This is our 3rd season for concrete block square foot beds. We use the heavier (for stability)concrete ones which cost $1.00 apiece last year from a local supplier (Home depot and Lowe's were a little more expensive). First year we made 4x8 beds, 2 blocks high. To get 4x8' interior space it took 40 blocks (seven each end and 13 each side, overlapped). Also used 18 flat blocks to cover the holes at $.70 each, so a 4 by 8 bed was $52.60 total, which was definitely cheaper than plastic wood. You may only need 1 level high, depending on your existing soil. Top flat blocks are nice to sit on and easily removed to plant in holes, stick in a trellis, or set on the ground when muddy. Grew marigolds and herbs successfully in holes. You can carry a few in your car, so just depends on how many you need and how many trips you want to make. Last year we expanded the beds to 4x16 interior so had them delivered. We just hand leveled (well, fairly level!) as we set the blocks ourselves, slow and heavy, but you only have to do it once! Also rolled landscape fabric around the inside edge of bed before filling with dirt, helps keep moisture in. First year filled with bags of compost & topsoil, but last year ordered 'topmix' of mushroom compost, topsoil & sand delivered & shoveled in, mixing in a few big bags of vermiculite from Atwoods. After initial labor it's wonderful to add a little more soil, measure & plant as I'm doing now that our icy winter has finally thawed. I can email photos if interested.

Thank you, all, for your responses, I greatly appreciate them. Let me see if I can hit on each of your questions. The box is 69" long x 24" wide, and 18.5" deep (these are the inside dimensions). The whitish stuff around the base is the native soil, a hard clay. We dug up the grass in the area where we planned to put the bed, tilled the clay somewhat, and set the bed down on that spot. We did not put down any barriers between the bed and the clay. I plan on growing vegetables - mostly tomatoes and peppers, hence the depth of the bed. I'm honestly not entirely sure if I'll start vegetables now, given that it's already the end of August - I'm thinking that, maybe for now through autumn I'll just do some late-season annual flowers, just to have something there, and then start my veggies next spring. Since the native clay is pretty useless for growing what I want to grow, we bought soil to fill the bed. My husband (God love him) hates to spend much money on anything, and most of the soils available at the store were between $4 and $11 per bag. My husband was not keen on this. So I did some online research. I read somewhere that you can mix topsoil with compost 1:1 to make a good gardening soil. Both the topsoil and compost were selling for around $2 per bag. I hate cheaping out on stuff as important as soil type, but it was the only way to get my husband on board, so I'm really hoping this mix works. I forget how many bags of each we bought (the receipt is lying around somewhere), but when we mixed in the last few bags into the bed, I noticed that the soil level was considerably low (as shown in the picture). I commented that we needed more soil. My husband argued that he wasn't shelling out any more money on dirt. On another trip to Home Depot for something else, I finally managed to convince him to get more soil. So the soil level is higher now - not quite the 2" from the top that I've read is ideal, but better than it was before. The fence is going to provide some shade in the morning, yes, but once the sunlight clears the fence, the bed will have many hours of full sun. I didn't want to put the bed in the middle of the yard because I want to keep as much open space as possible for the dogs to run around. As an aside, the other reason the bed is as high as it is is because my male dog loves to pee on everything, and I didn't want him peeing on my plants; so, I made the bed high enough so he can't reach them. *chaparralgirl*

It depends on what kind of turf you have.

What is the reason you want to build raised beds?