Filed under: garden raised bed
I’d prefer some type of wood but ive heard you cannot use treated pine sleepers as they have arsenic in them ( for eating crops) Im really adverse to brick/haeble because its so permanent and a bit hard to make. Will normal wood raised beds rot, and hwo would you make them on a slanting area.
4 by 4 cedar or redwood posts are the choice for you. They are lite weight and easily nailed together. To place them on a slope you just need to dig a trench and level the first layer. Then just stack them up and nail them together from there.
Why not use decking boards? They are relatively cheap, have grooved sides which are quite attractive, and are readily available from B&Q / Wickes / Homebase etc. They can be treated with various finishes, or left to weather naturally. I have decking boards in contact with my soil, no problem.
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You can also use composite wood for raised beds. It will never rot and leaches no toxins into the soil. It will be more expensive in the initial outlay, but for not having to replace the wood because of rot is worth it.
As to the slanting area, it would take some work, but you can cut into the slope and level it off, making a lowered (or raised) bed. My inlaws did this with their small back yard. Half of the back yard sloped down to the fence line. They dug down about 2 feet and shored up the back with timbers. They then built 3 raised beds about 2 feet wide by 4-5 feet long. They also had another bed that ran along the back of the area along the fence line. That was only about 12 inches high and 12 inches deep. The soil taken out of the area was composted and returned to the beds the following season. They grew tons of vegetables every season. They also used some of the soil to make the path to the area less steep. This yard was only about 15 feet by 15 feet, just to give you an idea of how small the yard was.
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Horticulture student
4 by 4 cedar or redwood posts are the choice for you. They are lite weight and easily nailed together. To place them on a slope you just need to dig a trench and level the first layer. Then just stack them up and nail them together from there.
References :
http://sutherlands.com/products/product.php?item=12294