Re: OhioGardener SFG

OhioGardener 5/1/2020, 8:36 am

I am not sure how well it would work, Molly. They aren't designed to be stacked, but they are very sturdy. I think, though, that they could be stacked if a piece of angle iron were bolted to each of the upright posts to provide locked in alignment - the 3' long pieces of angle iron would be located at each of the points I marked with an arrow on the photo on both sides, and fastened with 6 bolts. That should provide adequate stability to secure them together. Of course, I am an Electronics Engineer, and not a Mechanical Engineer.... Smile

mollyhespra 5/1/2020, 4:45 pm

Thanks, OG! I see what you mean about the angle irons, and that's definitely doable for me...

BUT, I was hoping to be able to over-lap the corrugations (is that a word) so that the MM wouldn't leak out the sides, but the way the supports look, they've got a kind of flat cap built in which would make overlapping impossible. Or am I looking at the pictures wrong?

OhioGardener 5/1/2020, 6:08 pm

mollyhespra wrote:Thanks, OG! I see what you mean about the angle irons, and that's definitely doable for me...

BUT, I was hoping to be able to over-lap the corrugations (is that a word) so that the MM wouldn't leak out the sides, but the way the supports look, they've got a kind of flat cap built in which would make overlapping impossible. Or am I looking at the pictures wrong?

No, you are seeing the pictures correctly. The connector metal does have a cap on it, and it would not be possible for the corrugated metal panels to overlap. But, I don't think that would be much of a problem.

A thought that might be worth considering: If you just need another 8" or so height than the 18" they are, I wonder if you could put down a layer of cement blocks and set the raised bed on top of the blocks?

mollyhespra 5/1/2020, 10:26 pm

Yes, I had the same thought about the cement blocks, but DH isn't keen on the idea. He'd rather have the beds ready to go without having to do many modifications. We found another supplier: Birdie's Raised Beds but they're sold out. The Birdie's beds are 3' deep, which is nice but they're also quite pricey. We're thinking of using hugelkulture for the bottom 2' and just fill the last 8" with MM.

plantoid 5/2/2020, 6:09 pm

Do you have companies that roll their own corrugated panels for farm buildings ? It might be financially worth a couple of hours of looking around the internet .

Here in th UK I had such a company roll me 100 shelves with folded edges and made with a cranked for extra strength bottom shelf and an eight inch upstand at the back
Price wise it worked out far cheaper than any off the shelf stuff available .

You can get 3 foot wide corrugated galvanised sheets made to order in such places or even made in coloured plastisol steel sheets .
They'd most likely do the cross supports and corners too perhaps even punching the holes in them as the basic pattern is usually done on a big computer controlled punch bed before it goes over to a computerised rolling /folding machine .

OhioGardener 5/3/2020, 8:00 pm

The design of this raised bed would be super easy to build, and it would be very durable. The only thing I would add, would be a center cross member to prevent the bed from bowing out from the weight of the soil. The metal lining would greatly prolong the life of the bed. The corrugated metal siding could be obtained from any building supply company. For someone wanting a higher bed, such a 3', it would only take wider pieces of metal.

OhioGardener 5/4/2020, 7:53 pm

Took on the project today of replacing the old trellis panels on the raised bed with a new, larger arbor-type trellis made out of cow panels. Three 16' cattle panels arched over the walkway between the beds made an arbor 12.5' long. Now we will be able do vertical gardening on both sides of the arbor.

Made a short video on the transition from the old small trellises to the new arbor-style trellis that is now in place.

mollyhespra 5/4/2020, 7:59 pm

Hey, looks GREAT!!! What's the cap on top of your posts?

OhioGardener 5/4/2020, 8:21 pm

mollyhespra wrote:Hey, looks GREAT!!! What's the cap on top of your posts?

Thanks!

Those are plastic T-Post caps that are designed for that purpose. They keep us from injuring ourselves on those sharp post tops. The ones I have are similar to these from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/DARE-PRODUCTS-2927-T-Post-Safety/dp/B000HHSEW2

OhioGardener 5/6/2020, 8:55 am

The Tunnel Trellis is finished and waiting for plants to climb on it. Pole Beans will be planted in about 10 days, and the Cucumbers and Squash be planted the first week of June. Might even plant a Vine Peach or two on one end of the trellis. Can't wait to see plants covering that trellis.

Emily49 5/6/2020, 2:55 pm

very cool! which direction is it running?

OhioGardener 5/6/2020, 5:56 pm

Emily49 wrote:very cool! which direction is it running?

North-South. This picture is looking at it from the South, facing North.

OhioGardener 5/8/2020, 10:48 am

I have two more tomato plants than I have room for in the beds dedicated for the tomatoes, and I am thinking about planting them on the end of the new tunnel trellis between the two beds. I am wondering if I tie the tomatoes to the trellis if they will grow up and over the arbor. Anyone grow tomatoes on an arbor? Will this work?

PVPind 5/8/2020, 11:27 am

I'm supposed to go order my metal roofing for doing beds like these today. The plan is 2/ 4' x 6' and 2/ 12' x 4' all 36" tall. I'm going to do the outside frame in treated lumber. The quote I got for the precut metal roofing from an Amish roofing supply company locally was just under $400. So I'm guessing the whole job will cost around $600-$700 for the beds. Thankfully I make soils so that's not an issue. But with the weather, I just keep putting it off. Thanks for the motivation. Your gardens look great.

OhioGardener 5/8/2020, 11:58 am

That sounds great, PVP! Be sure to post pictures of them, and your entire setup.

**sanderson** 5/13/2020, 3:37 pm

Hi, PVP.

PVPind 5/13/2020, 3:58 pm

Hi sanderson, ordered the metal yesterday, going to pick it up and the lumber Friday and build them Saturday and Sunday. Fill them next week and put the walkways in. Hopefully, I'll have some pictures soon.

has55 5/16/2020, 12:15 pm

OG, That's a awesome arbor. Fantastic looking!!!

bigtoad 5/16/2020, 4:59 pm

OhioGardener wrote:
sanderson wrote:Happy story about the zucchini. Is it now past the squash borer time so these have a chance?

Yes, it is past time for the squash borer now. Normally if we plant the squash & cucumber after July 1st we do not have any problem with the borer. This year, though, I tried a new experiment, and it failed. I usually direct sow the seeds around the first week of July, and they usually do really good. But, this year, I decided to start the seeds indoors and transplant them in the garden in early July, thinking I would get a head start on getting squash and cucumbers to pick. Unfortunately, the extra time we get waiting on the seeds to germinate in the ground wasn't there, and the squash bugs were ready for the plants as soon as they went in the ground. So, we'll write that experiment off to experience.

As Will Rogers said, "Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment."

Sooo glad I ran across this. I was planning on trying this same experiment this year. I've been planting squash seeds around July 1st the last couple of years to avoid the borer in Indiana. I had the same thought about starting some indoors to get a jump on it, but I will definitely just be patient!

OhioGardener 5/16/2020, 6:39 pm

has55 wrote:OG, That's a awesome arbor. Fantastic looking!!!

Thanks! I can't wait to see it covered with beans, cucumbers, and squash. The only thing planted on it right now is two tomatoes on one end, one Yellow Brandywine and one Rutgers.

has55 5/16/2020, 7:00 pm

OhioGardener wrote:
has55 wrote:OG, That's a awesome arbor. Fantastic looking!!!

Thanks! I can't wait to see it covered with beans, cucumbers, and squash. The only thing planted on it right now is two tomatoes on one end, one Yellow Brandywine and one Rutgers.

please send pictures.

mollyhespra 5/16/2020, 8:16 pm

OG, I'm planning on training my tomatoes up a cattle panel arbor this year, too. I added two panels to the far end of two beds so we'll see how it goes. I routinely train my indeterminate toms up a single line, so this shouldn't be any different. I'm also going to try to have the willpower to top them early-mid august. FF for me is early Sept, so maybe this way I'll get more ripe tomatoes, and I figure it will contain the height to the cattle panel.

plantoid 5/18/2020, 12:33 pm

OhioGardener wrote:The design of this raised bed would be super easy to build, and it would be very durable. The only thing I would add, would be a center cross member to prevent the bed from bowing out from the weight of the soil. The metal lining would greatly prolong the life of the bed. The corrugated metal siding could be obtained from any building supply company. For someone wanting a higher bed, such a 3', it would only take wider pieces of metal.

Putting a pair of stainless steel 1/4 inch wire ropes on turnbuckles or a Spanish hoist of twisted wires locked in pace with a steel rod through the sheets at 8 inches from the top & bottom across the mid width would allow an easier way of preventing the middle length of the sheets from bulging so long as the outer ends are wrapped round some sort of strong tube or bar /rod & the cut ends pushed back through the holes so it protrudes back through the holes into in the MM

mollyhespra 5/18/2020, 11:01 pm

Hey, OG! I just pulled the trigger on a few of your fancy beds!!! I'm so excited!!! They were out of stock until yesterday so I snagged me a few before they sell out again. Woot!

OhioGardener 5/19/2020, 2:15 pm

Great to hear, Molly! I was surprised this weekend when a neighbor called and asked me to walk over to his house, said he had something he wanted to show me. As soon as we walked around the side of his house I saw the new beds he had already set up, and planted with some of the garden plants. He said he couldn't believe how productive and easy to care for my beds were, and decided he needed some of his own. He now has two of the Fresa 4-section beds. He partially filled the beds with topsoil, and then moved the soil from his old wooden raised beds into the new metal beds.

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