I used your "old" method (with the wooden forms) but found that stacking them with the joints like you did caused them to "bow" out. I then modified your plans to make a center pipe that will hold better . Somewhat like making a brick wall. You have to stagger joints or it will become weak. These are now going on 4 years and no bowing or moving. I stacked them two (2) high as I didn't want to bend over if possible. Sitting on the "ledge" makes weeding and harvesting easier. BUT, your ideas and help is WONDERFUL!!! Keep up the progression and updates.
I am excited about the molds! I am not excited about making my own currently and this will give me more of an incentive to make raised garden beds. When I have a new property and tool shed that I want I will be happier to make my own design of molds with wood. Maybe something fancy. I am dreaming of making the surface rough and sealing the cement then spraying a moss starter on the outer surface to make it all look organic after the moss grows in.
The forms are a great idea, I remember watching your videos a while ago and didn't know you you had decided to go into business but it's a great idea and I hope they are popular.
I have plans to do exactly this for the foundation of my green house. I have 18 inch tall blocks from following your design, I plan to mortar in the blocks, and then just frame out some recycled windows I got from a friend's house when he got his windows replaced.
I watched your videos on the earlier panels, so this is a great update. Unfortunately, I'm in the UK. so the only economic way to get the moulds will be to make them myself. What I'll be making them for will be to stack vertically to make 1.2m/4' cubes as compost bays, as even treated wood only lasts 4-5 years.
Enjoyed your video. I’ve been doing concrete counter tops ( pour in place ) One of the web sites for DIY counter tops uses an additive to make the concrete more fluid ( plasticity mix ). There additive looks as if they have some fibrous additive. Also they have an attachment for an oscillating tool which is used to vibrate the bubbles out the edges. This works well. My edges have not had any bubbles or voids. I might need a vibrating table if I do the 8 raised beds thinking of. Considering buying some molds !
Pumicecrete is by far the best building material on the planet Pumicecrete is a mixture of pumice cement and water mixed and poured into a set of reusable forms walls are poured from 12"to 24" thick pumicecrete is fireproof termite proof rust rot and mold proof non toxic and has a high R value and good sound attenuation solid poured walls means no critters can live in your walls Pumicecrete can be built for a fraction of the cost and time and pumice is one of the few building materials that can go directly from the mine to the job site ready to use without any additional possessing and zero waste Take care Ray
Just fyi, microfiber does not prevent long term cracks nor replace reinforcement. It only helps with shrinkage cracking during the curing process, which is when you are more likely to get micro-fractures. For this application I would definitely not skip.
Great video as always and thank you for your passion on this project. I had a thought about stacking the panels. You might be able to do away with the wedges if you made a mirror image panel. That would require new molds but they would perfectly offset each others angle and the wall would sit plumb. Alternatively, I suppose you could make new panels without the central inset so you could just flip them around for the 2nd tier.
I love these videos. It would be interesting if you could stagger the seams with a third length. Like two 3' on the bottom. One 3' in the middle and two 1.5' on each end. I think that would stiffen up the stack considerably. Just a thought...
This such a great idea. Brilliant business idea. You should try to up scale to Amazon and gardening shops. A great idea would to add with every order. A discount code for referrals. Use those codes to see which market would be best to advertise to. This is a lot better than using forms. If someone does not make a business out of it. Great job. I love it when people think outside the box ( garden box or is it garden bed) LOL
These concrete panels look incredible. I was going to redo my raised beds with simple concrete corner stones and some wooden panels, but now I may have to rethink that. Don't really have any experiencing mixing concrete though.
I have enjoyed your videos and have learned alot going forward for my own project. I am wanting to build a 2 tier retaining wall that is more like 3 to 4" thick at 10 to 12" tall/panel thus building my own forms. Another aspect I want to incorporate is stacking offset like standard wall block so I will want another hole in the middle of my bottom sections to drive rebar through the top ends and locking them to bottom sections. I'll be very interested in the strength mix coming in the next video.
I love this idea and when we can buy I'll make my garden beds this way, However I would like them to be 3' tall, would the light weight mix be able to withstand that pressure? the rebar through the middle looks like a good idea but I don't quite understand based on the graphic shown how to do that, a video demonstrating how to would be fantastic.
In my last batch I used a 1:1:5 ratio of cement/sand/perlite with good results. As you say, experiment with what works for you. I read on the perlite org site that it is best to mix the cement, sand, and water first then add the perlite last to minimize mixing time. Apparently the more perlite is agitated the more it gets degraded. However, I'm not sure at our scale the difference would be significant.
Could we place a small wooden right-angle triangle in the corner of the mold to allow the panels to be placed at 45-degree angles to each other rather than 90-degree?
My wife ask me to build some raised garden beds a few years ago. I really wanted something that would not cost very much, be safe to grow vegetables in (no treated wood), look good, and last a long time, so I thought I would build them in concrete. The problem that I found was needing to move them in the future which is when I found your channel. Concrete panels met all the criteria, However, I didn’t have the time to make the wooden forms so I never actually went forward with those panels and just build the raised boxes in cedar fence panels, which has lasted a few years now. I feel I will need to replace them soon. Now I see you make plastic forms, which is great. I wondered if you have ever thought of making a 48 inch plastic form. I make my garden boxes 4‘ x 8‘ because we work the bed from both sides and can we easily reach in 2 feet. Also wondered if it would be a good idea or even necessary if the bottom of a panel had a groove in it and the top had a matching rim so when you stack two together, they lock in together. Thank for for the great work.
The channel Michael Builds, he added green latex paint to concrete to make a Guinness Clover a few months ago and recently added white latex paint to make some white bowels. He also covered in epoxy to get more of a color from each. Perhaps something like that will help the colors for the garden panels.
Always very interesting, enjoyed this series on mold/upraised garden beds very much! Did you tried smoothing the corners while mix is set, but still wet? Also with added weight of growth medium in bed the longer rectangle will tend to bulge out -so some sort of tie accross the long sides to be consider. But maybe the rebar wont give.
I have your forms and will add cedar planks for the layer above of the concrete panels. Should look nice (winter project). P.S. Your new recipe is close to hypertufa sans the peat moss.
Excellent work on all fronts with these beds! Wondering if there is a limit on how long a bed can be? Four or five 3-foot sections? Or are the end pieces needed at a closer spacing to hold every thing square and plumb? I see your comments on using galvanized wire on two high - does that also apply to one-high beds? Thanks!
using the paste wax if you haze it with air and break with one rag and polish with a clean cloth you can repeat this on plastic five times in a roe and your good to even fiberglass them
Would there be any benefit, such as longevity or improved trimmer resistance, to sealing the concrete with a sealer made for concrete, or an epoxy, such as one made for garage floors?
Built my own 2" x 2' x 8' & 4' molds based on your design 'cuz I needed to build a serious mess of 4' x 24' beds that I then attached a continuous treated 2"×8" seat cap to. I cast stainless seat supports into the panels and reinforced w/ fiber & 1/4" fiberglass rods. I have a walk-behind skid loader for moving them, but not something (the size of my panels that is) I'd recommend otherwise. Finished w/ QwikWall surface bonding concrete before painting w/ Daiche coatings high solid acrylic & primer. My objective is to complete transitioning my entire food garden to something my half crippled old ass can still use as I age, so the seat caps need to be 100% functional. They also give me a place to mount removable, flip open mini greenhouse covers that I form w/ 3/4" PVC hoops & Solexx poly panels attached to a rigid rectangular hinged frame. The combo allows us to grow an abundance of food year round w/o worries of migrating contaminants from things like creosote railroad ties or pressure treated lumber, plus the extra finishing details mean that they should all outlive me, and then some. Thank you ever so much for the inspiration and effort! Building some shorter ones to contain my new micro fruit orchard & trellised bramble beds. I also dig a foot deep to bury rotting logs where the bed interior is staked out creating a sort of sunken hugelkultur kind of effect. The beds all receive a deep watering PVC system of perforated ABS that helps oxygenated root zones, as well as leaky hose irrigation just under the surface. The test of the beds are filled w/ an organic topsoil & compost blend. Using natural mineral amendments makes them longer lived, so minor pH adjustments and some top dressing should keep the soil tilthe and nutrient levels intact for years to come, no tilling required (which the worms appreciate). 🙂
I live in a cold climate (Canada). How do these concrete raised beds react to the soil inside freezing solid? I fear that the corners could be broken by the frost expansion.
Having a raised bed molds is nice, but what if you need to put a hooped shade cloth over your plants. Additional access holes would be nice for a hoop made out of 1/2'' pvc .
If you’ve already heard this question or somebody has an answer, that would be great. How do these panels hold up long-term with the freeze thaw cycle in a more extreme climate?
I'd like to know the answer to this too. I purchased the plans for the wooden molds and would like to switch to the plastic but keep the 4 foot. Assuming I can afford 4 foot molds. These are not inexpensive.
Since you are mixing by hand you should go completely old school (before the time mechanical mixers) as my grandfather’s helper mixed yards of mortar by hand using a hoe! His had two large holes to help with the blending, however if you take a garden hoe and radius the corners you will wonder why you hadn’t picked up a hoe years ago!
An increase in concrete temperature will decrease the air content. Increases in temperature from 21°C (70°F) to 38°C (100°F) may reduce air content by 25% while reductions from 21°C (70°F) to 5°C (40°F) may increase air content by as much as 40%.
$17/kg on Amazon for the poly fiber. And important to remember you are not making regular concrete that has aggregates for the cement to bind to. For $8#, using an ounce is only adding $0.50/panel. Also, a small $10 kiddie wading pool/trough with water is great to let concrete forms cure for a week or three for absolutely the hardest/strongest result.
To make separation easier, use compressed air at the joints. We used to separate boat hulls that way.
My mother pours hot water on the mold to make it expand
I have been watching for 2 years and I finally purchased a set for my garden. Thank you for all your videos.
Thank you very much!!
You are a great teacher, very systematic approach to problem solving and detailed explanations, thank you very much for the video!
Love to see how you are making the process better and keep innovating
Thanks!!
I used your "old" method (with the wooden forms) but found that stacking them with the joints like you did caused them to "bow" out. I then modified your plans to make a center pipe that will hold better . Somewhat like making a brick wall. You have to stagger joints or it will become weak.
These are now going on 4 years and no bowing or moving. I stacked them two (2) high as I didn't want to bend over if possible. Sitting on the "ledge" makes weeding and harvesting easier.
BUT, your ideas and help is WONDERFUL!!! Keep up the progression and updates.
Did you let them cure for about 4 weeks before use?
How many lengths long did you do with your brick method holding up? Did you tie across the bed with wire or do anything else to stabilize it?
I am excited about the molds! I am not excited about making my own currently and this will give me more of an incentive to make raised garden beds. When I have a new property and tool shed that I want I will be happier to make my own design of molds with wood. Maybe something fancy. I am dreaming of making the surface rough and sealing the cement then spraying a moss starter on the outer surface to make it all look organic after the moss grows in.
Wonderful, Thank you.
We've acquired 4 of your excellent molds, with the intent to stack them two courses high. This was appreciated.
Fantastic work Kent, they turned out great! A lot of work, but will last a lifetime. 👍
Fantastic. Really love this series and appreciate the updates. 👍
Great to hear! Thanks!
I've been using your CSA mix form plans for a while now and love the narrow dimensions. Can't wait for those thinner molds!
Can't wait for the new concrete form test and video. Love your videos
The forms are a great idea, I remember watching your videos a while ago and didn't know you you had decided to go into business but it's a great idea and I hope they are popular.
Best way to start my Sunday. Thank you, legend.
love your diy garden beds and love your videos! can't wait for the high strength version!
Thanks so much! Coming soon....
I have plans to do exactly this for the foundation of my green house. I have 18 inch tall blocks from following your design, I plan to mortar in the blocks, and then just frame out some recycled windows I got from a friend's house when he got his windows replaced.
Saw a tip somewhere… soaking the perlite/vermiculite overnight keeps the mix moist longer throughout leading to higher strength.
As always, you explain the whole process so clearly and in detail. Great job buddy. Take care.
Excellent video and the instructions are so clear and well thought out. Thanks!
Hello from Russia, I've been watching your videos for a long time. The product is excellent, I will do it soon.
Thank you for the new video. The lightweight panels continue to evolve.
I watched your videos on the earlier panels, so this is a great update.
Unfortunately, I'm in the UK. so the only economic way to get the moulds will be to make them myself.
What I'll be making them for will be to stack vertically to make 1.2m/4' cubes as compost bays, as even treated wood only lasts 4-5 years.
Don't worry, they aren't economical at all to purchase in the US.
Great video as always. I love you are improving it with science and different ideas. ❤❤❤
Thank you!
Been watching for a few years. So happy to see the progression of this product! I will be a customer as soon as I get through some other projects.
Wasn't able to afford a set this year, hopefully next season... What a great idea!
Purchased two sets a year ago and the end results are fantastic. They look good, are durable and easy to make... or, in my case, get my Son to make 😃
I love this series, can’t wait for more!
I’ve been a fan for years, just ordered my molds and can’t wait to use them. I don’t have any excuses now that I don’t have to make the molds myself 😂
Enjoyed your video.
I’ve been doing concrete counter tops ( pour in place ) One of the web sites for DIY counter tops uses an additive to make the concrete more fluid ( plasticity mix ). There additive looks as if they have some fibrous additive. Also they have an attachment for an oscillating tool which is used to vibrate the bubbles out the edges. This works well. My edges have not had any bubbles or voids.
I might need a vibrating table if I do the 8 raised beds thinking of.
Considering buying some molds !
Pumicecrete is by far the best building material on the planet Pumicecrete is a mixture of pumice cement and water mixed and poured into a set of reusable forms walls are poured from 12"to 24" thick pumicecrete is fireproof termite proof rust rot and mold proof non toxic and has a high R value and good sound attenuation solid poured walls means no critters can live in your walls Pumicecrete can be built for a fraction of the cost and time and pumice is one of the few building materials that can go directly from the mine to the job site ready to use without any additional possessing and zero waste Take care Ray
Trying removing the mold with compressed air. That might work and be way easier. I want to order some of the molds when I get my new house built.
Woah, that's a great looking product!
Excellent design. Nice work
Just fyi, microfiber does not prevent long term cracks nor replace reinforcement. It only helps with shrinkage cracking during the curing process, which is when you are more likely to get micro-fractures. For this application I would definitely not skip.
Great video as always and thank you for your passion on this project. I had a thought about stacking the panels. You might be able to do away with the wedges if you made a mirror image panel. That would require new molds but they would perfectly offset each others angle and the wall would sit plumb. Alternatively, I suppose you could make new panels without the central inset so you could just flip them around for the 2nd tier.
I love these videos. It would be interesting if you could stagger the seams with a third length. Like two 3' on the bottom. One 3' in the middle and two 1.5' on each end. I think that would stiffen up the stack considerably. Just a thought...
This such a great idea. Brilliant business idea. You should try to up scale to Amazon and gardening shops. A great idea would to add with every order. A discount code for referrals. Use those codes to see which market would be best to advertise to. This is a lot better than using forms. If someone does not make a business out of it. Great job. I love it when people think outside the box ( garden box or is it garden bed) LOL
These concrete panels look incredible. I was going to redo my raised beds with simple concrete corner stones and some wooden panels, but now I may have to rethink that. Don't really have any experiencing mixing concrete though.
I have enjoyed your videos and have learned alot going forward for my own project. I am wanting to build a 2 tier retaining wall that is more like 3 to 4" thick at 10 to 12" tall/panel thus building my own forms. Another aspect I want to incorporate is stacking offset like standard wall block so I will want another hole in the middle of my bottom sections to drive rebar through the top ends and locking them to bottom sections.
I'll be very interested in the strength mix coming in the next video.
I must be hungry that really looks like brownies to me.😅 awesome video again.
Thank you 😋
Ok! Garden help! Yay!
I love this idea and when we can buy I'll make my garden beds this way, However I would like them to be 3' tall, would the light weight mix be able to withstand that pressure? the rebar through the middle looks like a good idea but I don't quite understand based on the graphic shown how to do that, a video demonstrating how to would be fantastic.
great idea thanks for sharing!
Love these!
PS- Please do a strength and abrasion test on the new mix video.
Замечательно!!! Хорошая работа!!!!!😊
22:12
In my last batch I used a 1:1:5 ratio of cement/sand/perlite with good results. As you say, experiment with what works for you. I read on the perlite org site that it is best to mix the cement, sand, and water first then add the perlite last to minimize mixing time. Apparently the more perlite is agitated the more it gets degraded. However, I'm not sure at our scale the difference would be significant.
Could we place a small wooden right-angle triangle in the corner of the mold to allow the panels to be placed at 45-degree angles to each other rather than 90-degree?
❤ brilliant
This would be great to make a hot tub out of
My wife ask me to build some raised garden beds a few years ago. I really wanted something that would not cost very much, be safe to grow vegetables in (no treated wood), look good, and last a long time, so I thought I would build them in concrete. The problem that I found was needing to move them in the future which is when I found your channel. Concrete panels met all the criteria, However, I didn’t have the time to make the wooden forms so I never actually went forward with those panels and just build the raised boxes in cedar fence panels, which has lasted a few years now. I feel I will need to replace them soon. Now I see you make plastic forms, which is great. I wondered if you have ever thought of making a 48 inch plastic form. I make my garden boxes 4‘ x 8‘ because we work the bed from both sides and can we easily reach in 2 feet. Also wondered if it would be a good idea or even necessary if the bottom of a panel had a groove in it and the top had a matching rim so when you stack two together, they lock in together. Thank for for the great work.
Thanks for the comments here. A 48" mold should be ready this spring. Cheers, Kent
❤ as usual, awesome video
Thank you so much 😀
The channel Michael Builds, he added green latex paint to concrete to make a Guinness Clover a few months ago and recently added white latex paint to make some white bowels. He also covered in epoxy to get more of a color from each.
Perhaps something like that will help the colors for the garden panels.
Always very interesting, enjoyed this series on mold/upraised garden beds very much!
Did you tried smoothing the corners while mix is set, but still wet?
Also with added weight of growth medium in bed the longer rectangle will tend to bulge out -so some sort of tie accross the long sides to be consider.
But maybe the rebar wont give.
If you watched the video he talked about that
You should consider using wood-crete (sawdust) for lightweight “concrete”. Sawdust replaces the stone or perlite…
I have your forms and will add cedar planks for the layer above of the concrete panels. Should look nice (winter project).
P.S. Your new recipe is close to hypertufa sans the peat moss.
Have you considered leaving the pvc in the joint as part of the structure? Lightly sanding for roughness and adhesion.
Excellent work on all fronts with these beds! Wondering if there is a limit on how long a bed can be? Four or five 3-foot sections? Or are the end pieces needed at a closer spacing to hold every thing square and plumb? I see your comments on using galvanized wire on two high - does that also apply to one-high beds? Thanks!
using the paste wax if you haze it with air and break with one rag and polish with a clean cloth you can repeat this on plastic five times in a roe and your good to even fiberglass them
For stacking, to compensate for the draft angle, could a layer of panels be flipped around so that the rough side is to the outside?
I love these boxes but they are so expensive to make in Norway.
Wonder if flow control and less water makes it stronger?
Would there be any benefit, such as longevity or improved trimmer resistance, to sealing the concrete with a sealer made for concrete, or an epoxy, such as one made for garage floors?
If all the panels have the same draft angle, could you have ran the second layer in the opposite direction and come out with a straight stack?
Would these panels be strong enough for a double stacked retaining wall?
Do you think you will make a 48 in. mold for the raised beds?
Could you use air to try and separate the molds?
Why use wedges/put forms on plastic, what does this gain you vs. stacking the forms on themselves?
i saw that somewhere that they added steel fiber or glass fiber
what did it cost you to have those thermoformed?, nice idea have to construct a home thermoformer
Built my own 2" x 2' x 8' & 4' molds based on your design 'cuz I needed to build a serious mess of 4' x 24' beds that I then attached a continuous treated 2"×8" seat cap to. I cast stainless seat supports into the panels and reinforced w/ fiber & 1/4" fiberglass rods. I have a walk-behind skid loader for moving them, but not something (the size of my panels that is) I'd recommend otherwise. Finished w/ QwikWall surface bonding concrete before painting w/ Daiche coatings high solid acrylic & primer. My objective is to complete transitioning my entire food garden to something my half crippled old ass can still use as I age, so the seat caps need to be 100% functional. They also give me a place to mount removable, flip open mini greenhouse covers that I form w/ 3/4" PVC hoops & Solexx poly panels attached to a rigid rectangular hinged frame. The combo allows us to grow an abundance of food year round w/o worries of migrating contaminants from things like creosote railroad ties or pressure treated lumber, plus the extra finishing details mean that they should all outlive me, and then some. Thank you ever so much for the inspiration and effort! Building some shorter ones to contain my new micro fruit orchard & trellised bramble beds. I also dig a foot deep to bury rotting logs where the bed interior is staked out creating a sort of sunken hugelkultur kind of effect. The beds all receive a deep watering PVC system of perforated ABS that helps oxygenated root zones, as well as leaky hose irrigation just under the surface. The test of the beds are filled w/ an organic topsoil & compost blend. Using natural mineral amendments makes them longer lived, so minor pH adjustments and some top dressing should keep the soil tilthe and nutrient levels intact for years to come, no tilling required (which the worms appreciate). 🙂
Can we use a concrete mixer, or is there some reason that might mess up the mix?
I live in a cold climate (Canada). How do these concrete raised beds react to the soil inside freezing solid? I fear that the corners could be broken by the frost expansion.
Compressed air. will help separation. instead of wax, try used motor oil. it will not stain the concrete.
Having a raised bed molds is nice, but what if you need to put a hooped shade cloth over your plants. Additional access holes would be nice for a hoop made out of 1/2'' pvc .
Couldn't you just extend the rebar and hoop the pvc from the exposed rebar?
Is there any reason these couldn’t be used in a single layer as a short retaining wall?
WOW!
NOOOOO I should have waited for the thin walled molds! Oh well, guess I'll just have to buy a full set of those too.
Where did you get your molds? Did I miss something where you had mentioned?
We make them
What does the small amount of glass fiber do?
Have you considered using styrofoam for lightweight concrete mix?
You sound like a younger version of the how its made narrator
Thanks. (I think?) I am 60.
@@MANaboutTOOLS compliment I promise 😊
Did you make instructional films in the 60s?
Looks like a thick Hershey bay.
If you’ve already heard this question or somebody has an answer, that would be great. How do these panels hold up long-term with the freeze thaw cycle in a more extreme climate?
What are the wedges for?
Looks great..What’s the highest you’ve stacked ??
Thanks, I've stacked 2 high.
So you can make 64 Garden panels with a yard of concrete?
Based on the video it looks like you did it per yard of cement🧐
Was the jacket for safety, or was it really cold in your house?
Being a Floridian.... Can't help but notice the jacket in July....... lol
Hi, I shot some of that video in the spring on a few cold days.
Can it be shipped to Taiwan? Will shipping cost be extra?
What is the cost per panel?
before waxing try a sealer for release purposes
Cheers 👍💪✌
Will you make 4ft molds?
I'd like to know the answer to this too. I purchased the plans for the wooden molds and would like to switch to the plastic but keep the 4 foot. Assuming I can afford 4 foot molds. These are not inexpensive.
this development has been around the world for many years and no one knows who started it first...
Since you are mixing by hand you should go completely old school (before the time mechanical mixers) as my grandfather’s helper mixed yards of mortar by hand using a hoe! His had two large holes to help with the blending, however if you take a garden hoe and radius the corners you will wonder why you hadn’t picked up a hoe years ago!
Forest
An increase in concrete temperature will decrease the air content. Increases in temperature from 21°C (70°F) to 38°C (100°F) may reduce air content by 25% while reductions from 21°C (70°F) to 5°C (40°F) may increase air content by as much as 40%.
A wetter mix would have reduced the amount of holes you had on the face of the mould.
I wish the finished product was commercially available. I live in a suburb of Atlanta. Anyone want to make a bunch for me?
Sure, want to buy the forms and I'll make them? :)
$17/kg on Amazon for the poly fiber. And important to remember you are not making regular concrete that has aggregates for the cement to bind to.
For $8#, using an ounce is only adding $0.50/panel.
Also, a small $10 kiddie wading pool/trough with water is great to let concrete forms cure for a week or three for absolutely the hardest/strongest result.
You are saying to keep them fully submerged?
48" form please
24”x48”
@@patrickmckenzie2391 No 48" plastic forms
In the works....