What did you do in the garden today?

[gtaus]

I think your beds are very nice. They look like they are going to last for a long time. I haven't found anyone around my area that gives pallets away. Thank you for the help.

I found a number of businesses that put out free pallets. Saves them money from paying to have them hauled off to the landfill and disposal fees on top of that. Anyways, the build is not specific to pallet wood per se. You could use salvaged wood, or new wood, to make the same design.

Over the years, I have tried a few different raised bed designs, and this pallet wood raised bed v 2.0 is my latest build with benefits of a stronger build and easier to put together. I don't expect free pallet wood will last forever, but the design makes it very easy to maintain and replace any boards that might rot out. Or, considering it costs me less than $2.00 for the screws and nails, I will just build a new one if/when the old raised bed needs to be replaced.

I have seen smaller, less sturdy, raised bed kits at the big box stores for over $100. I'm sure they are perfect for some people, but I enjoy building my own raised beds for $2.00.

Plus, I have to show Dear Wife that I'm still useful for something...

 

[pennyJo1960]

The tires I use just change what is planted where each year.

 

[gtaus]

Thank you!

We tried cement blocks, ugly and a PITA. I decided on metal, wood and plastic deteriorate really quickly here.

Location matters, for sure. My oldest wooden raised beds are over 5 years old and holding strong. So, wood is my go-to material for a raised bed. Plus, I like the looks of wood over metal or plastic out in the yard. I am not a fan of the looks of cement blocks for a raised bed, either. But I have seen some YouTube videos of cement block raised beds and they looked fine. They probably would last a very long time. Painted metal looks fine, but I would not like to look out at some rusty old panels in the backyard.

I built a few galvanized metal raised beds about 3 years ago when lumber prices went through the roof, and they are nice, but I still preferred the all wood look. Then I got into free pallet wood projects and that has been my choice for the past few years.

I know some people really like those metal raised bed kits. They will probably last a lifetime. That's a big advantage. But at my age, my pallet wood raised beds might last longer than me, or at least longer than I might still be gardening.

As to the aesthetics of different materials, I have seen some people cover plastic containers with burlap sacks to give them a more natural look out in the yard, or building a wooden facade around plastic or metal containers. That would work for cement blocks as well. If the wood does not have direct contact with the soil, it should last a lot longer before it rots out.

I have an old white freezer out in the garage that does not work. Dear Wife got a bigger, better, freezer to replace it. If I can't get the old freezer fixed, I have thought about converting it into a sub-irrigated raised bed for out in the backyard garden. But, I would certainly build a pallet wood wooden facade around the white freezer so it would blend in with all my other raised beds. Not that the plants would care, but I don't see Dear Wife approving of her old white freezer sitting out in the backyard without a facelift.

 

[igorsMistress]

We have the same issue sorta. I won't do wood beds again. Even my galvanized beds are rusting out. I've had them 3 years I think. They still have a few good years left, but they aren't as permanent as I would have hoped. It's just always wet here, nothing lasts long enough for me when I consider the prices.

I thought about cinder blocks but DH didn't like the idea.

The Greenstalks have a 5 year warranty & they'll last much longer than that here, but they just aren't big enough to do anything vining - squash, tomatoes, cukes, etc IMO. I'm doing greens, strawberries, peppers & onions in them so that takes away all my rotted wooden raised beds for good.

I’ve thought about putting a green stalk in the shade garden but haven’t taken the leap yet.

I got my beds from VegoGarden and I watch this gal on YouTube that has them in a similar planting zone and hers haven’t begun to rust even after a few years. I’m hoping that bodes well for us!

 

[Sally PB]

This discussion of raised beds and the materials they're made from really shows how many different climates we have here!

 

[Sally PB]

I brought home 4 redbud seedlings from FIL's house in Charlotte, NC. I also brought home 6 tiny seedlings of loblolly pine. Those are not native to Michigan, but google said they could handle -2 to -9 degrees F. So I'm going to give them a chance.

 

[WthrLady]

This discussion of raised beds and the materials they're made from really shows how many different climates we have here!

Raised beds are a death sentence to things here, at least if they do not have constant, quality irrigation. Our soil and climate is brutal.

 

[jawilliams509]

How do you butcher a turkey that size?! I already have trouble processing a 6 pound rooster

It was the same process as the chickens, but my husband had to carry it, dunk it, & flip it over for me. We bought a clean, used keg from a brewery to scald them because our turkey fryer pot wasn't big enough. We had no idea they would get so big! We were thinking maybe 20lbs for him. We were wayyy off lol.

 

[FrannyNZooey]

I found a number of businesses that put out free pallets. Saves them money from paying to have them hauled off to the landfill and disposal fees on top of that. Anyways, the build is not specific to pallet wood per se. You could use salvaged wood, or new wood, to make the same design.

Over the years, I have tried a few different raised bed designs, and this pallet wood raised bed v 2.0 is my latest build with benefits of a stronger build and easier to put together. I don't expect free pallet wood will last forever, but the design makes it very easy to maintain and replace any boards that might rot out. Or, considering it costs me less than $2.00 for the screws and nails, I will just build a new one if/when the old raised bed needs to be replaced.

I have seen smaller, less sturdy, raised bed kits at the big box stores for over $100. I'm sure they are perfect for some people, but I enjoy building my own raised beds for $2.00.

Plus, I have to show Dear Wife that I'm still useful for something...

I think your pallet beds are really cute! Our 4x4s are cedar kits from HD. We got them the following spring after we moved into this house, spring 2020. Greened Fences brand I believe. So far they’ve held up ok. There’s a little bit of warping so they’re not fully flush which is kind of annoying. I did notice earlier this spring that one of the panels is starting to breakdown. I suspect I could probably get another two years out of them, but they’re going to have to be replaced. I don’t think I’ll get another kit, probably just build our own out of thicker wood. DH built a few this year, as well as our compost bins. It’ll be a pain, but less of a pain compared to moving the beds and soil! Yeah, we did that early spring 2023 when building the chicken coop. Never want to do that again.

 

[Sally PB]

My raised beds are just mounded dirt. I bolstered the sides with rocks. Those are in endless supply here, free for the taking.

The dirt settles, the beds get lower and wider. The rocks sink into the side. Then we had 5" of rain in about 2 hours last April and had some serious washing.

I took some of the metal pieces of roofing we reclaimed from the old farmhouse and did this on one side of 3 beds:

Yeah, ok, it bends in the middle.

That's the side where the water came rushing down and washed out the ends of 3 of the beds.