When it comes to the lack of gardening spaces, building your raised garden beds is among the most convenient solutions you can choose. Some use treated lumber, others use hardwood, and some build a concrete block raised garden bed.
Raised gardens are popular among gardeners with limited gardening space because these are cost-efficient, require less work, and enable gardeners to grow a variety of crops. Building a concrete or cinder block raised bed is almost cost-efficient as you can reuse concrete blocks if you already have them.
raised garden bed concrete blocks – have other gardeners tried It?
Making a raised garden bed with concrete blocks is not new. There are a lot of gardeners who have tried it and loved it since it also has its advantages over common or traditional raised beds.
It can be installed easily and can be done in an entire afternoon. Also, the hollow spaces in these blocks can be used as additional planters. These give you more space to plant more seeds or when growing seedlings before transplanting.
The use of concrete blocks for raised beds gives you the advantage of adjusting the height easily since you can move the blocks now and then. Also, you won’t have to worry about rotting issues after a few years with a concrete block raised bed.
why you should consider building a concrete block raised bed vegetable garden
There are several reasons why you should consider using a cement block in building your raised vegetable garden bed. These reasons include:
- Concrete or cinder blocks can be salvaged easily behind barns, from vacant lots, or other places.
- You get a nice and wide platform where you can sit on when planting, weeding, or watering.
- No need to screw or drill corners as you can simply drop them in place.
- Easily adaptable when forming screen plants, hoop houses, etc.
Building concrete raised beds has the advantages that will make it worth trying as you try to build your garden beds by reusing materials.
how to make a raised garden bed with concrete blocks?
It is pretty easy to create a raised bed with these blocks. However, there are a couple of important things that you should keep in mind as you build one.
- The first thing that you should decide, is the location of your block beds. Make sure you choose a place where your plants can get plenty of sunlight.
- You’ll have to check on how many raised beds your limited space can accommodate. If you are just starting and have limited space, you can start with one bed first for you to familiarize how to tend to your garden.
- Figure out the garden design you want for your bed. Learn more about concrete block garden design here.
- The number of blocks you need for the bed. Most blocks are about a foot long, which makes it easy to do the math in getting the number of blocks you need. Also, this allows an easy division of squares for every plant. The number of blocks will depend on the garden design you created.
With these things considered, you can now start making your raised garden bed using the blocks and eventually start planting on your bed.
can you use concrete blocks for raised garden bed if you don’t have wood boards?
If you don’t have wood boards, you can always resort to the use of concrete or cinder blocks. However, you should know the advantages and disadvantages of using these blocks.
The term concrete and cinder blocks are commonly used interchangeably. However, technically cinder is those made from ash and it’s where the term was derived.
These days, true cinder blocks are rare and most of these are now made of concrete. Because of fly ash, chemicals can leach into the garden soil and potentially affect your vegetables. However, if you’re creating a flower bed, the type of block doesn’t matter.
advantages
- They are durable and affordable
- If the bed’s height is less than 2 feet, you don’t have to use footings or mortar.
- You can easily create a different shape for your bed since the blocks are modular.
- No need for hand tools or power saws.
- You can use the hollow spaces of the blocks as planters. These holes can also be used for holding support structures for row covers or fencing.
disadvantages
- Some blocks can leach lime and other chemicals into the soil. Though these are not harmful to humans, it can affect the acidity of the soil in your garden bed.
- They are heavy to transport. Make sure you choose your location wisely to avoid carrying and moving it later.
If you think you can keep up with some minor disadvantages, you can start building your raised garden bed using these blocks.
how to build a raised garden bed using concrete blocks
Using concrete blocks for raised garden beds takes simples steps. Follow the steps below to get started:
- Lay Out Your Garden Bed Design
Plan out your design to make sure all blocks will fit in the space you have.
- Make Sure All Blocks are Square and Straight
Using a tape measure, create a straight line once the blocks are laid out. Mark the straight line and use this as a guide to keeping all the blocks straight.
- Level the blocks and remove the grass.
You can skip this step if all the blocks are perfectly laid flat. However, if you’re working on a grassy area and the surface is uneven, you’ll have to remove the grass and keep the blocks level.
Though the blocks will settle on top of the grass over time, you should remove them before laying the blocks to make sure they will stay in place.
- Lay a thick layer of newspaper or cardboard under the blocks.
Now, this is another optional step and is not required if you’re already building your bed on top of the dirt. However, this is essential if you’re building your raised bed over the grass to prevent them from growing into the bed and affect the growth of your plants.
- Fill the bed with soil
Once everything is laid out, you can start filling the beds with soil. You can also fill the holes in every block and turn them as planters.
- Start planting
You can now start planting on your garden beds. Be strategic in the plants that you’ll be growing and also do proper placements to avoid overcrowding.
Right after planting, make sure that you water all the seeds or seedlings to keep the soil as moist as possible. Keep in mind that you may have to fill the bed again with more soil as the soil will start to settle after a couple of days or weeks.
Now that your concrete block raised beds are ready, all you have to do is remove the weeds whenever you see some and schedule adding fertilizer. This way, you’ll be able to grow healthy crops.
