Elevated beds

[berryman]

Okay so, I'm getting older (ha) and the one fruit that does really well for me here, and that I enjoy greatly is strawberries. The trouble with them is the bending over part: bending over to plant, bending over to weed, bending over to spread and remove bird netting, and bending over to pick.

So I want to build some beds that end up about three feet high, with soil depth about 12 inches.
I have room between the rows of my young orchard and could put as much as 500 linear feet of four ft wide rows....but only if it's not too expensive.

Has anyone done this? I thought of hay bales under wood frames but am afraid they would just slump after a season and make a mess.

Suggest some materials or methods please!

[Nan_PA_6b]

Yes, I think hay would deteriorate.

How about milk crates? Put down one empty one, with a second one on top of it. Put in an appropriate size grow bag, or line it with landscape fabric. Add soil & strawberries.

Unless you are going to fill from ground level to waist level with soil, you're essentially growing in containers. (gonna have to water.)

Nan

[zeuspaul]

A neighbor bought some raised beds that were essentially a rectangular box on four legs. I told him they were containers but he still calls them raised beds.

As the soil settles there is 6 to 9 inches. He grows tomatoes and squash with drip irrigation on a timer and the plants do very well.

[Cole_Robbie]

Hydroponic in 4" pvc pipe would be my preference. Then you can mount the pipe wherever you like. I think the trick is to keep the nutrient solution cool, by burying or putting cement blocks around the reservoir tank. I was able to grow lettuce in a very hot greenhouse by keeping the solution against the ground and out of direct sun.

[berryman]

Nan,
milk crates is a good idea. I've heard that they can be had for almost nothing....
it does not make sense to fill from ground level, of course, so if I could get enough of them I could build the frame to hold the soil on top of the crates.

Zeusp,
do you recall about how big those containers with the legs are? I wonder what the bottom was made of? plywood?

[zeuspaul]

I think they are about 4ft x 8ft. I believe they are made of wood but I don't have any specifics.

[Worth1]

What kind of tools do you have?
All you need for materials are plywood 4X4's 2X4's a screw drill and Torx deck screws.
You can get the plywood and posts cut at the home centers.
You will also need plastic sheet and silicon sealant.

Worth

[berryman]

Worth, tools no problem here, but here are the numbers I come up with if I go buy lumber and build:
Plywood for bottom, 4studs for legs and bracing and sides, comes to about 54 bucks for a 4 X 8 bed, so let's say $1.75 per linear foot. If I want a hundred ft bed it will cost $175 and while I hate admitting I'm cheap...I'm cheap!

So now I am trying to come up with a way to use pallets, which are either free or very cheap.

[Worth1]

I hear ya, me too.

Worth

[SQWIBB]

I grow strawberries in a vertical tower.
You could get a huge amount of strawberries in 2 or 3 55 gallon drum towers

[oakley]

That would cost quite a bit unless you can find some reclaimed wood. Built one for my
MIL. Top height was about table height. I think it was only 3x10. 18" or so for soil. Just
a big bin but needs to be strong. Not cheap. Then she moved. grrr

Milk crate gardens are all over NewYorkCity. Mostly in vacant lots that can easily
be moved to another location once building begins on the lot. Landowners don't mind
as it is temporary.

The bottom crates are empty. Top crate is lined with fabric bags. Or just landscape
fabric. The crates are not cheap unless you can find a company getting rid of some of
their rattier ones. Thats how I got mine.

A couple towers is a good idea. I don't grow strawberries anymore. To many critters.
But when we did I built a 2x10 board tower to save garden space.

https://thesecretgardenatlas.wordpre...york-city-usa/

[Nan_PA_6b]

Turn 2 pallets on end, long side to the ground. Turn 2 more on end, short side to the ground. Nail into a square. Nail another pallet upside down on top of the square.

pallets.gif

Build up sides to required depth with pallet wood. Line with garden cloth, fill with soil, plant.

Nan

[berryman]

Nan, that's pretty much the system that I had put together in my head.
Thanks for posting that, I'll use some of the details and post some pics when complete.

[Worth1]

I knew a guy that built a storage building out of pallets and scraps.
The city made him take it down.
It looked way better than the homes people live in in Haiti.
Worth

[garyjr]

Here is a picture of the planter I made. On one end it sits on top of an existing fence post, on the other a 4x4 that I added. I believe it is 1x8x12 for the sides and 1x6 for the bottom. A large size gutter would work as well. You can see it in the background behind the tomato plants.