Search
Latest topics
» N & C Midwest: November/December 2023by Scorpio Rising Today at 3:43 pm
» Strawberry Varieties?
by sanderson Yesterday at 3:57 pm
» Recommended store bought compost - Photos of composts
by sanderson 12/4/2023, 1:27 pm
» Jerusalem Artichoke or Sun Choke
by Scorpio Rising 12/4/2023, 7:09 am
» Mark's first SFG
by sanderson 12/3/2023, 7:33 pm
» Strawberries in MM: to feed or not to feed?
by sanderson 12/3/2023, 7:30 pm
» What Have You Picked From Your Garden Today
by OhioGardener 11/29/2023, 5:36 am
» Senseless Banter...
by sanderson 11/28/2023, 10:31 pm
» FREE Online SFG Class - November 28, 2023
by sanderson 11/27/2023, 9:21 pm
» Mini-Raised Beds?
by Chuck d'Argy 11/27/2023, 2:14 pm
» Happy Birthday!!
by sanderson 11/26/2023, 10:58 pm
» Name the mystery (to me) seedlings! :-)
by Psdumas 11/25/2023, 12:04 am
» Happy Thanksgiving from the USA
by sanderson 11/23/2023, 1:47 pm
» Guatemalan Green Ayote Squash
by OhioGardener 11/21/2023, 8:27 am
» Kiwi's SFG Adventure
by sanderson 11/20/2023, 2:06 pm
» Seeds 'n Such Early Order Seeds
by sanderson 11/20/2023, 1:13 pm
» USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map
by OhioGardener 11/19/2023, 7:12 am
» AeroGarden for starting seeds?
by OhioGardener 11/16/2023, 12:40 pm
» Biochar?
by OhioGardener 11/16/2023, 10:31 am
» 2023 - Updated U.S. Interactive Plant Hardiness Map
by sanderson 11/15/2023, 6:18 pm
» SFG Is Intensive Gardening
by sanderson 11/14/2023, 3:26 pm
» Teaming with Microbes Kindle Sale (Mem. Day weekend 2023)
by markqz 11/10/2023, 12:42 am
» Bok Choy Hors d'oeuvres
by donnainzone5 11/9/2023, 5:58 pm
» Now is the Time to Start Preparing Next Year's Spring Garden
by OhioGardener 11/9/2023, 7:13 am
» Shocking Reality: Is Urine the Ultimate Gardening Hack or Disaster?
by dstack 11/6/2023, 5:29 pm
» Nightmare on Mel Street.
by Scorpio Rising 11/4/2023, 6:37 pm
» Aerogardening
by Scorpio Rising 11/3/2023, 10:02 am
» Sunday All Purpose Organic Garden Nutrients
by lisawallace88 11/3/2023, 9:13 am
» Mid-summer seed sowing, how do you do it?
by KiwiSFGnewbie 11/2/2023, 8:04 pm
» N&C Midwest October 2023
by OhioGardener 11/1/2023, 8:49 am
Google
Raised bed question
3 posters
Page 1 of 1
Raised bed question
Last fall I replaced my rotting wooden beds with cinder blocks two tiers high and slightly buried to adjust for ground level. I had planned to fill the openings with AB3 and spraying them with lawn iron to color and age them. I know some people plant in the openings. Do you have problems with the bocks shifting or breaking from freeze thaw action. Also does the soil in the blocks affect the heat transfer to the soil in the beds from the blocks.
ronbart- Posts : 15
Join date : 2017-02-10
Location : kansas
Blocks
I have had a 4 x 15 cinder block bed for 3 years now. I haven't experienced any shifting or breakdown at all. When I laid it down, I used sand to level it. I grow strawberries, herbs, and various flowers that the bees enjoy in all the holes. I like this bed better than my other types - plastic wood and natural wood beds.
zackshea-
Posts : 79
Join date : 2014-04-02
Age : 38
Location : SE PA Zone 7a/6b
Blocks
Keep an eye on the moisture in the block openings soil if you plant in them. They tend to dry out a little faster. Strawberries need to be kept moist at the surface since their roots are shallow. At one end of the bed, I grow nasturtium that flows down and covers the cinder block wall. It looks amazing when it blooms and attracts lots of pollinators. You can eat the leaves and flowers if you like a black-peppery taste in your salad!
zackshea-
Posts : 79
Join date : 2014-04-02
Age : 38
Location : SE PA Zone 7a/6b
Re: Raised bed question
I grew nasturtiums last year for the first time, in containers and the ground. They were gorgeous all summer, killing it with flowers, vining and great! The ground ones. Did better, more nutrients and moisture.
Lovely flower. Bloomed until freeze.
Lovely flower. Bloomed until freeze.
Scorpio Rising-
Posts : 8611
Join date : 2015-06-12
Age : 61
Location : Ada, Ohio
Re: Raised bed question
I figured that moisture would be a problem. Summers here can be brutal. How do you water your beds? I am switching to drip irrigation from a couple of rain barrels using spaghetti tubes to individual plants. That would make watering the blocks a problem. Our winter temps fluctuate pretty wildly here. I was mainly concerned with the dry stack blocks shifting or even breaking from a wet soil plug freezing.zackshea wrote:Keep an eye on the moisture in the block openings soil if you plant in them. They tend to dry out a little faster. Strawberries need to be kept moist at the surface since their roots are shallow. At one end of the bed, I grow nasturtium that flows down and covers the cinder block wall. It looks amazing when it blooms and attracts lots of pollinators. You can eat the leaves and flowers if you like a black-peppery taste in your salad!
ronbart- Posts : 15
Join date : 2017-02-10
Location : kansas
Blocks
Our weather here destroys roads with potholes so I know how you feel. That said, I haven't noticed any issues with my blocks with the freezing and unfreezing. I do have to water the plants in the holes by hand with filtered water from my hose. Not ideal, but I usually task my 3 year old daughter with that one 

zackshea-
Posts : 79
Join date : 2014-04-02
Age : 38
Location : SE PA Zone 7a/6b
Nasturtiums
Yes, they thrive when planted in the ground. They have a tap root that digs deep. My cinder block holes are stacked 2 high but they do have access straight to the good Pennsylvania soil underneath so the nasturtium love it in the holes.
zackshea-
Posts : 79
Join date : 2014-04-02
Age : 38
Location : SE PA Zone 7a/6b
Page 1 of 1
Permissions in this forum:
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
|
|