An Improved Raised Bed Garden

Step 8 The Finished Repair Job.

With this new corner brace, I expect the end boards will last considerably longer than just bolted wood. Time will tell.

Comments

[IG-88]

How come you didn't go with that green treated lumber or perhaps cedar? Cost?

[The_Monkey_King]

The green in treated lumber is either amine copper quat (ACQ) or copper azone (CA), both of which are poisons. Having them mix with ground soil and water may leech into the plants -- not a healthy idea. While expensive, hardwoods like redwoods last much longer. A note to Creativeman: Bolted ribs (stakes bolted to the sides of the planks) that are twice the size of the planks (half on the plank, other half buried) will relieve much of the stresses put on the corners and will increase the rigidity of the overall form.

[emilygracedavis]

 This isn't entirely true...

OLD CCA lumber has been banned for consumer use since 2003/2004 ... Arsenic was the main component there that was causing problems... Pressure treated wood now still has copper in it... but copper interacts with other metals in the ground not really plants... Some people even plant copper wiring to ward out snails and slugs as pests in their gardens!

I've used pressure treated wood in my raised vegetable boxes and its been great!

[IG-88]

You realize of course you are probably going to die a slow an agonizing death now. All those harmful copper toxins you have been eating all these years are adding up and pretty soon BOOM!, your insides are going to explode!

Really, I think some people take this organic thing a bit far....

[winterwindarts]

Copper wire is pure, metallic copper in solid form that will only leach in tiny, tiny amounts-NOT so in the pressure treated wood. The copper in PT wood had to be put into a very soluble form to permeate the structure of the wood and it's the SOLUBLE metals/toxins that you need to worry about.

Remember, most of your plumbing (other than the waste/discharge lines) are made of pure metallic copper and has been for generations and hasn't caused problems...yet...

[Michael_oz]

Great idea. You could also use some 45 degree molding (or maybe concave round) on the edges of the mold to get rid of the sharp 90 degree ends, I imagine stepping on or kicking the concreet in bare feet would hurt.

[Linda McCue]

I've never tried this although I have a book or two with the beds in them. Your instructable makes it seem less intimidating. Thanks. I had a thought as I followed along. There are bookshelf ends for putting together bookshelves easily. They're cheap and reusable. Many people throw out their bookcases and leave them in place or sell them at garage sales. This would make your initial construction easier. Then if you covered the joint with concrete or a protective solvent, the ends would be less likely to rust and break as time went by. Again, great job.

[Creativeman]

Thanks for your input Linda, may try that as time allows.  You know, so many things, so little time! Cman

[lolpoppers]

do you use a vinegar soak to leech the lime out of the concrete? lime is toxic to plants and freshly cured concrete is loaded with it.

[Paladin]

 You might not want lime in soil that is alkaline, but that is rarely a concern. We occasionally have to spread lime over our entire yard to help correct pH and discourage the moss and encourage the grass. Fresh concrete just isn't very toxic to plants. Sorry, but it just isn't true. 

[Grimarr]

Hmm... can't be that toxic, I just had to add a bunch to my tomatoes, they were experiencing rot caused by calcium deficiency

[dougbyte]

Great Instructable A swab of diesel fuel on the forms will make them separate from the concrete easier.

[Paladin]

 Or used cooking oil. It can been oil - just a veggie oil. 

[aaronjehall]

Or a layer or two of newspaper. I discourage the use of petroleum products anywhere near my garden or groundwater no matter how much. Also, newspaper makes a suitable weed block, compared to that roll of black material stuff.

[Pkranger88]

Vegetable oil isn't a petro product though, so you should be good.  You can also use animal fat or oil left over from cooking meat, and that stuff will actually feed your garden quite nicely.

[aaronjehall]

I was referring to Diesel fuel. dougbyte, not Paladin. look at the dates.

[drawe21]

Very nice, why use wood at all. Wouldn't it be nice to form it all out of concrete and never have to replace any wood EVER... (Just an Idea)

[aaronjehall]

Agreed. You could always cover it with creek rock or decorative stone.

[Bonrat]

Good Idea. A piece of 3" PVC filled with concrete with offset PVC bolt sleeves would save a lot of woodworking. Another perspective.

[mediatrigg]

Very nice idea and a great guide. Thank you.

[mystrwizard]

Awesome idea. I'm starting that project this weekend. Thanks for the great idea!