Raised Garden Bed - Cedar? Vinyl?

2 years ago

Hi folks, I'm in Los Angeles and would like to buy a raised garden bed to grow vegetables - tomatoes and peas to start. It will be placed on top of very compacted / dry soil and that gets sun the majority of the day. My plan is to use a non-treated wood like cedar in order to keep away from chemicals, but I have seen a few vinyl beds for sale and I'm wondering if I'm being short sighted in not considering them.

Secondly, if you've bought raised beds, do you have a recommendation on the brand? Would appreciate your advice, thanks much.

Featured Answer

nancyjane_gardener

last year

kharten, do you have gophers in the area? Check out your neighbors' yards to find out. If so, you will need to install hardware cloth (NOT chicken wire which is too large and will rot) and/or sound emitters.

It would be a good idea to get your pitchfork out and fork down as deep as possible, then add compost and/or organic manure from goats, sheep, rabbits, llamas (not cow, horse, chicken which is hot and will burn your plants) Water this into your soil as much as you can.

Then you build your boxes and add more soil/compost/water like lasagna until full. It will eventually settle a few inches below the final fill.

I would usually add a layer of compost each year (just a couple of inches) and everything was just peachy! Have fun!

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Comments (7)

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
2 years ago
Most gardeners that use wooden raised beds build their own. Zillions of online tutorials and they are not difficult, requiring only a hammer and nails. Edge/corner fasteners and other accessories can be purchased if necessary but they are not requirements. This way, you can customize sizes and arrangements that best fit your purposes.

Personally, I'd steer clear of vinyl around food production. It is a plastic and it does degrade. It also contains phthalates or plasticizers and various other rather toxic chemicals that can leach into the soil and thus be taken up by plants.

Galvanized stock tanks - available at feed and farm supply stores - are also frequently used for raised beds and any number of large garden retailers are selling them for this purpose.

Vego Garden Beds

Gardener's Supply

GardenGate Galvanized Raised Beds
btydrvn
2 years ago
I agree..building it with wood much more organic…drill lots of holes around the base for drainage…using redwood will last the longest …but it will rot over time ….keeping it only as tall as needed will save money on materials…. and be easier to replace soil as needed
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I thought of using cedar, but when I priced it, it was way too expensive and didn't make sense to do it. And I'm sorry to say, but if you're trying to grow as much food as you can, two 4x4 beds are not very much and I think that is a lot of money for two small beds. I have one long bed 12" high, 11ft long and 4ft wide. I have four beds 12" high, 4ft x 4ft. I made them with Pine because I had some already and didn't have to buy much more. It's actually been about 8 years since we built them and they are ready to be replaced now. Now I want to double the square footage that I can grow in. So I want to build… Two beds 12" high, 16ft long, 4ft wide Six beds 12" high, 6ft long, 4ft wide That doubles my growing space. I don't feel I need deeper beds, because vegetables are annuals and I've read somewhere recently that they don't really need 18" deep beds. 12" is just right for me and I don't mind bending and kneeling. So less wood. I priced what cedar I could find and it was going to cost me over $600. to build those beds. I called 12 lumber yards and only two had cedar and they weren't the dimensions I wanted either. Finally, one lumber yard, said he was steering people to use Eastern Hemlock rough sawn, which is very inexpensive. It is more rot resistant than Pine but less than Cedar. Estimates were 5yrs for Pine, 8-10 years for Hemlock, and 15yrs for Cedar. I priced the Hemlock and it was going to cost me $198. to build the same beds. So, if I built the hemlock and had to replace them in 10 years for another $200. It would still be $200. less than building the cedar beds, and would last me 5yrs longer.
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No problems with using the fir. Done it myself and have two 4x12' beds with it that are going on year 9 with no issues in my climate. Don't know what yours is since you don't include any location info so can't comment on any possible climate effects in your garden. The treatment leaching issue is a minor one, even under the worst conditions. Never treated mine just because I saw no need to do so but if you pull up some of the past discussions on using treated wood you'll find that even at the height of the arsenic use era with CCA wood the leaching tests showed the readable level ended at 5-6" from the wood. Most any treatment for wood that is available since the law changed in 2002 is far less, if any, and the toxicity levels dropped dramatically. You have to do what you will feel comfortable with of course but microbial activity in the soil is far more like to be decimated by climate effects and gardening practices (or lack there of) than by any oil preservative you might use on the wood. Dave
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Beautiful garden. I think it will be difficult to keep grass looking good around raised beds unless you have a lawn mowing company and then it will not be a problem. As' localeater' mentioned I would not use pea gravel. Seeing your beautiful garden I would not use any kind of gravel, but I think a stone path between the two beds and from the patio would look good. Of course if later you decide that that is not the place for your beds then it would look silly to have a path from the patio to the middle of your lawn. Good luck on your garden.
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Stephanie
2 years ago
Adding to the above many of the vinyl ones are hollow so if you go that route make sure they are solid. I would do cedar or similar. Good luck!
daninthedirt (USDA 9a, HZ9, CentTX, Sunset z30, Cfa)
2 years ago
Agree about vinyl. Bad stuff. These days, pressure treated wood (ACQ) is quite safe, and EPA actually calls it out as being optimal for raised beds. But if you burn it, don't breathe the smoke. Cedar and redwood are pricey.
jpanicacci
last year
I am also shopping for cedar raised beds. Amazon seems to have a few good options. Has anyone tried the "SmartCart" raised beds from Walmart? SmartCart Raised Beds .I am also considering the Infinite Cedar Deep Root Cedar Raised Garden Bed. Would love your input on whatever has worked for you all.

I plan to do the "no dig" method by putting cardboard at the bottom and then compost overtop.
Esther-B, Zone 7a
last year
I just received a cedar raised bed kit from Greene's Fences. It seems very well made. I will just have to slip the boards into a pre-cut riser with slots for the boards. They will also do custom kits. I intend to spray them with a wood preservative and then tack 1/4" vinyl coated hardware cloth on the bottoms to prevent vole invasion from below. I will only have ornamental plants in them, not vegetables. But they would be great for vegetables, being all untreated cedar.
kharten thanked Esther-B, Zone 7a

Raised Garden Bed - Cedar? Vinyl?

nancyjane_gardener

Comments (7)

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)

btydrvn

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Stephanie

daninthedirt (USDA 9a, HZ9, CentTX, Sunset z30, Cfa)

jpanicacci

Esther-B, Zone 7a

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