Building Raised Beds - but rocks!!!

[Saphellae]

I plan on building a couple of raised bed gardens once the ground thaws here.

At least one of the places has lots of rocks in the soil whichwill make it extremely difficult to put stakes as stabilizers/levellers for the wood.

Being hopeful here.. does anyone have any tips to help me remove some of the rocks so I can get some stakes in the ground.. that doesn't involve me on my hands and knees scratching up my hands lol. I even sometimes wonder if a shovel will not even do the job.

Or, do you have any suggestions that will require me NOT to put stakes???? I want it to stay put, and level.

 

[taxlady]

Have you considered straw bale gardening? I might give it a try this year.

straw bale gardening pictures - Google Search

 

[Zereh]

Use cement blocks. If you only stack them two-high and stagger how you position them (like normal brickwork is done) you don't need to stake them.

Great discussion and image taken from HERE:

 

[Saphellae]

Hmm.. this is for the front yard though.. is there an alternative with the sturdiness of cement blocks? Also I'm looking for something I won't have to redo each year.

 

[Bolas De Fraile]

The raised bed in the background is not staked, the weight of the soil(2 tons) and the weight of the frame hold it in place.

 

[sparrowgrass]

Garden centers have decorative block. Might be too expensive, however. Even plain old blocks are $2+ around here.

But I don't think you need to stake. We did raised beds for our community garden and they are not staked. Those beds are made of recycled plastic, and they interlock at the corners.

Tell us more about how you are doing the beds.

 

[n2cookin]

We have raised beds and they are not staked. Some have been in place for 2 years now. Made of wood, with metal brackets in the corners. We live in a rocky poor soil area. Raised beds are the way to go.

 

[Leolady]

I used very old railroad ties....

but it would be easy to use hay bales end to end to create a wall for a raised bed. You could then fill the center with rotted manure, compost, topsoil, etc, and mulch with leaves and/or hay.

 

[Mama]

I don't know if you have a Sam's Club card, but you can order these online. $52 isn't a bad price and that includes shipping. It's 42" x 84" x 8"

Greenland Gardener Raised Bed Garden Kit - Sam's Club

 

[justplainbill]

Take a peek at-
Sears: Online department store featuring appliances, tools, fitness equipment and more

 

[CraigC]

I have used landscape timbers (basically 4x4s), drilled through with a 1/2" paddle bit where the holes line up when one is placed on top of another. Depending on how high I stack the timbers, I'll select pieces of 1/2" rebar at least 2' longer than the bed height. I drive the rebar through the predrilled holes and into the ground. Rocks, unless they are boulders, generally don't impede the progress of a piece of rebar driven in with a sledge hammer.

Craig

 

[Barbara L]

Have you considered straw bale gardening? I might give it a try this year.

straw bale gardening pictures - Google Search

I started researching this last night after I read your post. I'm really interested in trying this!

 

[Saphellae]

Remember I'm in Canada

I like the idea of brackets.

And, it's the front yard, very tiny, hay bales out of the question. and it needs to be at least 2 stacks high.