Building raised vegetable gardens

Forums › Home Workshop DIY › Building raised vegetable gardens - need tips & advice

dafman

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#277097 25-Sep-2020 13:20

We're looking at getting a couple of raised wooden vegetable gardens built, probably around 2 x 1m each, so looking for helpful tips and advice.

Treated vs untreated timber. Is treated but lined best or untreated? If untreated, what is expected lifespan before rot sets in?

What height works best for you?

Do you leave them open to the ground or build raised bottoms in? They are going into area where vege gardens used to be, but we had problems with ivy and weeds, so like the idea of bottoms to keep away from existing weeds.

Photos are great for ideas on design, size etc.

Basically, open to all and any ideas and comments. Thanks in advance.

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#2574215 25-Sep-2020 13:25

We used H4 as it was going to be on the ground, filled with ground.

We left ours open to the ground, but weeds do grow through unless you really do a good job of dealing with the soil it's going on first.

Second one we did, we put weed mat down under the soil we filled the box with.

Ours have lasted a good few years and occasionally we use them to actually grow veges/fruit in when we're not just cultivating clover/other weeds.

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pih

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#2574219 25-Sep-2020 13:28

Also interested to hear others experiences, as we've just bought a place with a few raised gardens and may put in one or two more

Gordy7

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#2574236 25-Sep-2020 13:45

I used these macrocarpa kitsets....

https://redpath.co.nz/home-and-garden/raised-garden-boxes-or-patio-trugs/box-only/

Quite expensive... wanted 600mm high boxes (2m x 1m) to save our backs...

Lined the lower 3 box layers with plastic to reduce water getting into timber...

Open to the ground.... Been in use since August 2017.... no sign of deterioration...

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thewabbit

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#2574241 25-Sep-2020 13:52

I've built one from macrocarpa using 100X200mm 'sleepers', two high so it sits 400mm. Treated the inside with a water based, paint on tar like product from Sika. didn't line the bottom with anything and haven't had any issue with weeds (other than what came from the soil/mulch/compost we filled it with)

wratterus

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#2574244 25-Sep-2020 13:56

We built some almost exactly like you are thinking of. Think they are 1mx2m or thereabouts. Went for the cheapest treated 6x2 we could find - think it's technically for retaining walls but worked great. Stake in each corner. Put poly around the edges to minimize any 'leakage' of the treatment into the garden soil. Doubt it would ever be an issue though.

Ran some cheap bunnings irrigation around the edges, putting a tap at each garden. Makes watering it very simple.

Got some merch decking to cap them just for looks really, but still haven't installed that years later haha. We just went straight on the ground - if we were going fully 'contained' you would want to go significantly higher.

jonathan18

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#2574258 25-Sep-2020 14:33

wratterus:

Ran some cheap bunnings irrigation around the edges, putting a tap at each garden. Makes watering it very simple.

@wratterus: can you pleaase post a photo of or links to the type of irrigation you used in the gardens? I'm assuming it's the poly tubes with the jets poking up, but any details you could provide would be great. We're about to put in a couple of small beds, and having some irrigation installed would make it easier than having to water by hand like we had to do (or, more accurately, didn't do!) with our current beds... Thanks!

Bung

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#2574319 25-Sep-2020 15:07

Even lining the bottom hasn't stopped 2 adjacent shrubs from sending roots onto the better soil in the gardens. I did a big root prune during winter.

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wratterus

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#2574322 25-Sep-2020 15:30

jonathan18:

wratterus:

Ran some cheap bunnings irrigation around the edges, putting a tap at each garden. Makes watering it very simple.

@wratterus: can you pleaase post a photo of or links to the type of irrigation you used in the gardens? I'm assuming it's the poly tubes with the jets poking up, but any details you could provide would be great. We're about to put in a couple of small beds, and having some irrigation installed would make it easier than having to water by hand like we had to do (or, more accurately, didn't do!) with our current beds... Thanks!

Can get some photos later if you still want but yep just the budget as poly stuff with the screw in jets. Costs frig all but works really well. I just buried the pipe in the lawn spade depth, and tee'd off for each garden, coming up under the wooden surround, and put the old 3l juice bottle with the top & bottom cut off in the corner with the tap in it so the gardens can be turned on or off one by one.

Very important to get an in line filter for this unless you want to spend 2 hours every year picking bits of crap out of all the jets haha.

https://www.bunnings.co.nz/holman-19mm-x-25m-black-poly-irrigation-tube_p3120622

https://www.bunnings.co.nz/pope-irrigation-ratchet-clamp-19mm_p0677770

https://www.bunnings.co.nz/pope-irrigation-inline-barbed-tap-19mm_p0301492

https://www.bunnings.co.nz/pope-tap-connection-kit_p0167574

https://www.bunnings.co.nz/pope-rigid-riser-with-adaptor-200mm_p0483775

https://www.bunnings.co.nz/pope-poly-irrigation-micro-1-4-circle-jetspray-10pk_p0633643

bfginger

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#2574406 25-Sep-2020 17:00

I wouldn't want treated timber. They put arsenic in CCA and it's not very healthy to have leaching into the vicinity of food production places..

Eva888

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#2574466 25-Sep-2020 19:16

@wratterus

Useful list thanks for the links. Am always hovering over the bits at Bunnings wondering what’s needed then decide to procrastinate.

Froglotion

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#2574509 25-Sep-2020 22:23

Another vote for avoiding treated timber, can only imagine the crap that will leach out into your vegetables. I built a 3x1.5m raised garden out of macro, 200x100 sleepers with a 150x50 top board. Irrigated with driptube made into a grid, and ran it off a cheap timer that I set to water before the sun came up. Meant no water on the plants, just straight into the ground. Couple of pics.

29th edit, who know posting a photo on geekzone required so much effort. You'll have to copy paste as it didn't like my images, even when uploaded to geekzone, then it made me do captcha, then it still denied my images haha, someone is having a laugh. Anyway, hopefully they help.

http://iforce.co.nz/i/3nsnw2h0.2ee.jpg
http://iforce.co.nz/i/0fyag1p2.yft.jpg

rogercruse

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#2574511 25-Sep-2020 22:39

Picture of my newly installed macrocarpa veg box next to my newly build shed. Photo taken at night.

Veg box supplied by a guy who makes them and sells them at the local market.

Shed purchased from Placemakers.

Waiting for slightly warmer weather before planting tomatoes, etc.

qwertee

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#2574836 27-Sep-2020 11:12

Just got someone to build me a raised bed.

We are using macrocarpa 200x50 and have stained the outside (coat no 1)
Bottom is open but lined with cardboard to kill the grass and supress any weeds.

Have opted not to put any liner on the sides or to treat it.

Now the fun part to fill it with soil and plant. Getting a soil mix from Garden makers called Supagrow vege

I would not use a treated timber for planting vegetable.

cheers

dt

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#2574846 27-Sep-2020 12:08

we used macrocarpa sleepers for our vege garden beds, roughly 5ish years old now and they are still rock solid.. bought from mitre10.. very heavy and pricey..

I removed the grassed patches below the beds and broke up the ground below it then back filled with more bags than I would have liked of soil mix.. we still get some weeds through but nothing to complain about.. gets me out into the garden for an 15-20 mins a day

Stay away from treated timber for vege beds, fine for flower beds however

pro tip, plant your veges strategically, make sure anything that grows tall (tomato plants etc) is planted furthest away from any low laying plants so they don't get blocked from the early morning sun !

Kiwifruta

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#2574890 27-Sep-2020 15:13

There is a great Facebook vege and edible gardening group that’ll be able to help.

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