Reading another thread I came upon the most fantastic photos of cinderblock raised beds posted by GW member jonhughes.

I will attempt to recreate beds like this in my yard this year. How much soil/growing medium do you need for one bed and what are the dimensions folks find most user friendly?? I want beds that are minimum 3 blocks high to permit root crops.

Please post photos and comments especially how much soil is needed for those who already have beds built.

Thanks!
DL

Anyway to get the number of yards each bed takes,you simply multiply the Height x Width x Depth = How much you need..
For example ... One of My beds is 4' wide x 2' Tall x 10' Long, that means I used 80 Sq. Ft. of Soil or about 3 yards.

BTW... I grow my vegetables to provide food for the Hungry in my community,I donate to the Food Bank... Well ... Yesterday , I was able to harvest 25 lbs of radishes, 29 lbs of Swiss Chard Leaves, 12 lbs of Onions and 125 lbs of Red and Green Lettuce... What a blessing ;-)

Let me make a small correction to your dimensions and maybe clarify the computation of volume for DL.

The volume of soil is measured in c.f. (cubic feet), not s.f. (square feet). I'm sure you know this, but made a slip-up.

L x W x H = 10' x 2' x 4' = 80 c.f.

1 cubic yard = 27 cubic feet

80 / 27 = 2.96 c.y. or approximately 3 c.y.

Jim

Thank You Everybody ;-)

If you can't afford raised beds like mine (very expensive and time consuming to build (but will last through the Great Tribulation ;-)

I also have a pic of Cinderblock beds that are super cheap, will last longer than most,... if not all,... other readily available products ...and did I mention Super cheap ;-)

You can find Cinderblocks for 1.40 each or less at most building supply stores ,you don't "need" a footing or mortar, just simply level out an area and start laying them down touching each other (for natural friction) and they will hold in 8" of soil and work wonderfully ;-)

I have a few curious questions if I may.

Watched the video of the crew pouring the foundation area and wondered what is the utility/cost differences between the mortared cinderblock beds, and having a frame out and poured concrete walls?

Thanks for your insights!

Question on this:

"things grown in the perimeter grow exponentially faster than out in the field "

I'm taking this to mean that plants planted in the cinder block holes grow faster than those in the bed?

Any other factors - are they sturdier, retain heat better due to the holes, etc?

If the poured concrete would be cheaper - I might go that way myself - being a cheapskate....I think I might like the look better too. I'd be apt to put a color in the concrete or maybe tile the outside - so something decorative.....

(also curious about the perimeter statement...)

Last Year so many things got away from me,even though I was really attentive.. the holes in the block measure approx. 5"x 5" and even with that, I had a hard time getting out carrots and Walla Walla Onions that grew so fast, I had to rip some out with a pry bar...

Thanks so much for answering the questions, such a huge help for those of us still in the planning stages!

Besides the extra heat from the block, let us not discount the fertilizing effect of the concrete. My new beds were made with 4 inches wide blocks, from Lowe (HD does not have them). Certainly easier to reach the middle of the bed, and they take less space, but in the holes you can plant basil, arugula, or broccoli raab, that's it.

Anyway Jon, your wonderful setup also looks extremely comfortable to work with. Bet you threw away your knee pads. I, too, have hoopohouses on top of the beds, exactly like yours, only difference I also screw a crossbar made of plastic electrical conduit underneath the hoops, for extra stability.

Jon, I've been reading in awe what you've done and always wonder how many people you feed. How we know, and for a good cause too.

I wonder if you or anyone else have any suggestion about using the cinder blocks to build beds on a slope from 15 to 45 degree, and how? When my wood raised bed go out in a few year, I'd like to try it. My guess is your bed will last... forever? I like the look and result very much!

-- THREE BLOCK HIGH IS WASTE OF MATERIAL AND EFFORTS 3 times, JMO,
but it is your money and your back, not mine. lol

For most garden veggies one block high will do, for few other 2 block high is far more than enough.
Just remember that the ground on which the beds are layed out, are made of soil too, generally
and they are not solid rock or concrete, normally.

In the words of my grandson "you rock dude"!! Thanks jonhughes for all the photos and the information. I watched the video. I will probably do a 2 block and a 3 block bed - arthritis mandates a higher bed. My beds will just be on top of lawn area without benefit of cement. I think with the weight of the blocks they will be quite stable. (DH would have a fit if I asked him to roll out some cement......) I like the look of the cinderblock but might stain the block to keep the neighbors happy. I will be using the 'holes' for onions and carrots now that I see your success. Imagine this - raised bed that magically transforms into hoop house!!

Thanks again for the info.

DL

Yep, you da man, Hughes!

Leisa

Cinderblock come in 3 or 4 colors,you can special order them also... they put the stain in the mix,before pouring into the molds....
But, you could also stucco them after they are in place (any color)
or you could paint them (any color)

and don't forget,they come in "split-faced" also... very pretty (i am just too cheap ;-)

This is the 3rd season for some of the beds (I started with just 3 but added more later). I haven't had a problem with alkalinity - in fact I've had to add quite a bit of lime. But that may be because I just filled them with regular topsoil.

I haven't planted much in the holes of the blocks b/c I didn't have enough soil to fill them. But this year I had 4 nasturtium plants reseed themselves - and 3 out of the 4 grew inside the holes. Those 3 plants are also much bigger than the 1 in the ground already. So they must like it in there, I'm assuming because of the extra heat.

I also purposely planted sunflowers in some of the holes towards the back of my yard last year. They grew pretty well considering it was an area with only partial sun.

My 4 inches are buried in the ground about 3 inches, and that prevents grass from coming in. I have no experience with a double layer, although if I were you I would punch holes at the bottom, as described above, and plant a stake through. The stake can be made of anything, given how much of a cheapskate I am, I would go to the recycling center and get old pipes, but 1/2 inch PVC would be adequate and probably less than 50 cents per stake (cut them at a 45 angle to get them to penetrate the ground better). I have some stakes in some outer beds to support a double wire of electric fence, and they are the thinnest treated wood I could find (at HD).

In double layer, you would be better off staggering the blocks. That means getting half blocks. I have a masonry circular saw from when I built my patio, and if you do not cut them exactly on center, there should still be space for the stake to go through. I would go down and do it for you, but right now it is raining hard. I will post again.

Also, IMHO you need a strong staking only if your ground freezes hard. If not, I think a stake connecting just the two blocks would be enough.

It could be that I could have made more of an effort. There could have been other things I could have tried to work out the issues I had. Maybe a larger bed, so the soil wasn't as close to the sides. I was watering it all the time it seemed. I do remember that. I do like the three rows of blocks. I had two.

No problem, you are not being a "killjoy" we all learn from one another ;-)
I would just say,.....you can't argue with success... now, you can argue with failure, so we could try and figure out what went wrong with yours,so others don't make the same mistakes... I don't know what possibilities exist out there,but if you weren't successful ,others may not be either, I have six different kinds of raised beds and I like them all, of course the ultimate ones (2' tall cinderblock) are expensive and not everybody can afford them,but I am old,and I don't want to do extensive harvesting on lower beds,so ...they are awesome for me, if you are young and don't mind bending over for hours on end, amen, go for it... either way...its all good ;-)

my initial strawberry patch

same patch one month later... OY VEY

6" wood beds

8" Cinderblocks

12" wood beds

24" Cinderblock beds

From one nurse to another -- Yes you can do this! You might not do it exactly like jonhughes but take his idea and his photos and make your variation of his construction. DH is going to build me a 24 inch tall raised bed because I've got 2 new hips and need 2 new knees. We are not going to have brick layers and mortar but when DH finishes the raised cinderblock bed will be neat and allow for pain free gardening. I have no idea how DH plans to keep the cinderblock from falling but he says he can build the raised bed without mortar - something about rebar supports?? At present I'm using EarthBoxes and EarthTainers and 10-12 inch tall raised beds. Hope your DH feels better after that 'stone'. One of my most memorable patients was in 'stone passing' mode for 8 hours out of a 12 hour shift - he was totally miserable even with the heavy drugs we gave him!!

Cheers,
DL

The blocks are just laid on the earth and set one on top of the other with no mortar. They've held their shape for 5 years now, so I expect they are going to stay just like they are unless a bulldozer knocks them down.

I pounded thin rebar though their holes and down into the ground. The thin rebar was cut to size with bolt cutters.

I use schedule 40 PVC to support a plastic cover (greenhouse film)at the beginning and end of the growing season. The PVC is slipped down over the rebar to hold it securely in place.

If you have a masonry store or brick yard, sometimes it is possible to purchase factory second cinder blocks. The savings is substantial. I had the masonry yard deliver the blocks. They brought them out on pallets and set the pallets where I wanted them with a crane.

Stacking the blocks is heavy work, but not as much work as moving all the dirt to fill the raised bed. The thing is, though, that the work and expense is a one time deal. Then the raised beds can be enjoyed for years.