There are no absolutes in life, so I'll amend pls8xx's statement: The new wall will very likely fail if constructed as you say. You're in a freeze-thaw part of the country, which is why your footer needs to be below frost line. If you attempt to "float" the footer, the expansion and contraction of the soil will heave and crack the footer, the mortar joints in the CMUs, and the brick veneer. You also need to consider that with a 3' high wall, the forces attempting to knock it over are pretty intense. Without being tied to a proper footer, and without vertical steel reinforcement, those forces will eventually win and your wall will very likely fail. Again, no absolutes in life; the brick piers on my 100 year-old house go 6" into the ground and sit on bare earth. But if you're taking the time and expense to do something, why build in the probability of failure? As to the EP Henry wall solution... did that quote also include demo & removal of the existing wall and related sitework? If so, they may not be that out of line. If you approach it as a DIY job, you may be surprised at how quickly $X per ton of disposal adds up. If you do the project yourself, be fanatical about following the manufacturer's instructions. These systems are designed so they can be installed without special masonry skills, but you still need to be very accurate in preparing the base. If you don't feel like you're spending a ridiculous amount of time getting the first course of block perfectly level... well, you're probably not doing it right. If you want to put a fence back on top of the wall, Keystone makes a system that'll hold the fenceposts securely within the structure of the wall. Might be worth looking at. Best of luck!

Hi JB, Welcome to RMGÂandÂthe only stupid question around here is the one you donÂt ask, so donÂt be afraid to ask whatever comes up! ThereÂs always somebody whoÂs ready, willing, and able to help! Where are you located? Since youÂre posting on RMG, I assume youÂre high and dry out here somewhere! If thatÂs true, the only possible problem I see with what you want to do is that theyÂll probably need to be watered pretty often once the weather warms since each individual "pot" wonÂt have a whole lot of soil, and, if theyÂre right next to a bunch of pea gravel, the area and the cinderblocks will probably heat up quite a bit. So planting snaps, or just about any other annuals (or herbs) should work as long as you keep an eye on them to be sure they get watered whenever they need itÂthe same as youÂd need to watch a pot. When it comes to planting them out already, since theyÂre apparently already hardened off, I donÂt think there should be any problem at all. Snaps can take really cold weather. If youÂre in the Denver areaÂor any of the other spots that are currently included in the most recent snow, IÂd say wait a couple days till it warms up againÂand then go for it! If you want snaps in the same place next year, just let this yearÂs plants produce seed when they finish blooming and enough seed will drop to reseed themÂand if you want to be even more sure that theyÂve reseeded, just hand scatter some of the seed from the seedpods after itÂs ripened. Snaps reseed very easily, and theyÂll come up all by themselves next yearÂmaking it even easier than this year. Also, some of them will probably germinate in late summer or fall this year and survive next winter to give you a really early start next springÂjust be sure the soil stays moist over winter if some get started by fall. Glad you found us here! Bring on your questions! Skybird

I have several beds made from cinder blocks. If you want to sit on them, I would suggest 8x8x16. I have mine at different levels. Some are just one level, mainly for a divider between plants and pathway. Most are two high, easy to sit on and reach into. I also have a few that are three high, great for potatoes, as I can take the blocks off to get to the potatoes easier. Cattle panels are great from one bed to the other. i have grown pie pumkins on them. but now have dedicated them to my tomatoes. All of the garden is on a drip system and timer. Love my garden!

Tell me about your cinder blocks! I just used a bunch left over from a construction site across the street to actually construct my (as-yet-unfilled) raised garden beds, so my beds are literally framed by cinder blocks, with all that added extra space for planting. Also if I had a good use for them I could easily acquire more. I was only planning on putting herbs & small flowers in the cinder block spaces, but would love to hear more about what people have grown successfully in them. Also how big are the cinderblocks you're using? I have two types- all the same length (about 40cm per block/20cm per opening) but different widths (10cm for some, 20cm for others). I would've thought that even the wider ones would be too small for something like bell peppers or eggplants but if it's been done successfully I'd love to try it!