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Wed, Apr 11, 12 at 14:36
| The house we purchased back in November came with a Raised Bed that was very neglected. It pretty much had nothing but weeds and the structure is in need of help. I was planning on planting but I think I should get the structure right first. The boards are rotted, missing, and in one area blocks were placed. I think the bottom of the structure can remain and I can just focus on the top boards and such. I need a plan on how to do this in the most cost effective way. The other thing is I have noticed through my reading is that my raised bed may be larger then usual, it measures 15 x 7 feet. Will this size be a problem, I plan to plant veggies and herbs.. Thanks so much!
Here are pictures:     |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| It definitely is wider than recommended. You should be able to reach to the middle of the bed without stepping on it and compacting the soil. Four feet wide is pretty standard unless you have short arms. The railroad ties don't look too awful, but maybe the bad spots don't show in the photo. What you use depends on the look you want. You can continue the cement blocks or put wood around the sides. The use of railroad ties is a bit controversial because of the creosote in the wood. Redwood is another option. You can plant small herbs in the holes in the cement blocks if you use those. This is my 4 x 7 garden last year.
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Here is a link that might be useful: What's Growing On?
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| Wow, I had no idea what kind of wood the bed was made out of. I just looked railroad ties up and I certainly to like the sound of those. I am going to look into replacing the all of those them. I suppose that will allow me to reconfigure the area. Now I went out and inspected the wood and I don't see anything alarming, they are pretty weathered. My concern is with the soil, do you think the soil is okay? I considered just using the blocks to build up the garden, is your garden bed made out of the concrete blocks? How did you build it? |
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| Mommy, Find out if the previous owners had any health issues--haha. The wood doesn't look quite like RR ties to me. Maybe they are just treated lumber. Also it doesn't look like the dirt is raised that much. You could put a semi-permanent path down the center to walk on. We always build using 2x 6,8,10, depending on what we are growing. Not too expensive for the lumber, but Mel's mix is what is costly to start with. Keski |
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- Posted by michael_so_fl zone 8 (My Page) on Fri, Apr 27, 12 at 11:30
| Looks fine to me, if they are RR ties they are old enough to have lost any creosote. Just add some good manure and fertilizer to boost the soil.Like someone said put a board down the middle to walk on.I'll bet there were some nice veggies came out of there. |
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