i'm thinking cinder blocks, like pic rel, but i don't wanna look totally trailer trash. wood is definitely too expensive, and i'd have to replace it every 3 years.

perhaps 『 g a l v a n i z e d s t e e l 』 ?

>>2930713 (OP)
Depending on size you can make it with 1-2 boards.As long as it drains the wood isn't going to rot. I built mine almost 7 years ago and they are sturdy and hold up. Buy 1 Cedar board for the corners.

You can also just buy steel ones on Amazon.

An IBC cut in half makes a fantastic raised bed. They can be had pretty cheap. If you don't like the cage look then it's easy to attach some scrap timber boards to the outside, pretties it up nicely.

>>2930713 (OP)
I have to re-do my raised beds this winter. I saw these cross blocks at Lowes the other day and thought they looked neat, but I think you have to spend the extra coin on cedar and it has to be at least 2" lumber. I cheaped out a little using 1" pine and its already rotted away. I know I didn't want treated wood because that shit doesn't need to be in my plants.

Hopefully some homegrowmen can advise if these modular planter beds are good or not.

>>2930713 (OP)
You can just use angled brackets to screw them together. It should also easily last 5~10 years, dunno where you're getting 3 years from.

4 short vertical posts and some sort of strong polymer textile stapled around them??
It might sag a little but that's about as minimalist a system as I can imagine.

>>2930713 (OP)
>quickest, shittiest way to make one of these
obtain an old bat tub, fridge, trashcan, kitchen cabinet...

You don't want to use certain metals or treated wood, because they'll leak bullshit into the soil and end up in any food you grow in there.

>>2930713 (OP)
scrap wood from a construction site dumpster and finish it with used motor oil

regular cedar will last 20+ years

>>2930713 (OP)
You can garden in a pile of soil you know. You don't need the border.
Cedar won't rot enough to matter for a long time

>>2930713 (OP)
i'm new to /diy/ so roast my ideas
also i don't think raised beds are nessicary per say, it basically scaled up container gardening since the medium in the beds is more similar to potting soil than ground soil

1. rebar/fence posts and cinderblocks
2. gravel bottom pour concrete
3. straw bales and urea - the big pro being you can just open the bale and use it as mulch if you dident like the position it was in

my thought was #3 is the best (straw bale gardening) as you can quickly make changes and cheap

>>2931005
Do you mean to use the straw bales as the growing medium?

>>2931011
yes that's the main idea
although you could just build a wall with straw bales and fill it with raised bed growing medium (very careful to say its not "soil" because most likely it won't be)

>>2931033
Can you still buy small straw bales? all I ever see are the various big ones that are anywhere from 200kg to a tonne.

I guess you could use slices from the big ones but retie them to be handleable, you'd need to avoid any with chopped straw that fall apart.

What's the purpose of the urea? I remember my father feeding urea treated straw to cows.

>>2931035
urea + straw + moisture + time = compost

>>2930713 (OP)
I use 4x4's in the corners and they've lasted for 5 years. I'm replacing them next year. The pavers in OP pic are $4/each. If $20 of lumber is too expensive then you have bigger problems.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Oldcastle-7-5-in-x-7-5-in-x-5-5-in-Tan-Brown-Concrete-Planter-Wall-Block-16202336/206501693

>>2931035
Look for square bales. They're pretty unbiquitous

It varies by region, but cedar fence planks are hands down the cheapest way to make raised garden beds. If you have any tools and skill you can cut them up and join them together to make a decent raised garden bed. Where I live they cost about $3.50-$4 per 5/8" thick x 6' long x 5.5" wide plank. Board and batten style goes a long way to increase durability. Build them to be well draining; put holes in the bottom, put a wire mesh over the holes and then put gravel in the bottom and use a well draining soil mix. Potting soil can be pretty hit or miss. At least cut it with things like lava rock, pumice and bark. The local nursery sells cedar planter boxes for $200+ and they're slapped together by thirdies using what looks like cedar pickets and a few select pieces of cedar 2x material.

>>2931157
I forgot to say, galvanized fasteners will corrode and leave stains in cedar. I don't care how many times they're hot dipped, it will happen eventually. Stainless Steel does not have this problem.

>>2930713 (OP)
>I want (X) to cheap, functional, stylish, and long lasting!
How about one that also plants and harvest itself for you as well?

>>2930713 (OP)
Pressure treated wood, ground contact rated. Should last 10+ years no problem.

>>2930713 (OP)
Buy those stackable pallet sides. Just put some kind of plastic foil around the edges so its not pulling nasty stuff from wood.

>>2930713 (OP)
Just use whatever you have lying around that isn't hazardous material
I helped my dad make a raised bed with old clay bricks and one side was finished with random rocks because there wasnt enough bricks

>>2930713 (OP)
Go to a salvaged construction materials yard and be creative.

>>2931283
>expensive
>toxic
Great idea.

>>2931235
>How about one that also plants and harvest itself for you as well?
It's called the ground where I live.

>>2930713 (OP)
Go with cinder blocks but cement river stones around it so it goes from shit to fucking shit

>>2931313
Ground is contaminated by decades of lead containing compounds from boomers driving around in lead fueled cars.
So you have to do a raised bed if you want to eat anything you grow.

What happened to the gardening general that used to be on /an/?

>>2933250
There's /out/hgm for gardening and /an/plant which is more indoor and decorative stuff

>>2932396
brb making 14 acres of raised beds