Raised Beds for the D.I.Y Challenged.

**Winnie** · 03-10-2010, 04:57 PM

I came to the sad realisation that my raised beds had had their day. Now don't get me wrong, I can do BASIC D.I.Y but the reason the raised beds haven't lasted is my skills(or lack thereof) and poor materials.
So, having given myself heart failure at the cost of timber I contacted a local pallet company in the hope he had a few spare that I could buy cheaply and make the new raised beds. Anyway the upshot of that conversation was that although he had some, he also has what are called pallet collars. For those of you looking for a cheap way of having raised beds these are perfect.

http://www.whirlowdale.com/Pallet-Collars.aspx

They're much cheaper than buying timber and are ready to go!

**crashdive123** · 03-10-2010, 05:00 PM

Nice idea. Ah - spring planting.

**Winnie** · 03-10-2010, 05:09 PM

Yup! Brother-in -law is picking them up next weekend, all I have to do is brush some veg friendly wood preservative on them, fill up and I'm good to go!

**hunter63** · 03-10-2010, 06:50 PM

Cool idea, I have used pallet boards in the past, never gave them a thought.

My garden is melting and muddy, bad for the dogs feet, and bad for me, as the wrath of mom, comes down on all of us.
I actually re-mulched the mud with my bagged up leaves today, and saw a robin.

**Rick** · 03-10-2010, 08:18 PM

I've never seen those. I like the idea, though. Nice going, Winnie. I love out of the box ...er....uh.....raised bed thinking!!!

**your_comforting_company** · 03-10-2010, 08:43 PM

Excellent Winnie! I'll try to find some of these for my coop. Chicks and feed should be on sale in a week or two here. usually you can get half a dozen chicks free with purchase of a bag of feed.
Thanks for posting this good idea!

**hunter63** · 03-10-2010, 08:59 PM

Originally Posted by your_comforting_company

Excellent Winnie! I'll try to find some of these for my coop. Chicks and feed should be on sale in a week or two here. usually you can get half a dozen chicks free with purchase of a bag of feed.
Thanks for posting this good idea!

Now that is a promotion. LOL, LOL

What come first the chicken or the egg?
No, the feed, silly.........OMG, I kill myself.

Could use those chicks for Musky bait, maybe?

**hybrid** · 03-12-2010, 08:37 AM

very fast and simple raised beds can be made from salvaged polystyrene produce boxes. Pick up as many as you can (fruitshops etc usually have them for free), put a dozen holes thru the bottom and a few along the lower edge of the sides with a screwdriver or similar, fill with potting mix (I use a coco coir heavy blend, magic stuff) after arranging how you want. not strictly organic but very good recycling. Can tuck them in along fencelines, under stairs, or arranged in a block pattern.

Excellent drainage, you can use the Square Foot method with the system and it's pretty simple to run a basic irrigation line around above the boxes. I have found 8 boxes make a nice compact setup. I found the ones standing around 30cm square on the end and two feet long ideal. You can also set them up on an old table or bed base if you have back or mobility issues (and maybe someone to lend a helping hand).

Old insect mesh or shade cloth laid in the bottom and run a few inches up the sides, inside the boxes helps prevent ants entering and mix escaping.

Most small to medium garden crops can be grown with these and because each box is around two square feet, you can grow dry and lean, and wet and hungry crops at the same time without worrying about drowning one or starving another from them all having to share the one bed.

Also means any pest or disease outbreaks can be countered by removal and treatment of ONE box at a time (slide them onto an old feed bag and you can drag them, if lifting is an issue), and they styrene provides a good buffer against extremes of heat or cold.