This must be one of the top video reviews of the metal raised beds out there -- I watched several videos that were all nearly identical and more endorsements than in depth reviews, whereas you went into the science/engineering of the beds and rust prevention (only video out there that explains this) and bulge etc -- very impressive stuff, instant sub
I have a variety of beds, Vegogarden, Vegega, Birdies and Olle. I love them all. Vego has a problem with not sending proper hardware with their support rods in their 32-inch beds and the add-ons for bug and weather protection.
I have 8 Birdies beds and the edging was an issue by me the user. After setting the first 2 , I realised that I had cut the edging and if the panels were put on flush , then the edging wouldnt stay on. I am now over that hiccup, so no issues using the Birdies for me. I also bought another galvanized from Amazon, and after a year no rust and the edging has held up so far. I happy with the beds I chose so far . Hope they last 20 yrs +++
I was just getting ready to hit the buy button on Vegega beds and wanted someone to tell me what I could expect, and the one-year review convinced me to hit the button without worrying about what would happen to them over time.
The best reveiew I've seen on these beds. I have 9 of the tall ones (30-32" tall) in my food forest (combination of Vego and Birdies depending on who had the best price/special when I bought each of them). Very well made and steel is heavy coated. Makes gardening much easier for seniors with less bending and crawling on the ground. Fill the bottoms with logs, then branches, then yard debris or wood chips, compost and finally, about 8-12 inches of good soil to save money. It will sink over time, and you will have to add more soil, but you save a lot of money on soil, get great water retention and nutrients as the logs and yard debris rots.
I have been using cinder blocks. Right now at $2.50 a block at Home Depot. So far they have been great for my parents. We only have them one high this year and plan to go two blocks high next year.
I had knee surgery 5 yrs ago . Now my knee blows up after about 2 hours of working outside. I am 64 & will need a full knee replacement soon. I am building my Cinder block bed 3 high with two 4" flat blocks (one as a base & one on the very top giving me 32" total height ( yes, I will be using logs & free mulch I am getting from a local Tree Remover/trimmer Co.)
I have a tall metal vegogarden bed in CA, where heat and water are concerns. I cut two 30g drums in half to support a pair of 5g flat reservoirs. This yielded two hydrated growing zones surrounded by drier coarse compostables for aeration and heat shielding. Thanks for sharing the FL experience-the rust was quite a surprise 😵
I bought this with your discount code after your unboxing video. I am so happy with it glad to hear yours is holding up so well. Mine did come with cross braces and I’m up to 4 now and wish I could afford get at least 2 more but they’ll have to wait a little longer. I also used your video instructions to make a cattle panel trellis! Thanks for being such an inspiration ❤
I have Vego beds and I agree 100% with your review. It is refreshing to hear from a smart engineer, I am a chemist and have identical thoughts on these beds. I live in southern Louisiana zone 9b, so heat is a concern. I went with a much lighter color than your beds in a more exposed area. I have not found any damage to roots near the sides of the beds so I am not worried about heat effects. Of course all raised beds drain much quicker than “in ground” beds so you need to prepared to deal with irrigation, hand watering or plants that tolerate drought.
Wow! This is so timely! We just got an 8' x 2', 17" VegeGa raised bed delivered yesterday! Going to our local landscape company today (if the rain stops!) to pick up the dirt to fill it. Sorry I missed the discount code, but ours was on sale for 15% off, which helps, too. We also have a large VegTrug, which we love. We are retired and want to avoid all the bending over. Glad to know we made a good choice! Thanks! Think I'll mosey on over to your other videos now...
Agree completely. I have Vego and Vegega beds. Both are holding up well after 1 year, but the Vego bed was very sharp & I cut myself x2 when assembling.
I love the look of those trellises with the beds. Our weather also affects the materials we use for trellising so much... They need to be sturdy enough for our regular thunder storms. Ive been through a couple of (Amazon) arches already that just did not last. Like you said, getting the cattle pannels is not an easy feat for a lot of us urban gardeners.
My wood beds lasted about 2 years, and were mostly destroyed by hurricane Ian. I have a couple of cedar, so we’ll see how they do. The metal beds I have are doing great- I’ve tried Birdies and Vega. I’m probably going to replace all my wood with the metal. The issue I have is the edging - it gets dried out by the hot Sun and breaks. Thanks for the review!
There are some videos here on YT of how to pour concrete to look like the long and short piece of lumber needed to make a raised bed wall. Never tried it, but looks decent on the videos and the ends have a notch to interlock, so stays together (in theory, anyway).
This was the brand I went with (SWFL, hi!) and totally agree with you, holds up extremely well this past season and plan on getting more this upcoming year! Also, didn't know they did trellises and so happy to see they can go into them for more stability!
I have 10 birdie beds and just added 2 Vego garden beds. The birdie beds I’ve had for about 4 years and they look like new they have no rust. I agree with the top liner that it keeps falling off and some areas doesn’t stay on. The vego beds were a little taller and have a better liner that stays on. If I were to get more I would definitely go with the vego instead.
I had a jalapeno pepper plant in a cedar raised bed that was my only survivor of Ian. Here in Englewood, we had 10 hrs of 150mph or higher winds. Fortunately, no surge. That plant produced until March. It did way better than my pool cage! lol
Oh my goodness THANK YOU! I have a mechanical engineering background as well, so I have had a laundry list of questions about the raised metal beds…. You just saved me quite a bit of research!! I spend half of the year in Michigan and the other half in Florida so again you answered so many other questions!! I love it!! 😊
You really should consider concrete blocks for raised beds. I live in Plant City and have been using the same blocks for 35 years. I can move them at will if needed and now that I need to sit often due to a broken back I can sit on the edge of my bed piled 3 high, 8"X8" X8" = a comfortable level for sitting. Keep up the great work.
So glad we came across this video! I was wondering how well our bed was going to hold up a year from when we assembled it this past spring. We got the taller one and wow that was a task to assemble. 😂 Thank you for sharing this! ❤
Thanks for comparison. I can't afford the metal beds now for sure. I was just given a new 100x50 or so growing area. So no way. But it's ok. I know what I have to do and take it one step at the time.
Tbh you can make them out of galvanized metal from the hardware store and some metal tubes. I have a 4x12 but you have to know how to fab it yourself from parts. Everyone says plain galvanized steel is toxic and leaches chemicals, but if you look into it they are the same metal but one is painted and the paint will peel off over time and get into your soil...
If all goes well I know where the 4th one is going for my herbs. Polinators are a struggle. I live on a canal on the ICW. I've been binge watching you a d you give me hope. Plus you make me 😃
It's rare I watch a video that doesn't tick me off due to the angle, agenda, or inexperience of the content/creator. Your video is fantastic. You touched on all the aspects of the beds, with great information, and you're articulate. Thanks so much. Subbed and liked.
Thanks for this video! I’m surprised to see that in what appears to be a very nice, well-maintained neighborhood, that having a vegetable garden with large metal containers and wire arched trellises is allowed. Most neighborhoods where I live have nicely-mowed lawns with flower gardens in the front yard.
How old are your rusted beds and are they the powder coated steel beds? Guess I thought a powder coated steel bed would last quite a few years. So will you do a video on a solution and “how to” replace the rusted beds? I’m wondering with the cost to fill them might any of the soil, compost, etc you’ve invested in them be salvageable?
I have used six vego beds for several years now and no rust. I used cross bars on a couple of them and hate they are always in my way went turning the soil to mix in the compost.
This is a great review. Unfortunately, Vevega's current inventory is limited to only some of the 17" beds. Maybe that is due to spring being right around the corner, but Vego seems like you can purchase anything they sell.
You are right! I reached out to them and they said that sales were so good that they sold all their inventory. They are producing more and should have 32" available in April, plus any other models that are out of stock.
17 inches isn't high enough. It should be the height of your kitchen counter, 32 to 36 inches to bring you out of back pain stoop labor as well as filling it with "hill culture " ingredients for optimal soil building and micro organism attraction
Howdy Alma! You make great points. If you are interested in a 32" height, the brand VegeGa has those too. You can find them here www.wildfloridian.net/gardenbed
I won't get metal beds again ... they dent up easily on the edges when turning over soil. Also, these beds heat up and it dries out soil on the outside edges. They look nice, they will probably last longer than wood but, not really worth the cost.
Only beds I've seen stay dry are 10 and 12 inch beds,my 17 in beds do fine,here I n north carolina if you're not getting 4 to six inches a weak your wartering.yup gardening is actually work.
Can you do a video on the Vegega trellises? I really want to see them. There is no way that by myself (64 and a 5' 4" woman) I can nor want to use a Cattle Panel.
Interesting that you had so many rust issues with the Best Choice beds. I wonder if they use a different supplier for the square beds than the round ones? My 4x2x2 squoval Best Choice beds are 2 years old now and spotless - and I'm in humid and salty eastern VA - so my weather isn't much more friendly. I've got a feeling those corner pieces are very different (as far as coating/etc) than the corrugated sides. My wife has Birdies beds and I honestly don't see much difference between mine and hers (aside from the taller beds being 2 panels vertically vs the Birdies being 1 - which is clearly nicer)
USDA testing says it does not. Food Grade coatings cannot leach and be considered safe for use with food. USDA has approved Zinc Aluminum Magnesium coating to be safe for use. Hope that helps.
I don't understand this fascination with beds. Glad this bed is popular and she likes it but folks, what matters is soil, weather, fertilizer and maintenance. I have wood, metal, a zillion containers, even a 7' round metal I made with a sheet of scrap metal. I cannot see that the bed had a thing to do with growth. My metal bed had eggplant and Japanese greens - all did fabulous but it had good sun, plenty of water and rich soil. Likewise, the DIY metal bed was great for melons, tomatoes and peppers. The wooden beds held a successive rush of flowers and herbs, overfilling the banks. Containers performed the best probably because I could control the conditions.
I started researching raised beds for my garden this year and it was scary how similar 3 brands were to each other. Birdies, Vego and Vegega are actually all the same design and claim the same things, so I think both are a rip off of Birdies. The only difference I have found is manufacturing location and what is used as a layer on the metal. Birdies and Vego are the same, but the Vegega has mag as well which gives better anti-rust protection.
This must be one of the top video reviews of the metal raised beds out there -- I watched several videos that were all nearly identical and more endorsements than in depth reviews, whereas you went into the science/engineering of the beds and rust prevention (only video out there that explains this) and bulge etc -- very impressive stuff, instant sub
I have a variety of beds, Vegogarden, Vegega, Birdies and Olle. I love them all. Vego has a problem with not sending proper hardware with their support rods in their 32-inch beds and the add-ons for bug and weather protection.
I have 8 Birdies beds and the edging was an issue by me the user. After setting the first 2 , I realised that I had cut the edging and if the panels were put on flush , then the edging wouldnt stay on.
I am now over that hiccup, so no issues using the Birdies for me.
I also bought another galvanized from Amazon, and after a year no rust and the edging has held up so far.
I happy with the beds I chose so far . Hope they last 20 yrs +++
I was just getting ready to hit the buy button on Vegega beds and wanted someone to tell me what I could expect, and the one-year review convinced me to hit the button without worrying about what would happen to them over time.
The best reveiew I've seen on these beds. I have 9 of the tall ones (30-32" tall) in my food forest (combination of Vego and Birdies depending on who had the best price/special when I bought each of them). Very well made and steel is heavy coated. Makes gardening much easier for seniors with less bending and crawling on the ground. Fill the bottoms with logs, then branches, then yard debris or wood chips, compost and finally, about 8-12 inches of good soil to save money. It will sink over time, and you will have to add more soil, but you save a lot of money on soil, get great water retention and nutrients as the logs and yard debris rots.
I have been using cinder blocks. Right now at $2.50 a block at Home Depot. So far they have been great for my parents. We only have them one high this year and plan to go two blocks high next year.
I had knee surgery 5 yrs ago . Now my knee blows up after about 2 hours of working outside. I am 64 & will need a full knee replacement soon. I am building my Cinder block bed 3 high with two 4" flat blocks (one as a base & one on the very top giving me 32" total height ( yes, I will be using logs & free mulch I am getting from a local Tree Remover/trimmer Co.)
I have a tall metal vegogarden bed in CA, where heat and water are concerns. I cut two 30g drums in half to support a pair of 5g flat reservoirs. This yielded two hydrated growing zones surrounded by drier coarse compostables for aeration and heat shielding. Thanks for sharing the FL experience-the rust was quite a surprise 😵
Old Garden Hose works PERFECTLY for the sharp edges. Just split the hose length-wise with a Utility Knife, and stick it over the edge.
thanks for this tip, just put together a 6'x4 and didn't come with any kind of ribbing like my others have, great idea thank you!
I bought this with your discount code after your unboxing video. I am so happy with it glad to hear yours is holding up so well. Mine did come with cross braces and I’m up to 4 now and wish I could afford get at least 2 more but they’ll have to wait a little longer.
I also used your video instructions to make a cattle panel trellis! Thanks for being such an inspiration ❤
Thank you for the engineering info you provided. Always love when I can get a better understanding of how things work.
I have Vego beds and I agree 100% with your review. It is refreshing to hear from a smart engineer, I am a chemist and have identical thoughts on these beds. I live in southern Louisiana zone 9b, so heat is a concern. I went with a much lighter color than your beds in a more exposed area. I have not found any damage to roots near the sides of the beds so I am not worried about heat effects. Of course all raised beds drain much quicker than “in ground” beds so you need to prepared to deal with irrigation, hand watering or plants that tolerate drought.
Wow! This is so timely! We just got an 8' x 2', 17" VegeGa raised bed delivered yesterday! Going to our local landscape company today (if the rain stops!) to pick up the dirt to fill it. Sorry I missed the discount code, but ours was on sale for 15% off, which helps, too. We also have a large VegTrug, which we love. We are retired and want to avoid all the bending over. Glad to know we made a good choice! Thanks! Think I'll mosey on over to your other videos now...
Agree completely. I have Vego and Vegega beds. Both are holding up well after 1 year, but the Vego bed was very sharp & I cut myself x2 when assembling.
Thanks for the "Is THIS Garden Bed WORTH it?" review. I used the WildFloridaian and got the discount on my first metal bed.
I’m so happy it helped you make the right decision for your garden!
I love the look of those trellises with the beds. Our weather also affects the materials we use for trellising so much... They need to be sturdy enough for our regular thunder storms. Ive been through a couple of (Amazon) arches already that just did not last. Like you said, getting the cattle pannels is not an easy feat for a lot of us urban gardeners.
My wood beds lasted about 2 years, and were mostly destroyed by hurricane Ian. I have a couple of cedar, so we’ll see how they do. The metal beds I have are doing great- I’ve tried Birdies and Vega. I’m probably going to replace all my wood with the metal. The issue I have is the edging - it gets dried out by the hot Sun and breaks. Thanks for the review!
There are some videos here on YT of how to pour concrete to look like the long and short piece of lumber needed to make a raised bed wall. Never tried it, but looks decent on the videos and the ends have a notch to interlock, so stays together (in theory, anyway).
My 12 year old brain keeps giggling every time you say VegeGa....even now I'm doing it. 😆
I'm right there with ya...lol
Same!😂 And I'm Much older😂😂
I’m the same way everytime I hear anyone say it.😂
No kidding! Better make sure to plant some cacarrots in there. Just saiyan.
That's so exciting that they held up for you. I will be investing now 😊. Thanks for the tips, tricks and honest opinions 😉.
This was the brand I went with (SWFL, hi!) and totally agree with you, holds up extremely well this past season and plan on getting more this upcoming year! Also, didn't know they did trellises and so happy to see they can go into them for more stability!
Hey hey! Also in SWFL!
I have 10 birdie beds and just added 2 Vego garden beds. The birdie beds I’ve had for about 4 years and they look like new they have no rust. I agree with the top liner that it keeps falling off and some areas doesn’t stay on. The vego beds were a little taller and have a better liner that stays on. If I were to get more I would definitely go with the vego instead.
I had a jalapeno pepper plant in a cedar raised bed that was my only survivor of Ian. Here in Englewood, we had 10 hrs of 150mph or higher winds. Fortunately, no surge. That plant produced until March. It did way better than my pool cage! lol
Oh my goodness THANK YOU! I have a mechanical engineering background as well, so I have had a laundry list of questions about the raised metal beds…. You just saved me quite a bit of research!! I spend half of the year in Michigan and the other half in Florida so again you answered so many other questions!! I love it!! 😊
Glad to hear your raised bed is holding up and you will nor replace anytime soon. I thought pricing was reasonable.
That’s good to hear Kim! For metal beds they seem competitively priced
You really should consider concrete blocks for raised beds. I live in Plant City and have been using the same blocks for 35 years. I can move them at will if needed and now that I need to sit often due to a broken back I can sit on the edge of my bed piled 3 high, 8"X8" X8" = a comfortable level for sitting. Keep up the great work.
concrete then is made more interesting.
LOL! I just did concrete... not for my veggies BUT for my flowers. It is giving a beautiful cottage vibe. :D
Do they stay in place without being cemented?
@@bluegtturbo yes, they won't go anywhere.
So glad we came across this video! I was wondering how well our bed was going to hold up a year from when we assembled it this past spring. We got the taller one and wow that was a task to assemble. 😂 Thank you for sharing this! ❤
i have both vego and vegega, the vegos i have, the tall ones have a screw every other hole. they have some really nice garden accessories
Thank you I purchased 6 of them. My soil is heavy clay soil so this works perfect.
Thanks for comparison. I can't afford the metal beds now for sure. I was just given a new 100x50 or so growing area. So no way. But it's ok. I know what I have to do and take it one step at the time.
Tbh you can make them out of galvanized metal from the hardware store and some metal tubes. I have a 4x12 but you have to know how to fab it yourself from parts. Everyone says plain galvanized steel is toxic and leaches chemicals, but if you look into it they are the same metal but one is painted and the paint will peel off over time and get into your soil...
I love them! Bought 3 and want 3 more! Thank You! ❤
Thx for the video, Jacqueline! It was timely- we were just about to buy 2 metal beds from Amazon, but watched this and bought 2 VegeGa beds instead :)
I'm so excited, just ordered 3 beds for our fall garden. Thank you for the review. I live on the east coast, 9b.
Hope you enjoy them! Let me know if you have issues. Cheers and happy growing 🥰
If all goes well I know where the 4th one is going for my herbs. Polinators are a struggle. I live on a canal on the ICW. I've been binge watching you a d you give me hope. Plus you make me 😃
Thank you for your video! I am so glad that you did all of this research!! They make sense. Those look good and easy weed pressure!!
It's rare I watch a video that doesn't tick me off due to the angle, agenda, or inexperience of the content/creator. Your video is fantastic. You touched on all the aspects of the beds, with great information, and you're articulate. Thanks so much. Subbed and liked.
Thanks for this video! I’m surprised to see that in what appears to be a very nice, well-maintained neighborhood, that having a vegetable garden with large metal containers and wire arched trellises is allowed. Most neighborhoods where I live have nicely-mowed lawns with flower gardens in the front yard.
Perhaps I’ll go pick up a few. Thank you Mrs Wild.
🥰 You’ll be so proud Mr. Safety! I checked all those panels for nuts and sharp edges. Safety First 😉
Great info! Thanks for your honest review.
It would be a little added expense but you can buy stainless steel bolts at your local hardware store.
Thanks for the breakdown. It really helps
You’re welcome Catherine ☺️
So good to know! Thanks!
You are so welcome!
How old are your rusted beds and are they the powder coated steel beds? Guess I thought a powder coated steel bed would last quite a few years. So will you do a video on a solution and “how to” replace the rusted beds? I’m wondering with the cost to fill them might any of the soil, compost, etc you’ve invested in them be salvageable?
I have used six vego beds for several years now and no rust. I used cross bars on a couple of them and hate they are always in my way went turning the soil to mix in the compost.
Thank you for sharing a code! I ordered a bed. I’ve ordered from vego, but they keep sending me the wrong items.
I'm in Florida. Used your code for my 1st bed.
This is a great review. Unfortunately, Vevega's current inventory is limited to only some of the 17" beds. Maybe that is due to spring being right around the corner, but Vego seems like you can purchase anything they sell.
Oh no! I see that. I just reached out to VegeGa to see if it is a website issue or an inventory issue. Thanks for letting me know.
You are right! I reached out to them and they said that sales were so good that they sold all their inventory. They are producing more and should have 32" available in April, plus any other models that are out of stock.
Excellent video - thanks.
Really great video. You know what you are talking about. Thanks so much!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Love the engineering take!
Thank you for this video. I am looking for raised beds that will last in coastal, hot area, like in Florida.
I bought four last night! Can’t wait to use them.😀
17 inches isn't high enough. It should be the height of your kitchen counter, 32 to 36 inches to bring you out of back pain stoop labor as well as filling it with "hill culture " ingredients for optimal soil building and micro organism attraction
Howdy Alma! You make great points. If you are interested in a 32" height, the brand VegeGa has those too. You can find them here www.wildfloridian.net/gardenbed
@@WildFloridian are you located in the northern panhandle of Florida?. Not much "nature "left south of Ocala
Excellent video! Very informative!
What was the brand of the first beds? The ones you didn't like.
Best Choice Products and pro tip Savanna brand appears to use the same materials as Best Choice
What are your thoughts on a raised bed from Lowe’s, Tractor Supply made of treated wood?
I make my own from corrugated sheets . Just bend the ends and bolt together !
I won't get metal beds again ... they dent up easily on the edges when turning over soil. Also, these beds heat up and it dries out soil on the outside edges. They look nice, they will probably last longer than wood but, not really worth the cost.
My soil didn’t dry out but I think surrounded by metal it boiled the roots.
Only beds I've seen stay dry are 10 and 12 inch beds,my 17 in beds do fine,here I n north carolina if you're not getting 4 to six inches a weak your wartering.yup gardening is actually work.
Can you do a video on the Vegega trellises? I really want to see them. There is no way that by myself (64 and a 5' 4" woman) I can nor want to use a Cattle Panel.
our 3" thick cedar beds have rot after 6 years in NJ
Interesting that you had so many rust issues with the Best Choice beds. I wonder if they use a different supplier for the square beds than the round ones? My 4x2x2 squoval Best Choice beds are 2 years old now and spotless - and I'm in humid and salty eastern VA - so my weather isn't much more friendly.
I've got a feeling those corner pieces are very different (as far as coating/etc) than the corrugated sides.
My wife has Birdies beds and I honestly don't see much difference between mine and hers (aside from the taller beds being 2 panels vertically vs the Birdies being 1 - which is clearly nicer)
if u dont want rust on any screws just replace with stainless steel screws they dont rust
Liked just for credentials on materials.
are the vaga steel panels a thicker gage then rusted one?
I’m trying to use the link and I’m getting a message that the site is unavailable 😢
Oh no! It looks like it is back up.
Does the coating leach into soil/plants?
USDA testing says it does not. Food Grade coatings cannot leach and be considered safe for use with food. USDA has approved Zinc Aluminum Magnesium coating to be safe for use. Hope that helps.
Can't buy it in Portugal :( , they don't ship outside the US or UK
Nice vajayjay bed. Lool. Glad its holding up well. Cause no one wants an old worn out vajayjay bed. 😄
Great info. to know because these are the ones I bought…lol.
Their website is currently down?
Try this www.wildfloridian.net/gardenbed It should get you there.
The discount code doesn’t work 😞
10 months after this video, do you still feel the same? Thanks :)
Yes. I ordered more and they all are doing awesome 👍
I don't understand this fascination with beds. Glad this bed is popular and she likes it but folks, what matters is soil, weather, fertilizer and maintenance. I have wood, metal, a zillion containers, even a 7' round metal I made with a sheet of scrap metal. I cannot see that the bed had a thing to do with growth. My metal bed had eggplant and Japanese greens - all did fabulous but it had good sun, plenty of water and rich soil. Likewise, the DIY metal bed was great for melons, tomatoes and peppers. The wooden beds held a successive rush of flowers and herbs, overfilling the banks. Containers performed the best probably because I could control the conditions.
What gets me is, it’s a direct rip off of Birdies garden beds!
BIRDIES is also made in Australia. These other knock-offs are made in CHINA.
I started researching raised beds for my garden this year and it was scary how similar 3 brands were to each other. Birdies, Vego and Vegega are actually all the same design and claim the same things, so I think both are a rip off of Birdies. The only difference I have found is manufacturing location and what is used as a layer on the metal. Birdies and Vego are the same, but the Vegega has mag as well which gives better anti-rust protection.
Get video
don't believe the hype👎this company doesn't stand by there false 25 year product. Raisebed is defective and warp easily 👎👎