If you are elderly or a disability makes bending and stretching difficult, raising your garden beds can make growing fruit, vegetables and flowers a whole lot easier.
Raised beds can be made from almost anything that will hold soil. The best and some of the cheapest materials are discussed here, so let,s look at Some simple, cheap and safe ways to make raised garden beds
Simple, safe and cheap ways to make a raised garden bed
In this article we will look at;
- Choosing the materials. Raised garden beds really can be made from almost anything that will hold soil and won't rot. Railway sleepers, used tyres, old wooden planks, old plastic buckets, plastic pond-liners and straw bales.
- Measurements. Getting the height, length and width right are important and I will explain why and how to calculate the dimensions for safe and easy to use raised garden beds in this article.
- Safety considerations. Beds must be capable of bearing the weight of the soil, the higher the bed the higher the risk of collapse because as the height increases the force trying to topple it increases by a large factor.
- Constructing your own raised beds. An important consideration will be drainage, frozen soil expands as it freezes and can weaken or even collapse the raised bed, more about that later. Sleepers are very heavy to handle and even fixing other lighter materials will still require a certain level of skill and strength, enlist some help if you can. Plan to have the top wide enough on the finished bed to form a seat to sit on, you'll be glad you did on a hot day working in your garden.
What materials can be used to make raised garden beds?
Raised beds can be made from just about any material that will hold soil. Some of the cheapest materials are in fact, the best.
It's a good ideal whatever material you are making your raised bed from to plan to have the top wide enough to form a seat to sit on as you are working on the bed.
Used bricks and breeze blocks are cheap or even free. Breeze blocks lain on there side can make a good cheap raised bed and form a seat to sit and garden from.
Sawn timber is a fairly low cost material for making raised garden beds.
Old planks nailed or screwed around a simple frame of corner stakes that have been well hammered in is cheap and very simple to make.
Any old container that's stable and deep enough to allow space for roots to spread. Potatoes grow and do particularly well in old plastic buckets.
Old pre formed garden ponds are a cheap way to make a raised garden beds. Make sure the liner is set stable on blocks or bricks to get the desired height and drill or hammer a few holes in the bottom for drainage before adding a layer of gravel and then the top soil.
TOP TIP: Hay or straw
bales are interesting and well worth a try. I have included some hay bail garden tips on my page hay bale garden
Old tyres can be used too, two or three car or lorry tyres can be stacked on top of each other making really cheap raised beds to grow vegetables in.
Rubber tyres are particularly good for growing in as they absorb the heat in the morning and radiate it off at night, this helps keep the plants warm and encourage growth.
For stability and safety the tyre stack should be held in place with stakes hammered in around the inside.
Concrete slabs set on end and cemented or secured in the ground, not pretty but If you know anyone who is pulling up an old patio the slabs could be free.
Upturned lawn turf. If you know anyone turning a lawn into a patio or stripping a lawn, ask them for the turf they are removing, they will be pleased to drop it round for you, saves them hiring a skip.
Sleepers look good and are fairly easy to make safe and if fixed on there side, form a seat to work from or rest.
How many sleepers to make a basic raised bed.
Four to form a six foot square about a foot high, would cost £100. Eight to form a two foot high x six foot square raised bed would cost £200 and so on.
Basic instructions about how to construct a sleeper bed further down this page.
Softwood boards. To make a relatively cheap, rustic looking raised bed, you could use pressure-treated softwood boards fixed horizontally onto stakes driven into the ground.
Boards are cheap and won’t need a great deal of skill or strength to construct and can be stained to look attractive and fit with your garden. A bed made from softwood boards is not particularly strong, so the maximum height of the bed should be around 450mm.
Construction tips are further down this page.
How to work out the height,length and width of raised garden beds.
The ideal dimensions, that's height, width and length of your raised bed will be determined by what’s best for you. Think about the position you will garden from, standing, kneeling or sitting next to, or on the edge of the bed.
Check that the measurements work for you before building or having the raised bed built for you.
This is how I work out the best height, length and width for you.
Working out the ideal height:
- Stand, kneel or sit if working from a seated position or using a wheelchair,
- Hold a trowel in the hand you work with and reach out with your arm slightly lower than your shoulder. Measure the most comfortable position from the lowest point of the trowel to the ground and that's the best height for your raised bed.
- If working from a wheelchair or wheeled garden seat the height of your raised garden bed is calculated when seated in the wheelchair with the chair in a side on position.
To calculate the best width for you:
- Hold the trowel in one hand and without stretching reach across the imaginary raised bed and work the trowel as if planting or weeding, that's the best width for your raised bed.
- If working from a wheelchair or wheeled garden seat the width is measured when seated in the wheelchair with the chair in a side on position.
- TIP: The recommended width of a raised bed that you can access from both sides, can be up to 1,000mm wide. At this width you should be able to reach all areas of the bed with ease. If you can only access the bed from one side, the maximum width is around 500mm.
To calculating the ideal length:
- The length of your raised garden bed can be as long as you can safely make it and be able to navigate around the bed.
- The length of the bed will also be determined by the space you have available and how big you want the bed to be.
- If working from a wheelchair or wheeled garden seat, make sure you leave enough space to wheel all around the bed
- TIP: A raised bed formed with sleepers laid flat, forms a useful seat to sit and work from and to take a rest.
Safety considerations when building raised beds in your garden
The beds must be safe to use, if you are building it yourself and the height is over 2ft, consider these points:
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The higher the structure the higher the chance of failure. It is important to be aware that as the height of the retaining wall increases, the force trying to topple it increases by a large factor. For example, if you double the height of the raised bed, the tipping force can increase by a factor of three or four times.
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Frozen soil expands as it freezes and can seriously damage the material retaining the soil. So in areas where frost is likely this can be minimised by back-filling the wall with gravel.
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The soil and area itself needs to be well drained so that water can't build up behind the wall.If it's not possible to drain the water away from the wall or raised bed structure, water can be drained through the walls of the raised bed by installing weep holes in the base.
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Try to avoid sharp corners or edges and splintery timber as you might want to lean on the bed to work.Dimensions.
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Don't build it to wide or to high, forcing stretching defeats the object.
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Beds using stone or brick might be best left to experts unless you have bricklaying and hard landscaping skills.
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Garden Drainage information can be found on my garden drainage page
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Building retaining walls information can be found here dry stone walls
How to construct a raised bed using sleepers.
A raised bed made from railway sleepers is fairly easy to make is strong, long lasting and looks natural.
Sleepers come in 1.8m lengths and work best laid horizontally. They can be placed on their edge or (Best) flat forming seating.
Sleepers are very heavy to handle and fixing requires a certain level of skill, strength and drilling. If you are using reclaimed railway sleepers the tar can be toxic to some plants and can stain clothes and hands. A better option is to use new oak sleepers. Most timber merchants stock them.
Fitting the sleepers together
- Mark out the area where you are building the raised bed.
- Cut the sleepers to length and cut the ends to overlap at corners.
- Sink the bottom sleepers into the ground to half their depth.
- Drill holes in the sleepers at 1m centers, 25mm wide by 75mm deep.
- Tap 150mm long dowels into the holes.
- Fix the next layer of sleepers by locking dowels into matching holes.
- Drill and fix the next layer of sleepers.
- At the corners and 1m intervals drive 1,000mm × 75mm × 75mm stakes into the ground inside your bed, burying half their length.
- Attach each sleeper to the support stakes using 200mm coach bolts.
- Finish by Laying hardcore or 20mm gravel for drainage and then fill with soil.
Quantity of top soil needed to fill the bed explained below.
Don't forget to work out the best height, length and width for you.
How to construct a bed using boards.
This method requires very little skill, is fairly light work and makes a good solid long lasting raised bed.
- Use 25mm x 150mm pressure treated softwood board, cut to the lengths required.
- Place 1,000mm x 50mm x 50mm stakes at corners and at every 1m length.
- Drive the stakes into the ground, to leave 450mm above ground.
- Check the stakes are straight and all in the ground to the same height.
- Set the lowest boards 50mm below ground level and fix the boards to the stakes with galvanised nails or screws.
- Butt the next row of boards up to the first and screw or nail on.
- Repeat until all the boards are fitted.
- Quantity of top soil needed to fill the bed explained below.
- Don't forget to work out the best height, length and width for you.
Purchasing ready made raised bed kits.
You may prefer D.I.Y. using self assembly raised garden beds, they usually come complete with stakes and screws and instructions on how to assemble the kit. I have featured a couple here. Whether you choose to build the bed yourself, buy a kit or employ a professional, will depend on your skill and budget. But beds made using stone or brick might be best left to experts unless you have hard landscaping experience.
How much top soil will I need to fill a raised bed?
- About one ton of top soil will fill a 6ft x 3ft x 12" bed.
- Find a local supplier who will deliver and possibly tip it into the beds for you.
- You can advertise on freecycle for topsoil and stuff to form a raised bed but you will probably need transport to collect it. Or if you want it delivered in a bulk bag the organic stuff featured below is very good and good value.
What soil is best for raised beds.
When you hoe, rake or fork the soil over add some grit sand and home made garden compost until the texture is how you want it. You might want to consider no dig gardening I have explained how to start here gardening without digging
You won't need to lay weed suppressant fabric, weeds will struggle to grow though a foot of soil. Most weeds are airborne, so will grow on top of the weed suppressant fabric anyway.
If you have a bad back or a disability that stops you bending or getting down low or garden from a wheelchair, building wheelchair accessible raised garden beds, makes it a lot easier to keep on gardening.
High Quality Planting Topsoil (Huge 1000L bulk bag!!
A quality topsoil, screened and blended through a 10mm screen to remove stones and lumps, this topsoil is fine and friable and easily raked and leveled for laying turf.
Full of minerals and nutrients to help your plants develop and produce a productive crop. Rakes out easily for laying lawn turf.
I design and build accessible gardens, incorporating raised garden beds, for elderly gardeners and people who find bending or stretching difficult. Tips and contact details can be found hear Garden design for elderly.