Even before lumber prices skyrocketed, materials for galvanized beds were cheaper here. I made one without cutting it, 26" high I think, and it's wonderful. Too high for the critters to jump in and dig for grubs, and easier for me to pick from.
Just started making some more new galvanized metal raised beds today. I got the corner 4X4 posts and 2X4 frames cut for the beds. I cut my galvanized metal in half height, about 13 inches, and screw them into frames that are 16 inches tall. I am just using scrap lumber I have left over from years of project builds and deconstruction. I found enough scrap wood today to make two 4X4 foot metal sided raised beds 16 inches high.
I was considering making my new beds 26 inches high, so I would not have to cut the galvanized metal half height, but I am really happy with the 16 inch tall beds I made earlier this spring. These will be matching sets. But since I will be making hügelkultur raised beds, I could have easily made them 26 inches tall to take advantage of the taller beds. Having said that, I do have some 24 inch tall hügelkultur raised beds out in the main garden. The extra height is surely an advantage if you don't want to bend over to work in the bed. However, the 16 inch tall raised beds are almost as good in terms of not having to bend over very much.
As I was cutting the scrap wood, all aged, some of the lumber had nail holes in them from deconstruction projects, no two boards look alike, ... I was thinking that maybe I should just buy some new boards for the project. But then I thought recycling/upcycling my old lumber is more in line with my current philosophy of living. In some ways, I get more enjoyment out of looking at my recycled wood on those new raised beds than if I had bought new lumber and everything looked maybe "prettier."
My niece and her child were visiting us this past weekend. She liked my new metal panel raised beds and got a kick out of the fact that I had built them all out of recycled lumber. Only the metal panels and screws were new. More importantly, her 3 year daughter got to pick fresh green beans from the raised beds and take home a baggie full of good stuff to eat. She was all excited. Maybe a future gardener?
Also, we had waffles and eggs for breakfast. So the little 3 year old went out to the chicken coop and run and she thanked my chickens for the good eggs we ate. That was cute....
I'm going to be going down to stay with him for a few hours a couple of days this week, so his wife can go back to work. I asked if he'd like to play Trivial Pursuit, and maybe I could extend my winning streak.* His wife said, yeah, but he might fall asleep in the middle of the game.
