Once again why and what you mean by "composite"? Reason I ask is that there is a great deal of mis-understanding out there on why some woods can be used and others cannot. Not to mention what "composite" actually means.. For example - It used to be (10-12 years ago) you shouldn't use pressure treated woods. That is no longer true as the process has changed. Modern composites - a blend of recycled wood and plastic - are used to build just about anything outdoors. and pre-fab raised beds made of these composites are highly rated. But if the choice is between redwood and cedar only then which ever is cheaper. Both work equally well although cedar is much more common. Dave

To "mgeca," I plan to address the problem of the amount of soil required by a "strip" approach, dividing the entire area into separate beds that will be cultivated successively, certainly not all the first year. We have a conventional garden that will sustain us quite nicely as we bring the new one on line. The railroad ties are indeed creosote treated, but there's creosote and creosote. This is not the "old" creosote, which was far more volatile and dangerous. Moreover, these ties are 30 years old at a minimum, and though they're still quite solid, I expect no problem from any of the product they've been treated with leaching into the soil. The floor is dirt, with an admixture of some gravel. The structure has been there for around 55 years, of which we've lived here the past 17. I'm pretty confident that there's not much that's soaked into the floor during our tenure. I have given some thought to what automotive or other chemicals or their residue might be present in the dirt from the 38 years before that, but after cleaning the place out, I plan to build soil in that area without too much regard for that. We'll see what happens. Your idea of a checkerboard pattern of beds is an excellent one, and I may elect to forego the ties on the open side. However, if I do that I must do something about the problem that led to the construction of a new garage in the first place, which is the "downhill" position of the old garage. A large driveway / turnaround exists directly opposite the open side, and in a heavy rain, water would flow into the garage, in some cases to a depth of 6 inches in the back. I may resort to incorporating a drainage trench across the open side. The existing concrete footing is about 6-8 inches high on the inside, perhaps 12-14 inches on the outside. These figures are naturally not completely uniform around all three sides.

Here is a closeup of the panel at the very front of the garden (where I grow the cantaloupe & honeydew). I start with a standard bull panel (5' X 20'), which is made out of 1 gauge galvanized wire & has a 6” x 6” spacing. At the very top & bottom of each panel, I weld a section of #5 rebar to prevent any sagging/flexing. These panels then rest on top of the T-posts & are welded in place also. When the panels are all installed, I then install the insulated risers & sprinkler heads as pictured. This will allow for an unobstructed arc of water... and as you can see, each section is perfectly level & straight. While this may seem like overkill to some, I know that this setup will stand up to any strong winds that may be encounter during our growing seasons down here, even when being fully loaded with vegetation & fruit.

yeah, it's in my favorites, too. I e-mailed the same person who is responsible for the study of the tires used in the gardens. To his knowledge, there hadn't been any danger and if there was a possibility of snakes wanting to make a home, there would be a few things to counteract it. If you choose to pile the tires for planting, then the inside could be lined to discourage any snakes trying to get inside. Check any and all tires before even beginning to use them. See, I wouldn't have had that concern because we only have little garden snakes around here. In eastern Washington, there are rattlesnakes but I'm on the west side of the state. It isn't the dry flat lands of the desert type of land. Anyway, check tires. Then choose how you plan to use them. The way I want to do is to use only the actual part of the rubber that touches the road. Everything else is cut away. It leaves strips of rubber to work with. The same idea used to make sandles. When the rubber is in these strips and laid out, they're stapled to pieces of wood at intervals, to make a continuous runner, to be set in place. The length, width and height are all a personal choice. Basically, instead of 2x4's running the length of the planting bed, it's flat rubber. One tire width or more high, to make the border around the planting area. That's how I have intentions of using them. I can't imaging a snake wanting to cozy up to that. I think if I had any snakes around like you do, I'd be gardening inside a warm sunny vault of some kind. No way would I be outside any where near that kind of critter. Hope you still try the tire frame beds.