How to Use Repurposed Materials to Build Raised Garden Beds for Healthy Plants
Raised beds are great additions to food production systems.
They can both be lovely and produce higher yields!
Raised beds reduce weeds and pests and provide increased drainage for plants. In Texas, the soil quality is also very poor, so creating raised beds filled with higher quality soil (such as from our compost pile) yields healthier plants.
There are all kinds of sustainable, "trash" resource materials that can be used to build a bed to grow your own food! We regularly find valuable material in perfect condition, and every single day we find new ways to upcycle materials. Repurposing the "waste" we already have in great abundance is a wonderful way to build a more sustainable world.
Here are 4 ideas for repurposed materials to use for constructing a raised bed for healthy plants:
Our greens grow happily inside old monster truck tires. We have a collection of tire gardens at the center of our property planted with lettuces, kale, shiso, spinach, collards, swiss chard, and carrots!
A 55 gallon plastic drum is now home to a dozen plants in this cute vertical garden. Watering is very efficient for this garden. It's super compact, so this is an ideal gardening method for small spaces. It's very easy to make; simple cut slots in the side, fill with soil, and plant your plants in the slots!
Pallets are easy to arrange in an octagon or other geometric shape. This bed is simple lashed together and filled with soil.
The square garden is framed with fence panels, and we set a mini-raised bed planted in a hollow stump in front. Before filling this taller garden with soil, we put tree stumps and other brush clearing at the bottom. This organic matter will break down to self-compost the bed, leading to richer soil over time! This is basically a mini hugel mound.
Speaking of which, hugel mounds are another great option for creating healthier, more fertile gardens. Check out our post for more info on building them!
We hope to inspire you with just a few options for building raised beds to increase your garden's production! Utilizing free "waste" material to build them is a double win for the planet!
www.intothegardenofeden.com
Experimenting with discarded materials is a fulfilling creative practice. I'm grateful for such an abundance of supplies and inspiration to transform trash into treasure. These are all great suggestions--we'll just keep coming up with more!!
Grateful you share your inspiration, @everlove!
love raised beds - loved you photos , plants all look very happy! Following
Yes, we definitely have some happy plants! Thanks, @sallybeth23!
Hi @gardenofeden, The world need more creative people like you to make it a better place to live in. I see purity in all your photos. You're doing an awesome job so keep it up. Upvoted and resteemed. Also you got a new follower. So, cheer up!
Thanks for your support, @steemit.lover2! We strive to encourage everyone to create the world they want to live in!
I sure do love living in The Garden of Eden!
Sustainable thrival!
Life here is unparalleled for ease and abundance! Definitely one of the best spots on Earth ❤
Bless it be~*~
Upcycle is the way to go. Love the garden pictures. Repurposing things that others believe have outlived their purpose! Don't dream it, Steemit!
Oh yeah, "trash" FTW!!!
Rediscovered treasure!
Your level of creativity just amaze me each and everytime @gardenofeden! Wish I had some free space at my house!
Anyway I just enjoy seeing you doing it for the time being until I find a solution for me!
Cheers
@progressivechef
Trash is a VERY abundant resource!
Utilize it!
Living as we do provides a lot of opportunity for innovation. There is something very satisfying about seeing a "problem" and using our own brain power and man power to create a solution that benefits all. It is also satisfying to see a huge, free pile of discarded resources that are still in perfect condition and to know that we can and will value those materials rather than forsake them to pollute the Earth.
i wish i could build one of those in my house, but the problem is i'm not good in planting.
We're fond of the saying, "There are no problems, only opportunities for solutions."
Thanks for sharing. Love the ideas and will use them in our garden once we move house at the end of the year!
Awesome, hope you'll share your progress!
I sure will. Moving house after our trip to Europe at the end of summer. Can't wait to get my hands in the dirt again.
Several great ideas for repurposing and upcycling old materials here, thanks! ^_^
Hope you put them to good use!
Turn trash into food!
I especially like the octagon made of pallets. I may have to try that one out, myself. Thank you! I'll be following your channel for more cool ideas!