Measure your area for the bed and decide how to most economically cover that area with hardware cloth. HC comes in 2, 3, 4, 5 foot widths. You probably want HC with 1/4 inch squares. Or 1/2 inch. You can join pieces of HC with wire. I would think just putting the cinder blocks over the ends of the HC would be okay. To avoid damage to your hands from cut HC, you can bend an inch of the end over on itself to make a smooth edge. A 2x4 or other piece of straight wood sometimes helps with bending. Otherwise, any cut ends may snag you but good.

Actually I did setup a few raised beds with cinder blocks. I used 8"x8"x16" blocks - standard building size and overall I'm fairly happy with it. Like I said, we have pretty strong winters and even though the holes in the blocks were filled with dirt - none of them cracked! And, for the most part, they even stayed pretty well in place. I was concerned that the dirt in the inner body of the bed would freeze and push the blocks outward. This has happened a little, but not very much. This past winter was the worst for that, but still not so bad that I'll have to re-lay the block - I just tap them back into place once the soil thawed. I did not use mortar between the blocks - they are dry stacked and loose. I can't say for sure, but I think with the little movement we have experienced, mortar would probably end the moving around - BUT maybe I'm wrong and that hard, static position would fail to the freeze/thaw of the soil. Anyway, I think I like them loose - then I have options. If I want to do something different, I don't have to bust it all apart to change my layout. One thing we have experienced is that a lot of perennials don't like being in the block holes over winter. Some of them have made it a year or two, but I believe the roots/bulbs/etc... are just too exposed to the freezing temps this way. I mean, you only have about an inch of concrete and then the soil, which is only 5 or 6 inches wide - which really doesn't protect the roots from a freeze very well. Maybe the most interior side of the hole would be somewhat protected, but it's just not the same as being 5 or 6 inches down in the ground with a mulch layer on top. About the only thing that has seemed to handle it very well are some Asiatic lilies. We've tried tulips, crocuses, a few kinds of non-bulb flowers (can't remember their names right now), a few kinds of ground covers, etc... but none have held up for long. Part of the problem is that the soil freezing and thawing causes the soil to heave up and then in spring it thaws and settles. I don't think the plants like this much. Strawberry plants have done fair, but generally after a winter, they're almost lifted out of the soil. Our soil tends to settle as well - I'm sure it's our mix, as there are a lot of organics that I think still continue to degrade, so the soil level drops - so over the period of a year or two the soil that was 1/4" below the top of the block might be 6 inches lower. So, that strawberry plant that was getting nice sun, ends up in the shade down in a hole. So, trying to use the outter holes for anything other than annuals has been difficult to impossible. Our soil mix BTW, is 1/3 compost, 1/3 peat, and 1/3 vermiculite. This makes a nice light soil that retains moisture pretty well and has a nice nutrient mix. Very easy to pull the occasional weed from. You can drive your hand right down into it. Lastly, when you prepare the ground for using cinder blocks, you really need to spend time initially making sure that you have the surface where the blocks will set very square (I mean 90 degree angles - not a square shape), level, and flat. I tried eye-balling it at first, but it became apparent very quickly that things were not lining up properly - leaving gaps vertically and horizontally between the blocks - which will make them less stable and a potential for losing soil and water. Then I had to move all the blocks, star over, and then re-set them up. I didn't make that mistake with the remaining beds! I think the bed shape I like best so far is 2-1/2 blocks by 4 blocks (you could go longer, but I like the 2-1/2 wide dimension). This is wide enough to plant a batch of stuff and not have it too crowded. We did a couple of beds 1-1/2 blocks wide, but the center growing area is only 8" wide - I fee like it's just too small - but that was all the space we had to use, so no choice. This thinner design has done ok with lettuces and some smaller items, but they can get crowded so easily. The main point is that is has been a success in my view. No busted blocks. It's easier to maintain (I don't have to be down on my knees at ground level working). I think it helps keep weed seeds from getting into the beds as easily since they are up higher. Etc... About the only thing we have to do is to add more soil each year as our soil mix degrades and settles more. Hope this has been useful information for you.

Hi John 1931, I am a quilter too, so laying out blocks is a nice puzzle. A picture is worth a thousand words, But here's a try. Maybe some index cards or dominoes, Lego bricks, etc would be helpful to fidget with (I used index cards). Lay out a square pattern to show the corners of the first tier, with the blocks making a kind of circle, like this. N N N D B O O D B O O D B H H H (3 letters make a block, the O's are just dirt.) If you now flip that layer over D N N N D O O B D O O B K K K B it will sit on top of the first layer perfectly, and stagger all the joints. Of course you can stretch the sides by adding blocks, but with this corner pattern reversed for each layer, you should need no partial blocks and the joints would always stagger. Just avoid the symmetrical layout: N N N H O H H O H H O H N N N That gets you in trouble on the next tier. Hope this made sense!

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!