I think it's a lovely idea. Don't know if rodents would be attracted to your borders.

I've grown potatoes in hay (just put them on the ground and keep covering them up as they grow - much nicer than growing them in dirt) and I wonder if you could incorporate a potato patch into your border.

This sounds like a lot of trouble to do for something that probably would not last the season, and the cost savings are not going to be much when compared to the cheap, permanent, and easy to use plastic landscape edging.

You can also scrounge for borders: bricks, concrete blocks, wood, and other materials. Any building being torn down or remodeled will have lots of these. Some people dumpster dive, others find the foreman or property owner and ask. Wood can also be scrounged from home improvement stores by asking the department manager if he has scraps he's throwing away. Wood can also be salvaged from pallets, if you can figure out how to get the nails/staples out.

There are other things you can use for borders. Old bookcases with the backs knocked out; look for them on trash day or when students move out (great source if you're near a campus). Ditto for dressers and dresser drawers. If you're unsure about planting in treated materials, staple heavy-duty plastic to the wood or particle board

You may not be able to get enough materials for this season but if you get into the habit I bet you can get enough by next season.

Harimad

I like the idea of using the hay ..I have done sq ft. gardening in community lots- where at the end of the season we tore down everything..so we never did put money into it, ours was a level surface, but we simply built up the soil some in mounds the size of the 4x4 plot with soil amendments. Once the soil was built up it created little walkways, which we put scrap boards, cardboard covered with dry grass clippings on the top of them to make the pathways. The soil was decent so we didn't have to do too much digging-- you could put the hay out on the side like mulch-- probably wouldn't have to build up so much dirt to make it taller, then you would have less erosion. I don't know if I'd try to make rolls of hay-- that sounds like an awful lot of work.
I recently made rasied beds out of 1/2 cinder blocks they were around $1 a piece with regular bricks for the corner think they were under 50cents. The 1/2 cinder blocks. A 4x4 block took 12 cinders and four bricks. I plan to fill in the holes in the cinders with trailing nasturtiums to make them prettier.
If I were to put money into anything -- I would spend it on soil amendments. The hay if just spread around will make good weed barrier and control the soil erosion. You wouldn't need as much either. Good luck to you-- where there is a will there is a way.

I've also been trying to minimize start-up costs on my beds this year.

I had several trees cut down on my property, and any fairly straight limbs were used for bed edges. I also had an old rotton board about 18' long that I used as the back of a bed against the fence. Other things I used include plastic landscape edging called Terrace Board that's about $12 for 40', and some old bricks. I'm now using 1/2"x6"x6' redwood fencing boards to build beds. I did a 6'x'6 strawberry bed this way for about $8. For the corners, I just used landscaping stakes, which are about 15 cents each, and also work to anchor the beds. I'm going to cut down some of the boards this weekend to make a 3x6' bed and a 4x6' raised bed.

You can also just mound the dirt and have sloped sides on the beds until you're ready to put in permanent sides.

DirtDiggingLady,

What I do is go to Home Depot (HD) lumber section where they have scrap wood. They call it cull wood. Not sure if Lowes does the same. Cull wood usually has some defect. Where it is warped, nicked, chipped, split, cracked, used, or just generally less than perfect. Who cares, just going in the garden anyway. The store I go to cuts the wood into 4ft. lengths (perfect) other stores 3 or 5ft. The wood is usually kept on a cart somewhere in the lumber dept. Ask if you don't see it, it will saves lots of time. HD colors codes the price for these pieces. Green (51 cents), Yellow $1.01, Orange $2.01, and Red $4.01. I have noticed some stores think their scrap is priceless. The guy at my store keeps the wood moving by painting it green. Needless to say I generally wait for the best price :-). I check everyday cause it moves fast, esp. the green. What is there in the AM won't likely be there in the PM. The wood varies but could be anywhere from 1"x2" to 2"x12", or 2x4ft plywood (I made many shelves from the plywood), could be pressure treated (they don't use arsenic anymore but copper and that is another discussion) or the composite used for decks (tho the composite IS more $$, and heavy too).

I can get in & out of the store in less than 5min IF they don't have any green. Sometimes the length varies but I grab one of their tape measures so I know what I am getting. I don't like to have to cut. The 4 ft lengths will fit nicely into the back seat of most cars and are far lighter than cinder blocks (less expensive too).

To illustrate an example, say they have 4 2x6's painted green. You look them over decide they will work and pay .51x4=$2.04 plus .13 (6%)tax = $2.17
Not bad. Now you have to add the cost of the hardware. I use some 3.5x3 inch angle brackets I have had laying around for some 20+ yrs. and 2 sheet-rock screws in each side of the bracket (4x4=16 screws). You can use nails, 3in sheet-rock screws, buy some angle brackets, or whatever you have on hand. So you want to make your beds 12" deep? Grab 4 more 2x6's and lay it on top & use a scrap piece to screw or nail the top to the bottom or don't bother. Cost= $4.34 plus whatever you use for hardware. You can paint them or just leave them. Even pine is likely to last 5yrs or more untreated. Anchor them? I don't bother, haven't seen one walk away yet. If you need to move it, just grab one end move it inches or feet. Level it? Well kinda anyway.

The down side. Well it won't be a perfect 48x48 inches. It may come out to be 45x48in depending on the thickness of the lumber you use. I don't sweat it. To make a perfect 48x48 with 2x lumber, you will need 2 lengths of 51 inch and 2 at 48 inch.

So what happens if you have to pay full price? A 2"x6"x8ft piece of Douglas fir (cheap stuff) cost $5.27 plus .32 tax= $5.59 You get one free cut per board (cut to 4ft length making it easier to transport even in a Honda Civic). You will need 16ft so double the cost =$11.18. Of course if you don't want to build your bed up, you could use 2x4's (little over $6 for 2-8ft lengths), use 1x2's, or simply use string or rope tied to some stakes pounded into the corners to mark the perimeter. Or simply get creative. The whole idea, NOT to walk on the planting surface. So think outside the box, just don't walk in the box.

Will untreated wood last as long as cinder blocks? No. Does it look as nice? Maybe, if you paint or otherwise decorate it. Then it may last as long. Is wood cheaper than cinder? Definitely. Easier to move? YES. Consider a cinder block is 8 inches wide. 2x8=16 inches off your planting area. That is 48-16=32, unless you choose to reach across a width of 48+16=64 inches. That is 5ft 4in. if my math is right. Quite the stretch.

I prefer to avoid cinders, rocks, or anything slugs can hide under.
I use leaves, pine needles, cardboard, newspapers, or something that will decompose and attract earthworms in the aisles to keep the weeds to a minimum.

That's MY story and I'm sticking to it. Hope it helps.

Life consist of a series of choices and seems to be a learning process.

Wishing you happiness,
Gumby

Thanks for mentioning about the scrap wood, I need some wood to put between my beds to walk on. This would be perfect, I will be checking it out.

Our county has a landfill where they (fortunately) have a recycling section for brush, leaves, scrap wood, etc. They don't care if folks dig a bit for palets, wood, etc, and I've found a fair amount of good wood there for various projects where being pretty isn't a concern. If nothing else, you might be able to find some palets that can be cut down to make an edging by pounding them down into the ground side by side.
You can usually find plenty of places just dying to get rid of their stacks of palets.

Hope that helps!

Matt

I had a different idea when I started to read your post.

You could create a raised bed by piling up the soil and pack the edges a bit on, say, a 45 degree angle. Then you could plant an edging plant with enough root structure to hold the soil there for the year while you grow your veggies. Something like alyssum would look nice and be compact, but I'm not sure about the roots. Perhaps nasturtium and marigolds since these are pretty easy to grow from seed. Or maybe you could plant some perennial herbs like chives that form clumps.

AS long as you are not on an incline where rain could wash the soil away, this may work.

You may also want to find out how much hay bales cost and compare to wood. I used 1x8 untreated pine and 2x2s to make 6 4x4 beds that cost about $100 plus about $100 in soil mix materials. Well worth it for the pleasure of the garden!

I used air for my raised bed borders--very economical, even on a gentle slope.

I'd use the same stuff today, except my beds are up on wire shelving now....