Negative Considerations in Cinder Blocks for Raised Beds
I am a big fan of making raised beds for gardening. As I get older, it is so much easier for me to not have to bend over all the way to ground level to maintain my gardens. All my current raised beds are 16 inches tall for that reason.
Also, my native soil was too sandy (I live on a lake) so I never had great success growing in-ground. I only started have great results when I built raised beds and filled them with a high quality topsoil and compost.
Then I got into the hügelkultur method of raised beds and that has almost drought proofed my gardens due to the large water holding capacity of the logs I use in the bottom of my hügelkultur raised beds.
There are many materials that can be used to build raised beds. There are advantages and disadvantages to the various materials and I won't pretend to tell you what the best material is for you where you live.
Having said that, I just came across a YouTube video explaining a number of reasons why cinder blocks might be a poor choice for building your raised beds. This guy goes through a number of points to consider why you would to choose other options for building a raised bed, and not cinder blocks. If you watch the whole video, you might learn some information that will help you decided on what materials you would use if you plan on making a raised bed...
I would like to point out the cost of cinder blocks versus other material. He mentioned that a 4X4 foot raised bed of cinder blocks would cost him $30.00. For another $2.00, he could build a 4X8 foot raised bed out of untreated white pine at $32.00. A metal raised bed, 4X8 foot, he says costs about $150.00 to $180.00. I think I have seen less expensive metal kits, but metal is going to cost more than wood.
As far as cost, my preferred raised bed is using pallet wood to make 4X4 beds, 16 inches high, and my cost is FREE. If I double that to make a 4X8 foot bed, the cost is FREE. Obviously, I have to spend time and labor building my raised beds out of pallet wood, but that's my hobby and I enjoy it.
Picture of one of my 16 inch high 4X4 foot pallet wood raised beds...
One point that I thought was really good in the YouTube video is how long the raised beds made of different material are expected to last. He stated that his untreated pine is lasting him 5-7 years. I suspect that is about the life of my pallet wood raised beds as well. A much more expensive cedar raised bed would last 10-20 years. A metal bed is expected to last 25-30 years. However, a cinder block raised bed, here in the north country where we get snow in the winter, might start freezing and cracking that first winter.
That last point is something I have never really thought much about. I live in northern Minnesota, and have never used cinder blocks because I just knew that they are prone to crack in the winter. Wood was always the better option for me.
Funny how you know something without ever really thinking about it? I suppose people living in the southern states have a much different experience.
Well, I enjoyed that video about cinder blocks and it reinforced my choice for using pallet wood to make my raised beds. Even if I only get 3-5 years use out of my pallet wood raised beds, at my age, that's long enough. And if I have to eventually replace them, the pallet wood is free.
The more ways I find out how to live with nature, the easier my life gets. I'm too old, and too tired, to be fighting all the battles against nature and have learned how to modify my approach to more natural methods which end up working better for me.
When I was much younger, I used to dump chemical fertilizers on my gardens, then I bought bagged compost and that was a big step forward for me at the time. I went from full on tilling the garden soil, about 10 inches deep, twice a year to now only cultivating the top few inches where I plant my seeds, or transplant a starter. I got some chickens for my backyard and now make my own chicken run compost instead of buying bags at the big box store. Nothing organic leaves my property, whereas in years past we would haul our "junk" wood and leaves to the landfill. Now, I consider it a valuable resource for chicken coop bedding, run litter, mulch, and composting. Every little step I make towards a more natural approach seems to have worked out well for me, on my small gardens, on my property.
