Frugal retaining wall/raised bed?

[leslieann]

Hi, all you experienced gardeners.

In the course of the Big Renovation at our house, the raised bed between the house and driveway disappeared. Now it is time to make it return. The original bed was held up with old railroad ties, so I couldn't plant edibles in the space (the only part of the yard that gets sufficient light for many veggies). I have seen blocks for the retaining wall but they are pricey, and the wall will be about 24 feet long. What can I use to hold up this garden that will be safe enough to grow food (I know, next to the driveway probably isn't great anyway) and also inexpensive? And will last?

Thanks in advance...I am sure that this group will have lots of ideas.

Leslie

[Madsen]

I've known folks who used railroad ties for a edibles garden ... I asked about the leaching potential of the creosote or whatever the stuff is that's in railroad ties, and they didn't seem to think it was a concern?

[redfox]

Look for free rocks on craigslist. Also urbanite, aka broken chunks of concrete stack nicely.

[Float On]

I did have some of my raised beds done with concrete blocks (the light weight ones from Lowe's are under $1 each) but I worried about that leaching even though it is very popular among some of the hardcore raised bed types. I just sold them a few weeks ago on Craigslist. I moved to untreated wood for my veggie gardens - I know they have a shorter lifespan but I'm happy with them and they look better than the blocks. I had them cut 12' boards at the 8' length so my beds are 8'x4'. All my flower beds are retaining walls built out of shelf rock - very plentiful in my area.

[bae]

We just used rocks that were cluttering up the place. Other folks here make great use of driftwood.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_8bdYFKk3OW4/TBRaMtL3ptI/AAAAAAAAA_M/wIgEOnf6B1A/s720/img_0220.jpg

[Gina]

The only negative I've heard about using concrete is that new concrete can increase the pH of the soil, but that only lasts a short time - if it happens at all. The only negatives for your plants of a higher pH is that the range of mineral absorbtion changes, and you might get a bit of chlorosis (iron deficiency). That can be alleviated by adding a bit of acid to your water. A small amount of vinegar would work. But I doubt you'd have to worry about that.

While I've come to not like rigid sides on garden beds, in a specifically defined spot where any soil drift would not be wanted, I'd go with concrete building blocks - the ones with holes in them. If you are worried about using concrete, or wanting to control water even more, you can line the sides with plastic sheeting.

There are more decorative concrete blocks, but those of course are more expensive.

[leslieann]

Thanks, everyone, for the ideas, and Bae for the photo. Maybe I am thinking too much in the box...need to be more free and flexible in my ideas! I was looking at the decorative concrete but I really like Redfox's reference to "urbanite." Made me smile....

More ideas? I do need to keep the soil contained as the bed is immediately beside the driveway.

[Madsen]

If you wanted to go super cheap you could just drive rebar or the equivalent in the ground, and have pieces of plywood as the sides of your bed ---
http://i.imgur.com/7nW2r.jpg

[Gina]

Someone down the street has used some 'urbanite' in terracing. It looks nice. Don't know where you'd get it however. Guess you could call some demolition companies and ask.

What about making a wall from concrete, as in mixing it and pouring it? If it's not too tall, you could make some forms and use something like qwik-crete.

The problem with collecting local rocks is that it's illegal in some places. Certainly not all, but it is here. Rocks are pretty and inexpensive. When collecting them, so many people have gone to the beaches and streams to pick them up, that they were actually damaging natural habitats. We can collect them at fresh landslides near roads however.

[bae]

The problem with collecting local rocks is that it's illegal in some places. Certainly not all, but it is here.

We collected ours from our own property, where they were making a mess.