Finished filling our raised bed vegetable boxes today. Big job but worth the effort.

[bbhaag]

Today my wife and I decided it was time to fill the planter boxes that she had constructed. I AM NOT the carpenter in the family she is. She built these boxes on her own after seeing an article in The Family Handyman magazine. The one without the metal sides she designed herself and built because she said we needed one that was better suited to certain vegetables. I just nodded and said ok sounds good.

So since she was the brains you can probably guess what that made me.....the muscle. Here is a pic of the soil medium she decided to use. It is a soiless medium containing compost, peat, and perlite. This was taken just after getting back home with all the supplies.

Because it was very hot today I decided to mix all the ingredients on the trailer under the shade of the maple tree then drive the mix over to the boxes. It took close to 1.5 cubic yards of media to fill the first box.

Here I am getting ready to fill the first box. My wife is lining the second box with 6mil plastic so I can fill it next.

The first box is about a quarter of the way filled. I found that a snow shovel was the best tool for filling it. It worked really slick and made quick work of it. It took about 45 minutes from start to finish.

First box is filled now onto the next.....except the trailer is empty. Turns out we needed more compost so off to the store I go.

I'm back from the store with more Compost, peat, and perlite. As you can see the box is lined so now it is time to fill it.

The temps cooled down a lot so we decided to fill this one in the box not on the trailer first. We added 2 cubic feet of each material then blended it and the repeated until the box was full.

Second box is full and ready for some veggies. It's is getting late to plant in our area but I new she was wanting to get these done so even if they don't get planted this year they will be ready for 2020!

 

[lxskllr]

Even included pics of wife. bbhaag for elite!

 

[Red Squirrel]

Nice! Been thinking of building some of these for the fenceline in the back yard. Would either grow veggies, or just put in wild flowers or something. Great for the bees.

 

[bbhaag]

Even included pics of wife. bbhaag for elite!

Haha it's funny you mention that. As I was taking the pictures she looked at me and said "You're taking pics to post on Anandtech aren't you.". I just smiled and said yep.

Nice! Been thinking of building some of these for the fenceline in the back yard. Would either grow veggies, or just put in wild flowers or something. Great for the bees.

You should look into it man. She said they weren't that difficult to build. Here is the guide she used to build them and the price was very reasonable considering how sturdy they are.
https://www.familyhandyman.com/garden-structures/how-to-build-raised-garden-beds/

 

[BoomerD]

What's the purpose of the corrugated metal? Just looks?

I never use pressure treated lumber for my vegetables. I'd rather not consume the chemicals that leach off the lumber into the soil. (wasn't too many years ago, PT lumber was greenish...from the chromated copper arsenate used for rot protection,,,splinters from that could fuck you up...the new PT wood isn't toxic...but I still don't use it. Redwood in CA, cedar here.
I'm also not a fan of the zinc used in galvanizing.

Otherwise, the beds look damned good. Tell her Boomer sez "Nice job."

 

[deadlyapp]

What's the purpose of the corrugated metal? Just looks?

I never use pressure treated lumber for my vegetables. I'd rather not consume the chemicals that leach off the lumber into the soil. (wasn't too many years ago, PT lumber was greenish...from the chromated copper arsenate used for rot protection,,,splinters from that could fuck you up...the new PT wood isn't toxic...but I still don't use it. Redwood in CA, cedar here.
I'm also not a fan of the zinc used in galvanizing.

Otherwise, the beds look damned good. Tell her Boomer sez "Nice job."

She lined them with 6 mil plastic anyways so there should be no problem.

Can't tell if the lumber is pressure treated or not, only problem is with rot at the bottom boards if they aren't treated or coated first.

I helped build lots of beds with my mom many many years ago. Every single bed we made differently depending on her mood.

 

[highland145]

Nice lawn.
<---jelly.

 

[BoomerD]

She lined them with 6 mil plastic anyways so there should be no problem.

Can't tell if the lumber is pressure treated or not, only problem is with rot at the bottom boards if they aren't treated or coated first.

I helped build lots of beds with my mom many many years ago. Every single bed we made differently depending on her mood.

Sorry...the "pressure treated" was in response to the article quoted. Not sure where you're located, but maybe "yella wood" was used?
https://www.yellawood.com

 

[bbhaag]

Thanks for all the compliments and likes everyone we appreciate it! These were a lot of work so it's nice to have it done and over with. My wife already brought home some red cabbage from work so it didn't take her long to start filling them.haha

What's the purpose of the corrugated metal? Just looks?

I never use pressure treated lumber for my vegetables. I'd rather not consume the chemicals that leach off the lumber into the soil. (wasn't too many years ago, PT lumber was greenish...from the chromated copper arsenate used for rot protection,,,splinters from that could fuck you up...the new PT wood isn't toxic...but I still don't use it. Redwood in CA, cedar here.
I'm also not a fan of the zinc used in galvanizing.

Otherwise, the beds look damned good. Tell her Boomer sez "Nice job."

The metal sides are just for looks to help dress them up a little. It's just a fascia because the inside of the box is 3/4" treated plywood that is attached to the framing for structural support.

She lined them with 6 mil plastic anyways so there should be no problem.

Can't tell if the lumber is pressure treated or not, only problem is with rot at the bottom boards if they aren't treated or coated first.

I helped build lots of beds with my mom many many years ago. Every single bed we made differently depending on her mood.

She used treated lumber for the entire box so it is rated for ground contact and you are correct because they are lined with 6mil plastic we won't have to worry about leaching into the soil. When I was filling the box I was especially careful around the edges so I wouldn't tear the liner.

The liners are whole sheets so there are no seems and she only used staples across the top to hold it in place so there are no puncture holes below soil level. I had an extra roll of poly at work that is a 26'x140' tube so we cut a large piece off that to use for the liners.