r/Raisedbed

Was trying to do the right thing and repurpose wood but now I’m concerned the wood isn’t safe for a raised bed.

Well, I wasn't totally pleased with other gardening software out there and I am a bit of a perfectionist, I want to see how things will look before I build them, so I created a garden builder.
Then I wanted to keep track of my harvests so I added a journal so it adds up what I collect automatically.
I don't even know how it happened but I ended up adding a ton of features and now I'm releasing it.

By all means, test it out and tell me if you like it!

https://meetwillow.app

Building a series of raised beds for a new garden using 2x12 rough cut heart redwood. I treat with tung oil in a sprayer diluted with mineral spirits, use 4” deck screws at the corners plus titebond 3 glue, hardware cloth bottoms and raise off the ground with river rock. I fill the space underneath and half bed depth with mulch/loam mix and top with organic bedding soil. The bed in the photos is 3’x11’.

The wife and I are looking for ways to create raised beds, with minimizing the cost. We have a Cedar hot tub that we no longer use and could create two raised beds after cutting it in half, vertically.

My biggest concern are the chemicals that have seeped into the fibers of the wood, and the possibility of those chemicals leeching out into the garden soil we plant in.

The exterior of the tub was treated with a finish, which should not be used in contact with the soil.

I do have a planer and could trim off a little of the thickness of each board, to remove the wood with chemicals and/or the exterior finish. On this note, this means that I could plane off the exterior finish and then put that surface on the inside of the raised bed.

What do you all think on this topic? Good idea? Bad idea?

We’re not interested in selling the tub and using that money for a raised bed, something we’ve already considered.

Are there any pro’s or con’s that i should be aware of with a stone raised bed ?

Wife has been asking for a side yard garden for a while - finally got around to it. We have grown in this area before just not in raised beds. edited for autocorrect

My boss wants garden beds made from leftover synthetic wood they used to build a deck. Is this safe for raised beds? I’m worried that, over time any chemicals from the synth-wood could leach into the soil

Wife has been asking for a side yard garden for a while - finally got around to it. We have grown up n this area before just not in raised beds.

Hi all! Colorado lawn haver/gardner here. I have a lawn adjacent/garden adjacent question here.

I am looking to expand my garden with raised garden beds on the gravel (pictured above). My challenge is that the patch of grass in the background of the photo is Bermuda grass and grows under the concrete barrier and comes up from under the gravel. That makes direct to ground cedar raised beds difficult. I’m also worried about water.

My plan is to remove the rock, dig up the rhizomes, hammer/place a 12 in metal barrier between the lawn and the dirt, and then place either plastic or fabric before adding the gravel back. The gravel is only 1/2-3/4 in thick.

Here are the options I’ve come up with to battle the Bermuda grass. Do you have a recommendation of which one I should do, or is there something else I haven’t thought of?

1. Cedar Garden Bed Planters on Legs: Small boxes than I’d like, but they’re raised and don’t touch the ground. Would need like twice as many. Unsure if everything I’d like to plant would be plantable in those. Would use landscaper fabric here.

2. Raised Cedar Garden Box Directly on Ground: Would need to place heavy duty (polypropylene plastic) under garden bed and rock to stunt (but likely not 100% prevent) Bermuda grass growth. Could cause water log and fungal infection without proper drainage.

3. Elevated Platform Garden Box; Custom build raised bed box with a cedar platform bottom with holes drilled for drainage onto gravel below. Could use fabric or plastic here.

I would love to use Ollas in these beds because they are East-West Full sun (Photographer is facing due west in photo). So no direct watering of beds (and thusly accidentally watering grass).

Note: The previous owner used chemicals to keep the Bermuda grass at bay, but I am committed to keep a low chemical garden (also I have a dog who likes to munch on things).

Thoughts?

I'm a beginner gardener. I started with a few herbs, next season I grew a jalapeno plant in a container, and this season I want to take advantage of this raised bed left by the previous owners of the house. I'm looking for some advice on how to get this thing set up to grow some vegetables/fruits. I'd love to have cherry tomatoes, jalapeno and banana peppers, strawberries, maybe something else. The dirt in there not hasn't been touched in years, except for my dog who likes to dig. Everything is packed down and it grows a ton of weeds when the weather warms up. What do I need to do to get this thing ready to plant in a few weeks. Im located in northeast US, tri state area.