Hügelkultur Raised Beds

[DuckLady]

I like the metal bed I used this year. When we had our handful of 100+ degree days, I checked the soil twice a day and watered as appropriate. The metal got warm, but the tomatoes loved it. I used plastic kiddie pools leftover from the ducks to grow cukes and squash. It worked pretty well. They dried out quickly, though.

I just ordered 4 beds of 2 different sizes on Amazon for less than $90. Much cheaper than spending my energy nagging um asking my hubby to help me build pallet beds.
I got 2 rectangular ones for onions and garlic and 2 round ones for cucumber and squash.
I’ll get one of the 6’x3’ beds assembled and filled this fall to plant garlic. The other 3 will wait til early spring.

 

[gtaus]

I agree the steel will last much longer than most other options.

I had assumed that would always be the case. But no sooner do I think I have an answer that I find evidence to the contrary. Last night I watched a YouTube video from a lady in Florida who lived along the coast. She showed how her metal raised bed had rusted out and failed in only 1 year. The salt and water in the air ate through the metal raised bed she had purchased only 1 year prior.

She then went into explaining that not all metal raised beds are made the same. She explained that she had found a different brand metal raised bed that had a rust inhibitor coating on the metal that was made more for her climate/location.

If anyone is interested in watching that YouTube video, I might be able to find it in my YouTube history and post a link.

FWIW, she also ruled out using wood because they had so many termites to deal with. Concrete blocks were ruled out because of both the cost, and she did not like the looks.

With all those challenges she has with raised beds where she lives, I think I would just make hügelkultur mound gardens and call it a day. But she was very happy with her new metal raised bed with that special rust inhibitor coating that was working for her. Just goes to show that where you live has a great impact on how you choose to garden in raised beds.

 

[gtaus]

I just ordered 4 beds of 2 different sizes on Amazon for less than $90. Much cheaper than spending my energy nagging um asking my hubby to help me build pallet beds.

I enjoy making raised beds out of pallet wood. It's kind of my hobby. But I can see how those metal raised bed kits or those wood kits with the slide down posts might be a better choice for lots of other people.

Obviously, all the money I save on building pallet wood raised beds would be offset by all the time and labor that goes into finding the pallets, breaking them down into useable lumber, and then actually building the raised bed.

There is definitely value in buying raised bed kits. Please post some pictures with a short review if/when you get the time. It's always good to hear feedback on products that I don't have.

 

[igorsMistress]

I had assumed that would always be the case. But no sooner do I think I have an answer that I find evidence to the contrary. Last night I watched a YouTube video from a lady in Florida who lived along the coast. She showed how her metal raised bed had rusted out and failed in only 1 year. The salt and water in the air ate through the metal raised bed she had purchased only 1 year prior.

She then went into explaining that not all metal raised beds are made the same. She explained that she had found a different brand metal raised bed that had a rust inhibitor coating on the metal that was made more for her climate/location.

If anyone is interested in watching that YouTube video, I might be able to find it in my YouTube history and post a link.

FWIW, she also ruled out using wood because they had so many termites to deal with. Concrete blocks were ruled out because of both the cost, and she did not like the looks.

With all those challenges she has with raised beds where she lives, I think I would just make hügelkultur mound gardens and call it a day. But she was very happy with her new metal raised bed with that special rust inhibitor coating that was working for her. Just goes to show that where you live has a great impact on how you choose to garden in raised beds.

Yep, but on the coast you’ve got salt in the air. Similarly, cars that have been driven on salted roads year after year often have rotted out fender wells. There are good quality beds out there, and I think quality can make a huge difference, but they aren’t the cheapest ones you find on Amazon most of the time.

Check out Michelle in the Meadow on YouTube. She lives in FL and tests metal beds for different vendors, primarily Birdies and VegoGarden. She also has a Greenstalk.

 

[Liz Birdlover]

I tried this once, had 3 raised beds with some logs under the soil. That 1st summer it was amazing but later on I found that rats had tunnels in all 3 of them, with tunnels leading under the ground over to my raspberries & pear trees. Has anyone ever had a rodent issue with raised beds & what did you do? I ended up dismantling mine.

 

[gtaus]

I tried this once, had 3 raised beds with some logs under the soil. That 1st summer it was amazing but later on I found that rats had tunnels in all 3 of them, with tunnels leading under the ground over to my raspberries & pear trees. Has anyone ever had a rodent issue with raised beds & what did you do? I ended up dismantling mine.

I have seen a number of people with rodent issues put hardware cloth on the bottom of the raised bed frame to prevent anything from digging into, and up, into the raised bed. That would be especially good against voles and the like. I don't know if it would keep out rats that could get into the raised bed from the top and make their tunnels down.

It's too bad you had to dismantle your raised beds, but I can understand wanting to get rid of those rats. I live on a lake, and I don't have the option of growing food in my sandy soil. It's just not good enough. Fortunately, I don't have a rat problem.

I have had hügelkultur style raised beds for about 10 years now and never had any rodent issues. Until this year. We had a really mild winter this past year, and this spring/summer I have seen an explosion of chipmunks in my yard. Some of them found harbor in a few of my raised beds and are digging tunnels.

I don't mind chipmunks, and they don't seem to be eating much, so it's not a real problem this year. I have filled in the tunnels and put a protective chicken wire cage on top of some of my raised beds. That has helped.

That mainly keeps out the larger squirrels and rabbits which are doing real damage to my food plants. Also, I have built some cages with wire tops to keep out deer. I took a real heavy loss with deer eating almost all my tomatoes in my raised beds this year. I will have to build some kind of trellis and cage system that protects my plants from deer before I plant anything next year. If not, it's just no use to plant anything without protection.

I was very happy with the production of my plants in my hügelkultur raised beds this year. The hügelkultur method and my chicken run compost are great. My plants were tall and strong, full of fruit. Then, one morning, I went outside and discovered that almost all my tomatoes and pepper plants had been devastated by deer.

I really like the raised beds and using the hügelkultur method, but next I have yet to work out a solution to protect all my plants. Again, for the past 10 years, I never had a problem. But this year I got hit hard by rabbits, squirrels, and deer taking most of my crops.

I am working on a few ideas in my mind, and once I get something built, I'll post my efforts. I have built simple cages to put on top of my raised beds before, and they do work, but they are a real pain to take on and off all the time to work the beds. So, I am considering other cage build designs with hinges and/or removable panels so I can get to my plants. It will have to be strong enough to keep out hungry deer.

Speaking of wild animals getting into stuff this year, we have recently had a black bear getting into my neighbors' garbage cans the past few weeks. That is concerning because nobody wants a bear around their house. I don't keep any garbage cans outside, so I have not attracted any bears to my house.

Not the actual picture of the bear in our neighborhood, but here is a Google picture of a black bear in garbage cans for illustration...

I don't think I could build a cage system around my plants to keep out a hungry bear, so I hope it never comes to that. If my neighbors get their act together and don't put garbage outside where a bear can get into it, I think the bear will move along to some other place.

I have been growing food in my gardens for about 25 years, and this was the first year I have ever had so much problem with losing my crop to rodents and deer. Again, some people are saying this might be a one-year problem because we had such a mild winter last year and our varmint population exploded.

 

[Molpet]

I have seen a number of people with rodent issues put hardware cloth on the bottom of the raised bed frame to prevent anything from digging into, and up, into the raised bed. That would be especially good against voles and the like. I don't know if it would keep out rats that could get into the raised bed from the top and make their tunnels down.

It's too bad you had to dismantle your raised beds, but I can understand wanting to get rid of those rats. I live on a lake, and I don't have the option of growing food in my sandy soil. It's just not good enough. Fortunately, I don't have a rat problem.

I have had hügelkultur style raised beds for about 10 years now and never had any rodent issues. Until this year. We had a really mild winter this past year, and this spring/summer I have seen an explosion of chipmunks in my yard. Some of them found harbor in a few of my raised beds and are digging tunnels.

View attachment 3937530

I don't mind chipmunks, and they don't seem to be eating much, so it's not a real problem this year. I have filled in the tunnels and put a protective chicken wire cage on top of some of my raised beds. That has helped.

That mainly keeps out the larger squirrels and rabbits which are doing real damage to my food plants. Also, I have built some cages with wire tops to keep out deer. I took a real heavy loss with deer eating almost all my tomatoes in my raised beds this year. I will have to build some kind of trellis and cage system that protects my plants from deer before I plant anything next year. If not, it's just no use to plant anything without protection.

I was very happy with the production of my plants in my hügelkultur raised beds this year. The hügelkultur method and my chicken run compost are great. My plants were tall and strong, full of fruit. Then, one morning, I went outside and discovered that almost all my tomatoes and pepper plants had been devastated by deer.

I really like the raised beds and using the hügelkultur method, but next I have yet to work out a solution to protect all my plants. Again, for the past 10 years, I never had a problem. But this year I got hit hard by rabbits, squirrels, and deer taking most of my crops.

I am working on a few ideas in my mind, and once I get something built, I'll post my efforts. I have built simple cages to put on top of my raised beds before, and they do work, but they are a real pain to take on and off all the time to work the beds. So, I am considering other cage build designs with hinges and/or removable panels so I can get to my plants. It will have to be strong enough to keep out hungry deer.

Speaking of wild animals getting into stuff this year, we have recently had a black bear getting into my neighbors' garbage cans the past few weeks. That is concerning because nobody wants a bear around their house. I don't keep any garbage cans outside, so I have not attracted any bears to my house.

Not the actual picture of the bear in our neighborhood, but here is a Google picture of a black bear in garbage cans for illustration...

View attachment 3937533

I don't think I could build a cage system around my plants to keep out a hungry bear, so I hope it never comes to that. If my neighbors get their act together and don't put garbage outside where a bear can get into it, I think the bear will move along to some other place.

I have been growing food in my gardens for about 25 years, and this was the first year I have ever had so much problem with losing my crop to rodents and deer. Again, some people are saying this might be a one-year problem because we had such a mild winter last year and our varmint population exploded.

Chippies carry off or chew up most of my tomatoes if I don't keep them under control. I catch them red handed sitting on top of a tomato chewing holes in them.
Deer eat my kale but they come up after the corn or beans across the road are harvested and snow is on the ground. So no tomato for them.
Neighbor nearby puts out corn for the wildlife. Have had a raccoon explosion. Over 125 I have removed since 2021.
They have a cabin in Wisconsin woods that they put food out for the bears deliberately. You can imagine what the neighbors up there are going through.

 

[Sally PB]

they put food out for the bears deliberately. You can imagine what the neighbors up there are going through.

WTH???

 

[Molpet]

WTH???

Yeah when I heard that from the neighbor in-between us that they thought it was funny that it upset the northern neighbors....
I figured there was no use talking to them about raccoons.
Stupidity that other people have to deal with the problems it causes.

 

[fuzzi]

Chippies carry off or chew up most of my tomatoes if I don't keep them under control. I catch them red handed sitting on top of a tomato chewing holes in them.
Deer eat my kale but they come up after the corn or beans across the road are harvested and snow is on the ground. So no tomato for them.
Neighbor nearby puts out corn for the wildlife. Have had a raccoon explosion. Over 125 I have removed since 2021.
They have a cabin in Wisconsin woods that they put food out for the bears deliberately. You can imagine what the neighbors up there are going through.

Not smart.