Pros and Cons of Raised Cinder Block Gardens
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ก.ย. 2024
- Betty walks through her garden showing things she likes and doesn't like about the raised garden method we chose which uses cinder blocks.
Spoiler Alert: The pros outweigh the cons...
I use cinder block for my raised beds too, but I fill the holes in with soil and place a single onion plant in them. every year. Onions are hardy plants and grow well. I always have a good harvest and they help repell pests too.
Interesting solution to the holes.
I'm trying beets and radishes to fill the holes. I hope they do ok. My first time with a cinder block raised bed
Last year I planted Swiss Chard in them, and it worked great!
I am moving over to cinder block for raised bed. I just made my first block 2 x 8 bed with 6x 8x 16 block 3 stacks high and I filled the holes with soil and raised bed mix and put in carrots and radishes and onions. Planted Squash and Zucchini with a pole inserted into the holes near the plants to grow up the poles Not sure about the blocks because I did not mortar them together at 3 stacks high. I filled to the first course high with mulch then the second course high with top soil and the last course high with raised bed soil from the local nursery their special blend and they grown all kinds of stuff in that mix.
@@jwar2163 how do the onions do in the 6x8x16 cinderblocks? I only see 8x8x16 raised beds
and here I thought I had all the good ideas down for some exact same constructed raised beds... You enlightened me to use the plastic on sides, hold water from leaking out AND prevent weeds from coming in. Thumbs up
Plant marigolds,dill,sage,basil around in all your beds ..definitely keeps down on the aphids and other invaders. Great video. I also do concrete block raised beds
We mulch our pathways as well and when the mulch decomposes we scoop it up and put it in the beds. We also deep mulch our beds, it makes it easier to weed the few weeds we get.
I am in the process now of building new raised beds for my garden, but I decided to go with 4x8x16 blocks instead of the 8" thick versions so that I didn't lose the additional 4" of growing room on each side of the bed. I am building mine 2-feet tall to help with the drying out issue of the soil. I will be able to get a lot more organic material in the beds to retain moisture that way. I will also be capping the top of my walls with 2" thick flat blocks to keep spiders and things from going down inside the walls and surprising me later. It is a LOT more expensive doing raised beds this way, but they will last forever and never need to be replaced, and as I get older I don't really like getting down on my knees in the garden anymore. Having the taller beds will be appreciated by my back and my knees, lol.
We used 4" thick blocks in one bed, and they have started to fall over from the pressure of the soil inside the bed. I don't know how yours will last, but let us know.
I've seen a video of someone building a bed 3 rows tall with the 4x8x16 blocks with caps. The builders used thin rebar with "L" hook ends every couple blocks from one end to the next. I thought it was a great way to stop the weight of the dirt from knocking down the walls.
Plant things inside the block holes!
@@cellolady100 I drove 36” rebar takes down through the block holes into the ground to give additional support on every other block. So far, no problems.
@@tonybucca5667 with top caps there are no block holes, and with these 4” thick blocks, the holes aren’t large enough to plant inside. That only works well with 8” thick blocks.
You should consider putting down a much heavier layer of mulch in your veggie beds , it will help out considerably with retaining moisture, really nice setup you have !!!!
I did two years ago. However, it turned out to be a disaster. Potato bugs (or Rollie Pollies, Sow bugs, Pill bugs) became such a huge problem that they ate my seedlings, two zucchini plants, a few pepper plants, and leaves off of my green beans! Called our County Extension Agency, and they told me to get rid of the mulch until mid-Summer. They were living in the mulch. I was catching at least 30-60 per day in traps. Fed them to my chickens. It truly became an invasion.
@@cellolady100 This is good information. Thanks.
@@cellolady100 Yes! I'm just learning that mulch is a CRAZY attractant to these bugs!
Hi Betty ; thank you so much for the tips ! I really appreciate the tip on using plastic to line the edges of the beds to retain water better. It occurred to me as you were sharing that I will line my open holes with recycled grocery bags (bottoms removed) to keep those edge plants from needing to be watered as often. We will see ! I love the flowers along the edges !!!
I agree that the plastic was a good tip, but from my experience, I think that filling the holes in the blocks as well as putting a thick layer of mulch between the beds, will also help with the drainage of the water out of them.
Good idea. Last year I planted green beans in them, plus flowers.
Glad i found this vid. Was planing to use ciderblocks for raised beds myself altho i plan to make them waist high for my dad so he would not have to bend down too much. I wasnt aware of the water issue cinderblocks have. Considering how i plan to go about this (the walls are going to be at least 3 to 4 feet high) i would imagine i would have the problem ramped up to 11. I think ill build one and have maybe the 3rd line of blocks fill of a mix of mostly coco coir worm castings. Hopefully it will work a bit like a water storage for anything i plant in the holes.
Great idea! Thanks!
Great idea.
You could use water beads for block holes,the soak up/release water as needed
Thanks for your video. I'm thinking about making cinder block beds for some of my plants so even though this is an old video, it's very timely for me.
As for seeds, I haven't bought from Burpee in a long time. I buy from Baker Creek or Botanical Interests. Their seeds are top notch. Also, Southern Seed Exchange has good quality seeds.
Thanks for the recommendation. I found a good one. It's called True Leaf Market, if you are interested.
We built our beds with blocks 3 high and caps. You can sit while you weed plant and harvest. Also keeps our pups from running through plants.
Did you use mortar or rebar? How are they three years later?
@@silenceimpaired we used rebar in just a few of the holes. I put 1/2 plumbing pipe on rebar add plastic to make hoop greenhouse . They have held up well and I would like to add a 4th level so they are taller since our yard is sloped so most of the 1st course is underground.
Higher beds don’t get as many weeds
@@papabear149 I dont think I've had to pull even 10 total out of all 3 beds this summer. One thing I did do the 2nd year was put the least expensive clear plastic over the bed for a few weeks in the spring to kill any weed seeds.
@@casid9929 Thanks for sharing your experience this is so helpful.
Hello Betty! I enjoyed your video. So much information in this video. I am about to make a CB garden and this is so helpful. New subbie.
Thank you for your experience and knowledge.
i guess neat and organized is tasteful. this looks very nice.
I also found the raised beds dry out very quickly, but my earthworms love wet soil. They are all over my garden and I water every day. I don't bother planting anything in the holes as they just don't survive the heat inside the block.
Ohh where are you? I’m looking into these for north Texas, zone 8a
@@jennifergibbs9672 I'm in JHB, South Africa. It gets pretty hot here during summer. I recently tried them again and still the same problem, even with daily watering.
I used all the ones I have to build a fairly large raised bed for my strawberries and blueberries. At least they didn't go to waste.
@@storiesneedears oh wow, you ok over there? We’ve been seeing terrible scary videos online about what’s going on there!? Idk of the climate differences between there and here but I bet it’s hotter where you are, I was thinking if I lined them with the grow bag type material that could help buffer heat maybe. Have you tried any kind of liners? our temp is 90-105° for mid July- end of august but the rest of the time April-June & sept 80-90 and then we get pretty cold November- feb. down to 25s sometimes, how is it there?
@@jennifergibbs9672 We are good thanks. A concerted effort to destroy the country as there are two factions at the top struggling for power. It lasted for a week or two but has been back to normal for a while now, apart from the many businesses destroyed. It brought the rest of the country together in a really beautiful way. Thanks for asking.
The problem with the cinder blocks is that there is very little space for soil inside. It is like putting a really small pot outside, which also doesn't work. It doesn't take a lot of heat for all the water to evaporate, so your plants are dried out most of the time. Maybe plants made for the desert will work, but it is not the look I wanted. Veggies definitely does not work.
The average summer temps are in the 80s and 90s here. Not sure how that compares to Texas.
@@storiesneedears that’s actually not quite as hot as here! But we have lots of humidity, I bet that succulents might do ok in them! Thank you so much for the info and I’m so glad to hear that things are getting peaceful and United there! 🙏🥰
Put some wood chips or grass clippings on the top of your soil to reserve water in your raised bed!
We use grass clippings now, plus we also use peat moss, which helps retains water. But we've found that manure also helps.
I use cinder blocks also. Ive been thinking the same. Cat sand is actually clay. So I'm going to try mix the compost with Cat sand to put in the hollow brick to hold the water a bit
Thank you for the educational video!
Peat moss and thick mulching helps retain moisture
Peat moss in the soil mixture, or underneath as a layer @Mac
@@grace2garden403 I would say in the mixture. I tried using it as a bottom layer and it either dried out so much that the water just ran through it, or stayed too wet and was swampy. If you mix it thoroughly into the soil, it will work much better. Hydrate it first before adding it and don't let the soil dry out too much between waterings.
One more question. Will cinder blocks leach lime into the soil where it raises alkaline or harm plants in any kind of way? Someone recently told me that it might do that. However, I’ve seen a bunch of people on TH-cam using cinder blocks.
Are you doing a companion plant video this year as you were thinking to do?
We have horrible swamp grass in Florida so the bottom needs to be like a bath tube to keep it out.
I have a question about using the cinder blocks for a raised beds. Do you have to level the ground before putting the first level of blocks down. Because the ground isn't really level where i am planting at.
I recently put in cinder blocks for raised beds, and yes I leveled the ground. I have hard dirt and dug down a bit to level the blocks.
The only way to keep them butted up tightly together is if they're on flat ground. But if you're going to add plastic inside like she did then tightness is not particularly important.
Having them tight helps structural stability, so yes, level the ground well, then put the blocks as close together as possible. My husband even broke off little protrusions from the blocks as we added the second layer a year after we released this video. I did some follow-up videos, but my husband's health put us behind releasing videos. He's about recovered from open-heart surgery and will be editing and uploading videos again soon (we hope nothing else comes up--he's had 24 surgeries and is supposed to have at least 3 more).
@@cellolady100 Thank you for your videos, Betty. I hope Karl gets well soon. Prayers for you both.
Good videoResult of hard work. Give your valuable comments to improve our channel thank you. Stay connected and stay blessed
EAT the dandelions!!!
Betty I think you're going to get the poisonous spiders (red backs here in Australia - same as your black widow I think; at least same family) regardless : ( They love to hide...gardens = spiders of any kind.
This past summer I filled the holes up with garden soil. I grew peas and green beans in them. No more spiders hiding in the holes.
Earth worms NEED their skin wet. Not so sure about your not watering thoughts.
As long as you don't overwater your beds the worms will stay. I make vermicompost and sometimes I don't catch all the eggs before I put it out in the garden. In the beds that are watered on timers every day the worms love the moisture and only come out of the beds during the rare rainstorms that last more than a day.
I prefer our local seed & feed store. I can tell the clerk how long my rows are and how many rows I will be planting, and he will measure our enough for my needs. Also, the local stores will be selling only what should be planted at a particular time of the planting season. Nice video. I hope to have raised beds this year...it's gotten harder to use the tiller as the hubby and I are getting older.
Thank you for making this! I made the change to raised beds last year and I'm so much happier with my garden.
i got blocks that were imperfects from a cement company at drastically reduced prices.
Luck you. Thanks for sharing and I'm going to check if my local cement manufacturer makes blocks.
We are in our new homestead. We moved late April and had unseasonably cool/cold weather here in Georgia. Without my greenhouse, I had to start a late garden. I decided to make cinder block raised beds. We my fiance gets out of the shower, we're heading to Home Depot and Lowe's to get the stuff for a deep bed for potatoes and tomatoes and one to for where we will start the asparagus. We have just been doing a couple of beds each pay day until we have all that we need. Thanks for the black plastic tip.
I figured I’d see comments on Venomous vs Poisonous as soon as I heard her. And sure enough.. plenty. Forget the great info she put out... you guys win the “Smartest folks in the Room” award. But you’ll have to share the prize money. Damn... that’s a pretty small hair to split.
Dandelions will break up compact soil for you if you left them grow.
We now let dandelions grow, so we can feed the leaves to our chickens. We've heard drying the leaves and making it into tea is very good for us, too. Thank you for your comment.
@@cellolady100 You can make jelly from dandelion flowers and tea or coffee substitute from the roots. I like using dandelion plants as they serm to help with my anemia. And taste pretty good.
Use neem oil for aphids and all other pests
Just used neem on a few of my plants! Works wonders the plant is back to healthy producing flowers now so might get a harvest!
The mulch will hold the mound in place anyway. I would suggest to anyone wanting to try a raised bed to just make a mound like you have there, but no blocks.
What kind of vegetable plants can go in the holes in the cinder blicks?
The next step onward from raised beds is wicking beds. Then your beds don't dry out like they do now, and also because you don't have water (and dissolved nutrients) seeping out of your beds, you also don't have that line of really lush weeds growing against the bottom of the bed walls in the path.
What is wicking beds?
I've tried wicking beds but I didn't have success. I've tried it numerous ways and the water always grows algae and is so hot that the plants don't thrive. I live in the desert and this has been suggested to me but I have yet to find a way where the plants do well.
@@grace2garden403 A wicking bed, also known as a self-watering or subirrigation bed, is a raised bed that has a water reservoir underneath it where the water can wick up to the plant roots. If you search on YT you can find many different designs for DIY wicking beds. Also, there are some self-watering containers for sale commercially.
Thank you for this video. I like your garden.
What kind of plastic did you use to line the sides of the beds. Thank you.
I am going to be doing cinder this year. Thanks for sharing
How did the cinder blocks work for you? I will go over to your page to see if I see them.
Zinnas soooooooo pretty
Earthworms will tolerate moist or wet soil better than dry soil. In the heat of summer I'll water my raised beds every day for the health of the plants. The earthworms don't seem to mind.
Thanks for sharing this. It was a bit hard to get a concise list of pros and cons between they were buried in various sections of the video but one that stood out was the Spiders! My wife cannot stand spiders so it's good to know they will likely take up residence in the holes (I wouldn't have even thought of that).
I'm a woman & I talk to my spiders all the time while I'm out working in the garden. They keep so many nasty things at bay - between those & the ladybugs. =)
There is another con to using cinder blocks for gardens..
If you're planning on making a raised bed for growing food, I recommend getting cinder blocks (or better yet, stone if possible) not made with fly ash in it. Fly ash is a toxic coal bi-product & leaches heavy metals into the gardens & ultimately your food.
Similar to how toxic coal ash leaches/spills into the water ways of Appalachia contaminating the drinking water of entire communities (knowingly), as do cinder blocks made with coal ash into your gardens..
It's time to pull the plug on the coal industry. Most lobbyists care more about making money than public health & should not run government agencies dedicated to protecting the environment. Science deniers need not apply (not qualified)!
The cinder blocks are no longer made with those things. At least they aren't in our area. They stopped that years ago. We researched it before using them.
We call them cinder blocks in the US but they are made out of concrete
I heard that is not good to raise edibles in cinder blocks because it contains toxic fly ash that can be absorbed by the plant. Does anybody has any input on that?
I say it depends on the regional requirments for your cinder block producer or that it just is no longer the case anymore, if it was such an issue, aren't sidewalks and cinderblocks the same material? If so, all of us would be sick already because of the trees transferring it to the soil when they shed their leaves and then contaminating the soil. Like how bird bullets used to be lead but the lead moved up the foodchain and killed eagles and vultures.
She lined the cinder blocks with black plastic which should greatly reduce if not almost wholly eliminate any toxic tranference into the beds.
@@flatsville1 plastic leeches toxic petroleum based chemicals too. Isn't that why they say never drink water from a water bottle that has been sitting in excess heat?
Our blocks do not use the ash mentioned. They stopped using it long ago, thank goodness.
@@flatsville1 The black plastic is not in the sun, and doesn't get very hot. Also, it is biodegradable. I pulled out shreds of it this past Fall.
Succulents around the edges
Paint the inside of your blocks Betty...it waterproofs enough and if you use the kind if spray paint that sticks to anything, 2 coats, once you fill it with durst it holds it and won't peel. I brush slathered inside some blocks with latex housepaint and it remains years later.
Blessed Goodnight Can't I use cement blocks?
Yes, you can. Cinder blocks are either another name for the same thing in some areas, or very slightly lighter weight.
@@WebbyWunda Blessed Good Afternoon
Thank you very much
God Bless You.🙏
If they are true cinder blocks they can leach chemicals out from the cinder used in making them. But if you line them with plastic that should reduce to exposure.
Too much nitrogen in the soil will hinder growth and production of beans.
New sub lovely garden very organized god bless thanks for sharing
Fill the holes with wood chips
We've thought of that. My husband has a wood chipper, too, so maybe we can try. The only thing I worry about is it doesn't compact easily.
You don't need to put wood chips. Just harvest the weeds and dump them right into your beds as fertilizer! I use dandelions and grass as fertilizers. There is no need to compost anything. just dump them into your beds as fresh mulch.
Arthur Hau the problem is the seeds, if u do that make sure to get all the seeds out or else they will take over
@@KH1095 that part
Thank you!!
Where can we lie earth worms
In a hot climate, you can't plant anything in the holes in the bricks, they just dry out too fast. Any suggestions anyone?
Add shredded cardboard to the bottom and/or cardboard to the sides and that makes a great "sponge" to retain water. Just make sure to keep it below the surface of the soil so it won't dry out. Also, mulch, mulch, mulch. I'm in the Southern California desert and mulch makes a big difference.
love your garden.
Thanks for sharing. I am planning on adding at least 1 cinder block bed since lumber has gotten out of sight. If I may suggest, try allowing part of the 'wall' without the plastic and see if the plants in the cinder blocks stay moist a little longer. I know it's a trade off, so just try 3 or 4 feet at first. The cinder blocks act very similar to the old clay pots as far as wicking the moisture out. Just a thought.
Hope you have a great gardening season.
I’ve grown a garden in cinder blocks for years. I live in the south. Plastic in the bottom isn’t good. It doesn’t allow drainage or allow earth worms in. Plastic also prevents root growth. Mine is two blocks high. The trick to cinder blocks is a good balance using compost. I also have one block high beds, but plant roots are able to reach the ground below. Mulching is also important. Filling the holes also helps to insulate the interior bed from heat. I plant companion plants in the holes like marigolds and herbs like lavender and rosemary which like drier soils and are more heat tolerant. Nasturtiums and peppers also thrive in the holes and protect the interior plants. Good luck!
@@hutke01 Thanks for sharing is nugget, I was wondering about wet feet on the plants..
Spiders are NOT "poisonous". They are VENOMOUS. And they are ALL venomous.
Never do a video when it's windy ! Ugh !
It's where we live. Windy all the time.
Is fly ash in the concrete a problem?
From what I’ve heard (research for yourself) is that in the US new“cinder” blocks are just cement blocks with no fly ash
I like how u put annuals in the brick holes.
marigolds are great for discouraging insects
Is one cinder block height sufficient for deeper root plants like tomato, radish, cilantro etc?
Vikram Daga no two to three high is better for tomatoes
Yes because there is soil below the cinder blocks. Roots can go as far down as they like. The plastic is only lining the sides of the raised beds.
Update (Betty's husband here): We've added another layer of bricks. We aren't going to add more, however, because, without anchoring, we are afraid the top row would cause them to go out of balance so they could tip over. Betty mentioned we have 13 grandchildren. Now we have 17 with another one coming in a few more months. And 2 sons aren't married yet. Yes, we have a big family, and if we could go back and do it again, wouldn't make any changes. But we don't want a brick or several to tip over on any of the little ones who "help" Grandma in the garden.
Nice video Betty, thanks.
I love my cinderblock gardens, the only issue I have is that I get crab grass and weeds growing in the un used holes of the cinderblocks. I saw a picture of them turned sideways instead so may try it. Just need some type of barrier too prevent dirt and mulch from falling through the sideways blocks. My beds are two blocks high.
Just watch for snakes hiding in the open sides.😬
@@dawncooper4739 Yes, I have found at least one! :-)
You have some really nice beds. Cinder blocks are definitely way to go. Love mine and expanding a few. Happy gardening!
What are those bushy tall green plants you put in the holes on the corners?
It might be fennel but I'm not sure 👍
dill possibly
The spiders are not poisonous, unless you are eating them. The correct terminology is venomous.
Thanks for sharing, especially the cons. The cost of the blocks will prohibit me from trying this method.
I get them free and cheap from Craigslist and FB marketplace..people always trying to get rid of them
I'm so grateful my husband has such a good job. We were poor most of our married life, just barely making it from check to check, but with his recent job change, he gets overtime again, which is a huge blessing. Of course, they are limiting it as of this writing, so our discretionary spending will be less than it was when we released this video.
Dandelion weeds are very edible. Wasting them giving to chickens.
No way, its good for chickens!! Healthy chickens = more eggs better meat
Team julie - see Back to Eden ... Paul feeds ALL excess garden stuff to his chicks ... they give back in great soil !
I would rather feed them to my chickens. I buy powered greens from Tom Cowan. He has some great varieties.