Selfsufficientish.com

Hi guys - I think the title says it all. I need cheap (free?) edging for long narrow raised beds. Never done this before so assume totl novice in any reply.
Weather here is very wet. Soil is sandy and alkaline. Lots of mare's tails - but working on it.
Cheers,

A big box store was remodeling, I got hold of a bunch of their industrial-strength wire shelving and used that to build raised beds with. Look around, you might be surprised what you find.

I have gotten hold of 2 second hand hardwood fence panels. You know the kind that has planks alternately on front and back? Really cheap and I ended up with 28 6 ft hardwood planks and 4 posts. Not as good as scaffolding planks, as my planks are a bit on the thin side and narrower too, but much cheaper and they do the job.

Feel a bit guilty about it probably not being FSC wood, but then it's re-used, so...

Jandra

I got a stack of unwanted pallets in good condition that I'm going to be turning into raised beds. There are loads of places that have them. We're just lucky that it's one of my husband's suppliers and he's told us we can have as many as we want whenever we want. You might find one near you.

I worked in a place where old doors were used... If that makes it too high, you could always cut them in two lengthwise.

I have over 30 raised beds. I got all the wood from skips. It took ages to get enough, but I got there eventually.

Funny how they always appeared in skips the day after I cleaned the car

I am still on skip watch, as some of the boards had a bit of wodworm and will need replacing eventually.

cj

I don't suppose you have any bamboo groves in Scotland? Bamboo is very good, and it's free for the taking here.

A small, one-handed sledge hammer is very useful for making raised beds. If you bash in a few metal or wooden uprights, you can put all sorts of things in between them as horizontals.

Breeze blocks are prolly fairly cheap aren't they? A single row would give you reasonable height, and if you put in upright stakes they wouldn't fall over. Not lovely to look at though.

We used wine bottles - begged from friends neighbours and relatives (not to mention a few we drank ourselves!):

http://picasaweb.google.com/justin.fun/Garden

They've been in for 18 months now with no problems and were completely free.

Rod in Japan wrote:I don't suppose you have any bamboo groves in Scotland?

Global warming hasn't got that far yet, Rod!

Try freecycle for any freebie wood a la the types mentioned before.

An alternative option is weaving willow withies, put stakes in ground at frequent intervals and bend the withies back and forth. You can make them to any shape, height or size you want, and if you grow a couple of willow trees you can add, replace or mend etc as needed ad infinitum.

I'm experimenting with old tires as raised beds. They are more round than long, but the black rubber absorbs the heat of the sun. The lettuce growing in them, so far, is growing much better than the lettuce in the wooden raised bed next to them.

What a great range of ideas!

Rod in Japan wrote:I don't suppose you have any bamboo groves in Scotland?

Wish we had- we were discussing paddy fields recently though! And thanks for the hammer tip.

JustinFun wrote:We used wine bottles

Amazing photos - and a great recycle idea - but I would be a bit wary for the dogs/teenagers who are less careful than the average bod.

Green Aura wrote:Try freecycle for any freebie wood a la the types mentioned before.

Hadn't heard of this organisation - and we have a local group - thanks.

Mainer in Exile wrote:I'm experimenting with old tires as raised beds.

I'm going to see a local farmer for a couple of tractor tyres tomorrow - I would not have thought of this - and it would work well i think in my windy garden.
I am also going to check out old pallets - to create a foe striaght edged beds.
Thank you all!

I used beer bottles & old bricks

I have TONS of wood you can have. For Free. Logs. Any size and shape.

One slight catch you'd have to come and fetch them.....!

Hej! great idea - could use the cairns as huskies! Wish I could come to collect as i haven't been is Sweden since 1981.