Great video. Learned a few things I should keep in mind when for when I do my single large bed that'll "encapsulate" the two 5'x10' wooden beds that are about ready to let go. My plan is to use 6x16x8 blocks stacked three high for a single 15'x15'x2' bed. I'll use rebar on the corners and at two evenly spaced spots on each side wall to hopefully resist bowing over time, and for the sake of extra stability (and disposal of something I'm trying to get rid of) I'll fill with river rock and some sand I've been wanting to get rid of. I'll reuse the soil from the two wooden beds and for the first year I'll till the snot out of it and spread it even, then each year run the boatload of maple and oak leaves that I end up with through the mulcher and till them into the soil to gradually build it up and make sure it's got plenty of organic matter for healthy pumpkins and sunflowers.
A couple of suggestions.... After you place the bales of straw down in the bed, soak them well. Remember that straw is hollow stemmed and any dry organic matter that you use in this way will wick water out of the soil above away from your plants. This will also allow the straw to begin to break down. Because decomposition will happen, yes, the addition of nitrogen to the growing area is needed. The gardener must also be aware that as the straw breaks down and decomposes, the soil level above will drop. So don’t be alarmed. When you prepare your bed for the next growing season add more soil and compost as needed to fill the bed back up. After you have completed building the walls of your raised beds, fill the pockets in the blocks with soil or the material you used to prepare the ground surface. Those open pockets, left unfilled, can accumulated organic waste material and provide wonderful hiding and overwintering places for pests, like squash bugs. All your hard fought and thought won, hand to hand combat with those squash bugs, their juveniles and eggs, could be lost when the second wave of attackers come crawling out of their hiding places in those open cement block pockets. Been there, done that! : ) Filling the cement block pockets will also provide more stability to the walls of the bed. I would also advise adding rebar in a couple places on the long sides as you did the corners when building the walls. Over time, cement blocks can shift out, especially on the top layer. When you fill those cement block pockets, you can install sections of larger PVC pipe to slide in the smaller diameter PVC hoop pipe. Or just drive in some precut sections of rebar to install the hoop PVC pipe on.
Will the straw decompose and the rotting material cause mushrooms to grow.??? Concrete blocks are $8.00+ in Canada, cross border shopping come spring is looking pretty good. Love the simplicity of this method. Thank you 👍 👍 🇨🇦
I've been searching all morning for ideas on raised gardens. I'm so glad that I stumbled across your video. Cinder blocks just seem to be a much smarter alternative than using wood. I also like a lot of the post video suggestions from your viewers. Thank you!
Just a piece of advice. When you go to the nursery to pick a plant that fruits, you want to make sure that the plant doesn't already have flowers and fruit on it. If you go to a nursery and you get a plant (strawberries, tomatoes, zucchini, etc.) that already has fruit on it, the overall production of the plant will be compromised. If you start a plant like this indoors and flowers appear before you can transplant, please cut the flowers off.
A safety suggestion: when working around rebar sticking vertically out of the ground, always place brightly-coloured plastic caps (cheap and available for the purpose from hardware stores), over the exposed tops. It's too-easy to forget the rebar's there and bend over, or trip over, and cause serious injury. Great video BTW, and no disrespect meant :) Just can't help thinking like a former nurse...
I live far away from Oklahoma, in California. However I really enjoy your podcast about gardening. I would add that when you’re putting in a raised bed that you want to put some hardware cloth underneath the raised bed as you’re building it to prevent the gophers from digging, coming up through your garden to eat your plants as they out here as they do in our gardens.
I love cinder blocks for raised beds. In Central Texas Caliche soil, Cinderblock gardening is a great option. Basically, raised bed farming in Caliche is no different than urban farming on concrete. A few things I have found that work well to improve the efficiency of farming raised beds with cinderblocks: #1. utilize the hole space. My top two layers are often lined up in the middle to allow for deeper root growth. It's also great for herb planting; especially more invasive herbs like mint. #2. One of the highest yielding crops to grow in a deep cinderblock raised bed (3-4 cinderblocks high) are potatoes. They can be layered in a 5x4 bed and can yield a large amount...over 100lbs or more. #3. When planting squash in a raised bed, I often follow the native american "three sisters" model. There are different variations in spacing depending on the climate, but planting squash along with beans and corn make efficient use of the limited space. #4. Regarding pest control, there are a lot of natural products that work well....orange oil, neem, etc. But it is far less labor intensive to just regularly pick off the bugs than to open in the morning and cover by noon....most people work and that's not practical. #5. Leveling is very important, but you don't have to level the whole ground. I leveled on straight caliche at an 9 percent grade. I only level the borders where I actually set the cinderblocks down. #6. Lining is not necessary. I flip the soil and then cover with straight garden mix (topsoil and compost) Covering actually prevents beneficial earthworms from getting into your soil and helping to break everything down. I did like the idea of layering hay as compost filler, although, I'm not sure how fertile composted hay would be or how long it takes to break down without green compost.
Am glad someone is thinking same with me. I was aiming to do the same due to high problem of termites. Any wood stuck to the ground will end up food for the termites. They even attack the trunk of the plant trees. Your idea is excellent to my problems. I will treat the ants first and put the garden fabric down. Then the grass to save on soil. Thanks a million for sharing. Keep those info coming!
I am so impressed w your concrete block garden and your plant knowledge! I shared my concrete block raised bed over on my YT channel. Mine is not nearly as nice as yours, but it was created on a very low budget and took me a long time to construct. After watching your video, I learned that I need to restock some of my blocks. Happy growing! I looked fwd to watching your other YT videos. 😊❤
A lot of people commenting who have never tried this. I have two thirty foot long four foot wide beds built this way that I built 15 years ago. First my blocks are flat on one end and scalloped on the other end. These are standard blocks. Second the ground where you build should be flat and well packed or your walls will not stay level. Third I've found a couple of issues. Over time the weight of the soil will bow the walls outward at the top. Second the concrete blocks are very porous and allow the soil to dry very quickly so you need to seal the inside wall of the blocks with plastic or a sealer of some type. The open webs in the blocks also allow weeds to grow there and are hard to remove. I'd fill them up with something that won't allow weeds to grow or plant some type of herb that grows thickly and doesn't mind dry conditions. I found a drip hose doesn't work well if the soil has a high sand mix as the water drains strait down and doesn't spread throughout the bed. I ended up putting a sprinkler set to water at 180 degrees at the middle of one side but this wastes a lot of water. This year I've gone to large plastic laundry tubs that hold several large plants each. I can move them if required and they don't dry out as fast. At the end of the season I can dump them out and stack them away if I don't plant crops in them for the winter. The real drawback to them is they get brittle out in the sun and only last a couple of years. I put black plastic down on the ground to control weeds and place them in rows so that watering is easy with a hose.
@@OklahomaGardening What kind of cloth are you putting on your pvc bows to keep the squash bugs out? I didn't understand what you were saying. I'm getting old and don't hear as well as I used too.
I hate to tell you but the inside diameter here is only 18sf when using cinder block with an outside diameter of 32sf. If you want 32sf inside, you have to do 4 block wide times 7 block long. Not 3 block by 6 block. Not having the one extra block on each end screws you badly. Your box is only 2.67 ft by 6.67 ft
This is a great idea! strong, slows water loss because of its double thickness, intensive planting will do really well with this. Excellent video, clear and concise, thank you.
Cool building method. :) The deep plantars let you grow perennials with larger rooting systems and elevate things so there's less bending and are closer eye level to be looked at or appreciated, add some interesting cladding and you've got a pretty plantar! :)
Because you had fabric covering the second layer of block, I would have filled the third layer block holes with potting/regular soil and planted herbs in the holes. People should note that three layers make much easier planting, maintenance and harvesting without the back strain. At three layers, rebar is also a suggested.
LOVE ❤️ your Cinder Block Method !!! You never have to worry about wood rot that is for sure....Thanks for the video very neat planting bed. Happy Planting too you !!! 🥕 🌼 🌻 🌷 🌱
For those who have a hard time affording certain things (even though cinder block here in the states are relatively inexpensive) you wan to look for the 'give aways'. I've never bought a cinder block for my honeybee hive. I've got quite a few left over blocks from just picking them up because people want to get rid of them. They don't have to be the pretty store bought blocks. They can be dirty too. They will do the job. I have a couple of hundred blocks waiting for more colonies. Maybe I'll use them to build a raised bed instead.
Great advice a couple months ago next to my parents street neighbors were remodeling and had a ton of cylinder blocks they removed. We were doing concrete work and needed fillers so my father spoke with the owners, they were more than happy to give it to us for free because they’d save room in the dumpster they rented. They even let us have a couple of extra rebars they weren’t using. So if you see a neighbor remodeling their house, it very well may be a win-win situation.
Thanks for the great video. I've used Cinder Block in this way, the Holes are a really Great place to grow Root vegetables such as Carrots & Beets. The energy produced by the piezoelectric effect will grow them to enormous proportions. Best Wishes & Many Blessings Always
I'm a new subscriber. Great episode. I agree with you that the levelling is always the hardest part of building a raised bed. But it is essential and everything gets easy from there.
I like 2 blocks high> So i can set and work with out bending over> I also recommend using roofing tin or cement the bottom Keeps Gophers, Moles Out > I really hate to see any one make a wooden raise bed> a waist of TIME and MONEY i made some out of old barn, roofing tin, tee post, and caulk the hole i use aluminum bailing wire to hold it. painted it white. They last, 13 yrs so far! Looks really nice NOT JUNKY LOOKING Guess what? i can tear it down and reuse the tin for a bottom on some cement block raise beds> It only took a few hour the make a raise bed out of the junk tin> I did't have any thing else to use it on! so a RAISE BED
A better way to use up some of the space inside the blocks is to use decomposing trees and branches. You can even dig out the bottom if using one, or two layers of concrete blocks. This is called Hugelkultur method and has been used for hundreds of years. I would also suggest using plenty of rebar to hold the blocks in place and filling the holes with soil, or gravel
I just ran costs of a cinderblock 4x8 bed and one using bagged cement and forms for a 6 inch wide wall....blocks seem to be cheaper and less back breaking work...I also like the potting holes in the blocks for the more invasive goodies like strawberries.
Evelyn Gallant, we are glad we could help! Be sure to follow us on social media including, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, for more topics and discussion similar to this one!
@Sheila Mchgee I know grow my squash in a raised bed now. I have wooden poles that I grow my squash up. As it grows I tie it to the pole with pipe cleaners. It did really good this summer.
Another option if you do want to keep them covered and not worry about pollination . Do it yourself - there are RUclips videos to show you how to do that 😉👍
It's nice to see so.eone using top soil to get going with compost then add some amendments. All videos I have seen say "no no no top soil" lol when the hay breaks down all that top soil and the hay is gonna make some aweso.e compost and nitrogen source
I like this idea however there are some issues with this for use in Florida. The black landscape material for the bottom is useless against the grass that grows here. I have used this in my flower beds and some kind of nasty swamp grass grows right through it. You will need some sort of heavy thick plastic. Then you will have to some how deal with rain filling it up and making it a raised pond. Might need a hole in the corner to bail out the extra water.
And if You have nettles around, put them in sacs and keep them in water filled barrels or containers with some weight on top. After 2-3 weeks the decoctum is stinking like hell, but very effective to spray the solution on plants (pest repellent), harmless and bio. It's also good for watering, has a lot of minerals, good nutrient. And... it's for free!
@@flaviusnita6008 Thanks for sharing your knowledge! We appreciate your tips and are wishing you a bountiful harvest this year! Thanks for tuning in! Happy Gardening!
The only problem is that your raised bed, like much of my back garden, is now leaching heavy metals from the cement into the soil. For example, Arsenic, Lead, Mercury, Vanadium, Chromium, etc. Look it up. I was gutted.
Malcolm, fill the holes with soil and plant root veggies. Problem solved. Besides, I bet you have those black widows around your house anyway don't you? You just have to be careful where you put your hands when working anyway.
I put a bunch of conch shells outside. Black Widows love getting in them. I wanted to bring one inside but made sure to submerge it in a bucket of water first. When I pulled the shell out from the water an hour later a huge black widow (drowned/dead) fell out and onto my hand.
OklahomaGardening cement blocks can wick away water, especially in a hot climate that does not receive as much rain. If you decide to plant in them and use automated irrigation, you might consider running drip irrigation to those pockets you choose to plant in.
Thank you for this great information! What is that tool you used to cut the landscape fabric? It looks like some type of a rolling cutter - like something I've been looking for.
@@alexlandry9062 I did look into it and it really depends, some do and some don't, but it isn't like anyone lists the ingredients on them. I get very frustrated with our system which tends to literally hide what a product really is. As a science orientated person, i want to know what a cider block IS not just that it was made for x, y and z. I'll determine what i'll use it for, you just tell me what the heck it is. It's so annoying to have to research everything; just tell us and right on the front label please. Wouldn't that world be nice.
I have used cinder blocks before, but was told it isn't safe because chemicals will leach out into the soil and will be taken up by the plants. I would use them, but I don't know what to think.
Wow you could plant in the holes around the side of the blocks I bet you say that later in the video but I’m only at the planting stages of the squash plants lol
Why don't you fill the blocks with soil so you could add to your growing space and keep those black widows out of the blocks. Would be perfect for some carrots.
@@Kube_Dog 😂😂😂 damn I don't know why I laughed so hard at this. And I was thinking the same as well. Could you possibly plant tomatoes or peppers in them seeing as you would have to trellis them anyways?
Yes, cinder blocks contain fly ash, which is toxic and can leach into the soil. These are not a healthy, safe option for beds. I wish more people were aware of this.
@@stanmilgram5578 - Those aren't cinder-blocks, they're just concrete-blocks. Cinder-Blocks are not made anymore for over 50 years. People still call them that because the name stuck.
@@svenulfskjaldbjorn5401 - I do not have Gypsum Sheetrock/wallboard in any of My houses, they are all plaster & wood lathe. My houses are 90-100+ years of age. Also, the EPA is such a USELESS do nothing agency. They have not stopped any of the manufacturing toxic shit from these manufacturers - toxic chemicals in clothing, furniture, electronics, paper products, all plastics, etc. Toxic chemicals in the air, waters, land and food. I have before, but I ain't gonna bother to look at their website for anything they have to say now due to they are full of shit. Bunch of welfare cases. I'll check the other weblinx, however.
@@alexlandry9062 I have read that only cinder blocks have cancerogenic fly ash. Presumably the concrete blocks contain no fly ash, even though that makes them heavier and more expensive. Google is my source of info though, so not sure how true that is, and where to find flyash-free concrete blocks.
Agreed. This video is full of mistakes and bad decisions. The straw will break down and eventually you'll need to fill it all with soil, so you'll end up with three times the soil and three times the block you need. One layer of block is fine. This video is just plain stupid. And there is no damn point at all to that rebar nonsense.
I notice you didn't have a plum line. This will make straight rows of your veg' s. The only problem with cinder block gardening is you need (long arms) or shorten your rows. Hope it helps.
My vegetable garden got poisoned once when some drunken bum sh*t in mine. It killed my tomatoes, Jalapenos, and my basil. It doesn't help that I live across the street from a bar. One morning at 3 AM I found a young lady from the bar puking in my raised bed garden. Never ends
I would reccomend No Landscape Fabric.All it does is create a barrier between the original soil and the new soil or if your going to begin with a layer of straw,leaves,unfinished compost etc,it makes a barrier between the original soil and that.You are better off soaking the original soil again and again after applying limestone.This will encourager earthworms to come to the bed and stay there.They can move around through your bed without the obstruction of landscape fabric.I would rather have seen a 1cinderblock tall bed with the holes in the cinderblock being filled with good soil and planted.If you decide you want to make any raised bed,deep or shallow,forget the landscape fabric.
Hi, I am very new here, always wanted a garden never had land until this year so I’m doing my research. I have planters made of brick along the stucco of my house. It is about 2ft high x 2ft W x 10ft L. It has dirt in there with a lot of rocks and construction materials I am going to remove entirely. Here is my question... 1.) Is the Landscaping cloth mandatory? 2.) is the size enough to plant anything? I would love to utilize it for anything edible such as herbs, tomatoes, peppers, garlic, etc... Thank you!
About 50 but make sure you do the bed 4 block by 7 block to get 32sf. She used 3 block by 6 block which is 32sqft only on the outside. Her inside diameter is a mere 18sf. Leaving off the one extra block on each side screws you out of almost half the growing space.
Chef Bambu, you might use landscape cloth as a liner, but if Bermuda grass is the primary weed species that they are trying to keep out of the bed then that likely won’t stop it from invading the bed. A better way to approach the challenge of controlling Bermuda would be to control it completely prior to installing the raised bed. Organically this could be done by shading out the Bermuda grass with either a dense growing cover crop like sorghum x sudan grass during an entire summer or with multiple layers of cardboard during an entire summer. Also, drip irrigation would likely be the best method of irrigation for the raised bed garden.
This was one of the best cinder block garden videos I’ve seen! Learned a few important things. Thank you 😊
Great video. Learned a few things I should keep in mind when for when I do my single large bed that'll "encapsulate" the two 5'x10' wooden beds that are about ready to let go. My plan is to use 6x16x8 blocks stacked three high for a single 15'x15'x2' bed. I'll use rebar on the corners and at two evenly spaced spots on each side wall to hopefully resist bowing over time, and for the sake of extra stability (and disposal of something I'm trying to get rid of) I'll fill with river rock and some sand I've been wanting to get rid of.
I'll reuse the soil from the two wooden beds and for the first year I'll till the snot out of it and spread it even, then each year run the boatload of maple and oak leaves that I end up with through the mulcher and till them into the soil to gradually build it up and make sure it's got plenty of organic matter for healthy pumpkins and sunflowers.
A couple of suggestions....
After you place the bales of straw down in the bed, soak them well. Remember that straw is hollow stemmed and any dry organic matter that you use in this way will wick water out of the soil above away from your plants. This will also allow the straw to begin to break down. Because decomposition will happen, yes, the addition of nitrogen to the growing area is needed. The gardener must also be aware that as the straw breaks down and decomposes, the soil level above will drop. So don’t be alarmed. When you prepare your bed for the next growing season add more soil and compost as needed to fill the bed back up.
After you have completed building the walls of your raised beds, fill the pockets in the blocks with soil or the material you used to prepare the ground surface. Those open pockets, left unfilled, can accumulated organic waste material and provide wonderful hiding and overwintering places for pests, like squash bugs. All your hard fought and thought won, hand to hand combat with those squash bugs, their juveniles and eggs, could be lost when the second wave of attackers come crawling out of their hiding places in those open cement block pockets. Been there, done that! : )
Filling the cement block pockets will also provide more stability to the walls of the bed. I would also advise adding rebar in a couple places on the long sides as you did the corners when building the walls. Over time, cement blocks can shift out, especially on the top layer.
When you fill those cement block pockets, you can install sections of larger PVC pipe to slide in the smaller diameter PVC hoop pipe. Or just drive in some precut sections of rebar to install the hoop PVC pipe on.
I'm glad you mentioned that, I was wondering about a drop in soil level.
Thank you for this video I am going to make raised bed now with cinder blocks.
munchkin5674 with all due respect, munchkin5674, I’m sure she knows the info you just said.
@@MaryDavidson911 she may know, but I didn't. Thanks original poster!
Will the straw decompose and the rotting material cause mushrooms to grow.??? Concrete blocks are $8.00+ in Canada, cross border shopping come spring is looking pretty good. Love the simplicity of this method. Thank you 👍 👍 🇨🇦
Nice and clear instructions easy to follow.from NZ with thanks.
I've been searching all morning for ideas on raised gardens. I'm so glad that I stumbled across your video. Cinder blocks just seem to be a much smarter alternative than using wood. I also like a lot of the post video suggestions from your viewers. Thank you!
Just a piece of advice. When you go to the nursery to pick a plant that fruits, you want to make sure that the plant doesn't already have flowers and fruit on it. If you go to a nursery and you get a plant (strawberries, tomatoes, zucchini, etc.) that already has fruit on it, the overall production of the plant will be compromised. If you start a plant like this indoors and flowers appear before you can transplant, please cut the flowers off.
Thank you for sharing this. Much easier than trying to build one out of railway sleepers ! Light & easy to move if you need to ....
A safety suggestion: when working around rebar sticking vertically out of the ground, always place brightly-coloured plastic caps (cheap and available for the purpose from hardware stores), over the exposed tops. It's too-easy to forget the rebar's there and bend over, or trip over, and cause serious injury.
Great video BTW, and no disrespect meant :) Just can't help thinking like a former nurse...
Keeps you on your toes the world isn’t really safe but I hear what your saying.
Yep! Plastic, colorful bottles.
When winter comes you can reuse the bottles for snowmobile trail markers, too!
Very true I remember an old lady from childhood she was my neighbor and that’s how she lost her eyes. Thanks for reminder 🙏🏼
We cut a slit in bright colored tennis balls and place those over the tips of the rebar.
Plastic beverage bottles will work too and they can be recycled when they become degraded.
I live far away from Oklahoma, in California. However I really enjoy your podcast about gardening. I would add that when you’re putting in a raised bed that you want to put some hardware cloth underneath the raised bed as you’re building it to prevent the gophers from digging, coming up through your garden to eat your plants as they out here as they do in our gardens.
I love cinder blocks for raised beds.
In Central Texas Caliche soil, Cinderblock gardening is a great option. Basically, raised bed farming in Caliche is no different than urban farming on concrete.
A few things I have found that work well to improve the efficiency of farming raised beds with cinderblocks:
#1. utilize the hole space. My top two layers are often lined up in the middle to allow for deeper root growth. It's also great for herb planting; especially more invasive herbs like mint.
#2. One of the highest yielding crops to grow in a deep cinderblock raised bed (3-4 cinderblocks high) are potatoes. They can be layered in a 5x4 bed and can yield a large amount...over 100lbs or more.
#3. When planting squash in a raised bed, I often follow the native american "three sisters" model. There are different variations in spacing depending on the climate, but planting squash along with beans and corn make efficient use of the limited space.
#4. Regarding pest control, there are a lot of natural products that work well....orange oil, neem, etc. But it is far less labor intensive to just regularly pick off the bugs than to open in the morning and cover by noon....most people work and that's not practical.
#5. Leveling is very important, but you don't have to level the whole ground. I leveled on straight caliche at an 9 percent grade. I only level the borders where I actually set the cinderblocks down.
#6. Lining is not necessary. I flip the soil and then cover with straight garden mix (topsoil and compost) Covering actually prevents beneficial earthworms from getting into your soil and helping to break everything down. I did like the idea of layering hay as compost filler, although, I'm not sure how fertile composted hay would be or how long it takes to break down without green compost.
Watching this reminded me of the 1980s how-to show, Hometime. Keep up the great explanation of what you're doing and why. This is great!
I've seen these beds where they filled the cinder block openings with soil then plant flowers, herbs etc in those.
Am glad someone is thinking same with me. I was aiming to do the same due to high problem of termites. Any wood stuck to the ground will end up food for the termites. They even attack the trunk of the plant trees. Your idea is excellent to my problems. I will treat the ants first and put the garden fabric down. Then the grass to save on soil. Thanks a million for sharing. Keep those info coming!
I saw it on the walking dead lmao
This is really great info as well as the comments that add additional helpful information.
Thanks
Great job! Great camera work/angles, too!! Thank you for the helpful instructions!
I am so impressed w your concrete block garden and your plant knowledge! I shared my concrete block raised bed over on my YT channel. Mine is not nearly as nice as yours, but it was created on a very low budget and took me a long time to construct. After watching your video, I learned that I need to restock some of my blocks.
Happy growing!
I looked fwd to watching your other YT videos. 😊❤
Gardening is definitely a learning process for all of us. Thanks for watching!
A lot of people commenting who have never tried this. I have two thirty foot long four foot wide beds built this way that I built 15 years ago. First my blocks are flat on one end and scalloped on the other end. These are standard blocks. Second the ground where you build should be flat and well packed or your walls will not stay level. Third I've found a couple of issues. Over time the weight of the soil will bow the walls outward at the top. Second the concrete blocks are very porous and allow the soil to dry very quickly so you need to seal the inside wall of the blocks with plastic or a sealer of some type. The open webs in the blocks also allow weeds to grow there and are hard to remove. I'd fill them up with something that won't allow weeds to grow or plant some type of herb that grows thickly and doesn't mind dry conditions. I found a drip hose doesn't work well if the soil has a high sand mix as the water drains strait down and doesn't spread throughout the bed. I ended up putting a sprinkler set to water at 180 degrees at the middle of one side but this wastes a lot of water. This year I've gone to large plastic laundry tubs that hold several large plants each. I can move them if required and they don't dry out as fast. At the end of the season I can dump them out and stack them away if I don't plant crops in them for the winter. The real drawback to them is they get brittle out in the sun and only last a couple of years. I put black plastic down on the ground to control weeds and place them in rows so that watering is easy with a hose.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge! We appreciate your tips and are wishing you a bountiful harvest this year! Thanks for tuning in! Happy Gardening!
@@OklahomaGardening What kind of cloth are you putting on your pvc bows to keep the squash bugs out? I didn't understand what you were saying. I'm getting old and don't hear as well as I used too.
@@warlord8954 it's remay cloth
Thank you for sharing this information.
I hate to tell you but the inside diameter here is only 18sf when using cinder block with an outside diameter of 32sf. If you want 32sf inside, you have to do 4 block wide times 7 block long. Not 3 block by 6 block. Not having the one extra block on each end screws you badly. Your box is only 2.67 ft by 6.67 ft
I thought that because I was doing the math when I was designing mine
This is a great idea! strong, slows water loss because of its double thickness, intensive planting will do really well with this. Excellent video, clear and concise, thank you.
Shirley Porter, we are glad we could help! Thanks for tuning in! Happy gardening!
Cool building method. :) The deep plantars let you grow perennials with larger rooting systems and elevate things so there's less bending and are closer eye level to be looked at or appreciated, add some interesting cladding and you've got a pretty plantar! :)
Because you had fabric covering the second layer of block, I would have filled the third layer block holes with potting/regular soil and planted herbs in the holes. People should note that three layers make much easier planting, maintenance and harvesting without the back strain. At three layers, rebar is also a suggested.
Thanks for this Jim.
Love it when I pick a video and see it's by fellow Oklahomans!
LOVE ❤️ your Cinder Block Method !!! You never have to worry about wood rot that is for sure....Thanks for the video very neat planting bed. Happy Planting too you !!! 🥕 🌼 🌻 🌷 🌱
Jacquelyn, we appreciate your input and are wishing you a bountiful harvest this year! Thanks for tuning in! Happy Gardening!
Your Welcome...Happy Fall planting to you also !!! 🥦🍁🌱
Get a room, you dumb morons. This is the dumbest cinder block raised bed ever.
@@Kube_Dog bro you're killing me😂😂😂
I love this idea but what about the leaching of chemicals and lime in the blocks getting into our veggies?
For those who have a hard time affording certain things (even though cinder block here in the states are relatively inexpensive) you wan to look for the 'give aways'. I've never bought a cinder block for my honeybee hive. I've got quite a few left over blocks from just picking them up because people want to get rid of them. They don't have to be the pretty store bought blocks. They can be dirty too. They will do the job.
I have a couple of hundred blocks waiting for more colonies. Maybe I'll use them to build a raised bed instead.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge! We appreciate your tips and are wishing you a bountiful harvest this year! Thanks for tuning in! Happy Gardening!
Great advice a couple months ago next to my parents street neighbors were remodeling and had a ton of cylinder blocks they removed. We were doing concrete work and needed fillers so my father spoke with the owners, they were more than happy to give it to us for free because they’d save room in the dumpster they rented. They even let us have a couple of extra rebars they weren’t using.
So if you see a neighbor remodeling their house, it very well may be a win-win situation.
yeah i hate to pay for anything i can get for free
@@degacci you guys will like my version! Not cinder blocks but solid and free. On my channel.
I've been wanting to build raised garden beds. Your video was helpful. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for the great video. I've used Cinder Block in this way, the Holes are a really Great place to grow Root vegetables such as Carrots & Beets. The energy produced by the piezoelectric effect will grow them to enormous proportions. Best Wishes & Many Blessings Always
Thanks for this information Erik.
Love the ideas and I do enjoy watching this.
I'm a new subscriber. Great episode. I agree with you that the levelling is always the hardest part of building a raised bed. But it is essential and everything gets easy from there.
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easy level wire any size level to a 2 by 4 on the top make to length desired.
I like 2 blocks high> So i can set and work with out bending over> I also recommend using roofing tin or cement the bottom Keeps Gophers, Moles Out > I really hate to see any one make a wooden raise bed> a waist of TIME and MONEY i made some out of old barn, roofing tin, tee post, and caulk the hole i use aluminum bailing wire to hold it. painted it white. They last, 13 yrs so far! Looks really nice NOT JUNKY LOOKING Guess what? i can tear it down and reuse the tin for a bottom on some cement block raise beds> It only took a few hour the make a raise bed out of the junk tin> I did't have any thing else to use it on! so a RAISE BED
Aloha, excellent vid! Mahalo 4 the great info.
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A better way to use up some of the space inside the blocks is to use decomposing trees and branches. You can even dig out the bottom if using one, or two layers of concrete blocks. This is called Hugelkultur method and has been used for hundreds of years. I would also suggest using plenty of rebar to hold the blocks in place and filling the holes with soil, or gravel
Thanks for sharing your tips and knowledge. Happy Gardening!
I just ran costs of a cinderblock 4x8 bed and one using bagged cement and forms for a 6 inch wide wall....blocks seem to be cheaper and less back breaking work...I also like the potting holes in the blocks for the more invasive goodies like strawberries.
Great video. Everything well explained.
not sure about this but my dad used to say plant the squash later. he planted his in june. never had a problem with squash bug.
Betsy H,
Agree, start your plants ahead of time and put out in the garden mid june, you'll have plenty of time for a nice harvest.
Thanks. Good video. I'll try the concrete block gardening here in FloriDuh (FL).
Nice video thanks for sharing
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Nice and durable. Would add Ramial Chipped Wood (RCW). A wood product used in cultivation for mulching, fertilizing, and soil enrichment.
Excellent video. Very informative. I learned a lot. Thanks
Evelyn Gallant, we are glad we could help! Be sure to follow us on social media including, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, for more topics and discussion similar to this one!
I haven't added raised beds to my garden yet however I grow all my squash vertically which makes it easy to maintain.
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@Sheila Mchgee I know grow my squash in a raised bed now. I have wooden poles that I grow my squash up. As it grows I tie it to the pole with pipe cleaners. It did really good this summer.
Wonderful 🙏garden tutorial 😀❤
I would never look at squash the same way again. Lol 😆 🤣 😂 😹
Thank you, very informative, stay safe.
I think you can use the Center blocks to plant salads or small flowers because they are all open just fill it up with dirt.
Another option if you do want to keep them covered and not worry about pollination . Do it yourself - there are RUclips videos to show you how to do that 😉👍
Nice work. Thank you.
Mam, great idea i like it best and easy and clean bed garden thank alot i got it
It's nice to see so.eone using top soil to get going with compost then add some amendments. All videos I have seen say "no no no top soil" lol when the hay breaks down all that top soil and the hay is gonna make some aweso.e compost and nitrogen source
I like this idea however there are some issues with this for use in Florida. The black landscape material for the bottom is useless against the grass that grows here. I have used this in my flower beds and some kind of nasty swamp grass grows right through it. You will need some sort of heavy thick plastic. Then you will have to some how deal with rain filling it up and making it a raised pond. Might need a hole in the corner to bail out the extra water.
Nice. An advice: Under the landscape fabric put fiberglass net (the construction cheap one) so moles will not come from beneath!
Thanks for sharing your knowledge! We appreciate your tips and are wishing you a bountiful harvest this year! Thanks for tuning in! Happy Gardening!
@@OklahomaGardening It's beginning. Gardening. So Happy Gardening to You too! Next chat on harvesting! Hahahhaaaaaa!!!
And if You have nettles around, put them in sacs and keep them in water filled barrels or containers with some weight on top. After 2-3 weeks the decoctum is stinking like hell, but very effective to spray the solution on plants (pest repellent), harmless and bio. It's also good for watering, has a lot of minerals, good nutrient. And... it's for free!
@@flaviusnita6008 Thanks for sharing your knowledge! We appreciate your tips and are wishing you a bountiful harvest this year! Thanks for tuning in! Happy Gardening!
We put chicken wire at the bottom of our raised beds.
Having the garden uncovered during the day allows the bees to pollenate the flowers
Why put the N on top instead of mixing it in with the straw?
The only problem is that your raised bed, like much of my back garden, is now leaching heavy metals from the cement into the soil. For example, Arsenic, Lead, Mercury, Vanadium, Chromium, etc. Look it up. I was gutted.
Where’s your scientific evidence to your claim?
@@beebob1279 look up leachate from cement.
With no caps on the blocks it's a great home for Black Widow Spiders.
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Malcolm, fill the holes with soil and plant root veggies. Problem solved. Besides, I bet you have those black widows around your house anyway don't you? You just have to be careful where you put your hands when working anyway.
I put a bunch of conch shells outside. Black Widows love getting in them. I wanted to bring one inside but made sure to submerge it in a bucket of water first. When I pulled the shell out from the water an hour later a huge black widow (drowned/dead) fell out and onto my hand.
@@beebob1279 You're an excuse-making idiot. Malcolm's comment was totally fair and correct. Stop it.
OklahomaGardening cement blocks can wick away water, especially in a hot climate that does not receive as much rain. If you decide to plant in them and use automated irrigation, you might consider running drip irrigation to those pockets you choose to plant in.
So beautiful! I just stared in my garden.
Thank you Casey, you are so perfect.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge! We appreciate your tips and are wishing you a bountiful harvest this year! Thanks for tuning in! Happy Gardening!
Thank you for this great information! What is that tool you used to cut the landscape fabric? It looks like some type of a rolling cutter - like something I've been looking for.
It's very ok to cover the hay with the hourss manure or grass clippings as a sources of nitrogen
Don't cinder blocks has toxic fly ash that leech into the soil?
Not anymore.
@@TheHerbdude really?? I'll have to look into that. I was certain they did. Well that is good news isnt it?
@@alexlandry9062 I did look into it and it really depends, some do and some don't, but it isn't like anyone lists the ingredients on them. I get very frustrated with our system which tends to literally hide what a product really is. As a science orientated person, i want to know what a cider block IS not just that it was made for x, y and z. I'll determine what i'll use it for, you just tell me what the heck it is. It's so annoying to have to research everything; just tell us and right on the front label please. Wouldn't that world be nice.
Love this idea
This helps. Thank you.
Cinder blocks haven’t been used for 50 years, they’re concrete masonry units ‘cmu’
@Sheila Mchgee blocks do not have fly ash anymore... they are not called cinder blocks
how did it hold up? did u put 2 rebar post per block (one on each end)? is the rebar through just the first two layers of blocks?
Good question...and the answer is???
I have used cinder blocks before, but was told it isn't safe because chemicals will leach out into the soil and will be taken up by the plants. I would use them, but I don't know what to think.
Wow you could plant in the holes around the side of the blocks I bet you say that later in the video but I’m only at the planting stages of the squash plants lol
My cider block garden i put my onions in the holes
And the weight of the soil doesn't push the cinder blocks out of position?
How many blocks did you use? at what cost? Compared to pouring a cement wall? What prevents the wall from sinking due to rain and heat?
Doesnt using cinderblocks contribute to lime deposits in the bed?
Great video! What type of nitrogen are you using?
Great Tips . I m here in Imperialcounty,ca desert. I have hard soil and alkalinty. It's better to use planters. I m thinking about using raised beds.
Why don't you fill the blocks with soil so you could add to your growing space and keep those black widows out of the blocks. Would be perfect for some carrots.
Because she is stupid, that's why. Look at the other dumb decisions she made in this project.
@@Kube_Dog 😂😂😂 damn I don't know why I laughed so hard at this. And I was thinking the same as well. Could you possibly plant tomatoes or peppers in them seeing as you would have to trellis them anyways?
@@wuntoo1687 Maybe some apple trees, since no trellis is needed?
Damn Straight
Marigolds and petunias are natural deterrents for some critters. You could plant a variety or companion plant, too.
Some have said these blocks can be unsafe..chemicals leach?
Yes, cinder blocks contain fly ash, which is toxic and can leach into the soil. These are not a healthy, safe option for beds. I wish more people were aware of this.
@@stanmilgram5578 I have heard they are no longer made with ash?
@@stanmilgram5578 - Those aren't cinder-blocks, they're just concrete-blocks. Cinder-Blocks are not made anymore for over 50 years. People still call them that because the name stuck.
@@svenulfskjaldbjorn5401 - I do not have Gypsum Sheetrock/wallboard in any of My houses, they are all plaster & wood lathe. My houses are 90-100+ years of age.
Also, the EPA is such a USELESS do nothing agency. They have not stopped any of the manufacturing toxic shit from these manufacturers - toxic chemicals in clothing, furniture, electronics, paper products, all plastics, etc. Toxic chemicals in the air, waters, land and food. I have before, but I ain't gonna bother to look at their website for anything they have to say now due to they are full of shit. Bunch of welfare cases. I'll check the other weblinx, however.
@@alexlandry9062 I have read that only cinder blocks have cancerogenic fly ash. Presumably the concrete blocks contain no fly ash, even though that makes them heavier and more expensive. Google is my source of info though, so not sure how true that is, and where to find flyash-free concrete blocks.
Was there any mention of the cost of this? Not very practical from my viewpoint. Squash will just about grow anywhere.
Agreed. This video is full of mistakes and bad decisions. The straw will break down and eventually you'll need to fill it all with soil, so you'll end up with three times the soil and three times the block you need. One layer of block is fine. This video is just plain stupid. And there is no damn point at all to that rebar nonsense.
Ml
@@Kube_Dog i concure; 1 course of block...2 if you buried the first course as a leveling footer. the straw was a needless addition
I notice you didn't have a plum line. This will make straight rows of your veg' s. The only problem with cinder block gardening is you need (long arms) or shorten your rows. Hope it helps.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge! We appreciate your tips and are wishing you a bountiful harvest this year! Thanks for tuning in! Happy Gardening!
Hers looked great. She was able to do it perfectly without having to use one.
her bed inside dimensions is four feet but if you work from both sides it's only a two feet eight inch reach to the middle.
I think you want to use "cement" blocks not cinder......if I recall the cinder could be toxic?
Yes, cinder blocks have fly ash, which is a carcinogen.
The fly ash is locked in the product. They don’t get hot enough to break down
Why landscape fabric though? I feel like this will inhibit worms from making their way into your raised bed.
I'm planning to build similar raise bed, should I apply concrete adhesive in between? We are on a bit slope
My vegetable garden got poisoned once when some drunken bum sh*t in mine. It killed my tomatoes, Jalapenos, and my basil. It doesn't help that I live across the street from a bar. One morning at 3 AM I found a young lady from the bar puking in my raised bed garden. Never ends
Get a fence then!
how has this bed held up with no mortar or concrete?
Wow amazing
I'm curious about the landscape fabric - what brand/type did you use or would recommend?
I would reccomend No Landscape Fabric.All it does is create a barrier between the original soil and the new soil or if your going to begin with a layer of straw,leaves,unfinished compost etc,it makes a barrier between the original soil and that.You are better off soaking the original soil again and again after applying limestone.This will encourager earthworms to come to the bed and stay there.They can move around through your bed without the obstruction of landscape fabric.I would rather have seen a 1cinderblock tall bed with the holes in the cinderblock being filled with good soil and planted.If you decide you want to make any raised bed,deep or shallow,forget the landscape fabric.
How stable are the blocks with all that weight pushing out after it's watered? And roots of big plants? Is it not helpful to cement them like a wall?
Is there rebar all the way around as otherwise the ones without rebar would shift?
Hi! So do the blocks every move or push out due to rain, or adding soil? How could you secure them so they wouldn't push out?
the rebar could fulfill this function - you could pound in more of the rebar stakes along the sides
Good video like
Thanks
Hi, I am very new here, always wanted a garden never had land until this year so I’m doing my research. I have planters made of brick along the stucco of my house. It is about 2ft high x 2ft W x 10ft L. It has dirt in there with a lot of rocks and construction materials I am going to remove entirely. Here is my question...
1.) Is the Landscaping cloth mandatory?
2.) is the size enough to plant anything? I would love to utilize it for anything edible such as herbs, tomatoes, peppers, garlic, etc...
Thank you!
Great video....thanks!
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Did you have any issues with not gluing the blocks together?
You sure you're not using concrete blocks??
Her math blew my mind
We noticed the raised beds in the background. I would like to know what parts you used to make those containers, please.
what is the purpose of landscape fabric?
How many blocks did you use? Great video! Very informative and well shot/edited.
About 50 but make sure you do the bed 4 block by 7 block to get 32sf. She used 3 block by 6 block which is 32sqft only on the outside. Her inside diameter is a mere 18sf. Leaving off the one extra block on each side screws you out of almost half the growing space.
@@annabellejonesify thanks!
I paused the video and counted LOL, 16 on each tier 3 x 5 on bottom tier so 48 altogether
Would you please tell us how many blocks of each type is needed for this bed? Also how many lengthwise and widthwise. Thank you.
How to avoid toxic from the cinderblock?
Use concrete block NOT cinder block. They're different!
Why line it? Wouldn’t it be better open to allow access to the mycelium, worms, etc?
don't they dry out ???
Great video and I loved the music :)
If I'm planting peppers, turmeric, tomatoes, herbs do I still add a layer of garden liner inside and is adding a drip hose a good idea?
Chef Bambu, you might use landscape cloth as a liner, but if Bermuda grass is the primary weed species that they are trying to keep out of the bed then that likely won’t stop it from invading the bed. A better way to approach the challenge of controlling Bermuda would be to control it completely prior to installing the raised bed. Organically this could be done by shading out the Bermuda grass with either a dense growing cover crop like sorghum x sudan grass during an entire summer or with multiple layers of cardboard during an entire summer. Also, drip irrigation would likely be the best method of irrigation for the raised bed garden.
How many stretcher blocks?
It would depend on how large you want the bed to be, in multiples of 16", roughly.