wood chips about 2 years old that will fill our raised beds. When we plant, we'll dig a small hole and fill it with potting soil along with the new plant or seed. That way, you slowly add potting soil to the top. The wood chip mulch is rich with organics, worms, an' such.

In winter, mulched leaves are fantastic on top of the beds. The next spring, they will make a great top layer when you plant.

Later this summer, I will add Earth Tubes, so that the hoop house will have Direct GeoThermal Air heating in the winter.
 
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Landscape fabric underneath to keep weeds etc out. Fill the bottom third with branches/leaves etc. Let it compost in place. If you use straw break the bales up and scatter it in. Depending on what you plan to plant effects depth of soil you need; put topsoil and then we finish off the top few inches with composted soil with worm castings.
 
MacEntyre said:
I agree with @chiefjason, don't think you should use any topsoil at all... we have several piles of wood chips about 2 years old that will fill our raised beds. When we plant, we'll dig a small hole and fill it with potting soil along with the new plant or seed. That way, you slowly add potting soil to the top. The wood chip mulch is rich with organics, worms, an' such.
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We found that using wood chip / chunk mulch also GREATLY cut down on the amount of watering needed. Money and time well spent.
 
Check if you have a local 4H or county ag center...ours gives out all of the waste pine shavings, compost, etc. Ours gives it out for free

It wont be usable right away depending on the condition and pine isn't for everything. I have read recently that pine doesnt actually acidify the soil that much as it breaka down slowly...we use it regularly from our goats and have not noticed any issues.
 
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I built three which look almost identical to the one's pictured. Fortunately I have a woodlot next to the house so I filled them half way full of limbs and logs that were already in various stages of decay. I stacked the logs and filled the spaces with smaller branches and limbs. I then filled the remainder with the cheapest dirt I could find at the box stores and mixed it with a few bags of cow manure. After a year or two as the wood decayed and settled I added a few more bags that I found on sale (usually in the fall). I also asked the garden center folks if they would give me a break on any ripped bags. You can save a lot and just have to be a bit careful with them. I plan on adding a new box every year as my wife has turned one into a permanent butterfly/hummingbird garden and the other is filled with herbs (both perennial and annual). So right now we have one box devoted to vegetables and last year we ate veggies in self defense and had to give some away. Our boxes measure 4' X 2' X 8' or 32 square feet of surface area. You can grow one plant per square foot which is a lot of plants! I added a trestle recently for climbers such as tomatoes and squash. And since they are two feet high we have very little weed problems. I left enough space between them for mowing. The only issue are fire ants so I sprinkle some straight Sevin around the base of the boxes as needed.
 
Anything that can decay/compost on bottom, then good soil to fill. We use a mixture of bagged garden soil and our own composted soil.

I would also add some sort of netting or fencing; otherwise, you have a very fine looking buffet for deer and other critters.
 
noway2 said:
We found that using wood chip / chunk mulch also GREATLY cut down on the amount of watering needed. Money and time well spent.
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it does, indeed... also, wood chips are good on top of the soil the plants grow in, to reduce evaporation and keep the soil cool.
 
Forgot the wood chips... we put those on top of the logs etc. Have a couple of truckloads that have been sitting for a couple of years.
 
I'm working on that now. Using concrete to make the raises bed panels. They're 36x18x2.5. I made two forms, it takes three 60lb bags to fill both. Demolded the first two today, 6 more to go. I loosely followed a video I found on the college of youtube. His required completely disassembling the forms when demolding. I just flip them upside down, support the edges on bricks, put down wood strips for the concrete to land on, and just tap it out. There are holes running thru the "ears" so I can drive rebar through them to secure them in place. There's rebar running thru them in the pics - I was making sure the holes line up.

There's also "rabbit wire" embedded inside to help keep it together if it cracks.

Looking at these pics I realize I made a mistake. The thickness is 2.5", the ears are 3". I'll have a little overhang when I turn a corner. Screw it. I'm not making new forms.

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