Building a Raised Garden Bed With Cinder Blocks

There are several different types of a raised garden. For low growing plants, a water table is another type of raised garden that takes the bending out of garden work. We will look at those later. A typical raised garden is built with borders using treated wood or cinder blocks. While treated wood borders may last for a few years, and are a bit more attractive than cinder blocks, the blocks will be more or less a permanent structure with helpful square spaces.

First, measure off the space you want your garden area located in. The number of blocks you will need is determined by the total area of your garden. You will need two cinder blocks stacked on top of each other all the way around the garden.

Second, clear off any rocks or sharp sticks from the area these will rip through the weed prevention layer and leave space for weeds to infiltrate the garden.

Next, spread the weed screen over the entire area. Hold in place with a few cinder blocks, but don’t build the structure yet. The weed screen should be twelve inches larger than the border of the garden area on all sides. Weed screens are made of a breathable fabric, which allows water to drain from the garden that prevents weeds and grasses from growing up into the garden area.

Weed screen can be purchased from garden centers for a reasonable cost. Another option you have for a weed screen material is placing several layers of newspaper around the garden. The drawback to using newspaper is that it breaks down rapidly often only preventing weeds for one season.

On the flip side of this, the newspaper can be plowed underneath after harvest and makes a good composting material for the following seasons. If you do use newspaper, make sure to soak it well so it doesn’t blow away.

Build the first layer of the cinder block border. Make sure to leave a one inch gap in between the cinder blocks located in the corner of the garden that is closest to the outdoor faucet. Attach a regular garden hose from the faucet to the garden border and then attach a soaker hose to the end of the garden hose.

Insert the soaker hose into the gap between blocks and pull it over the weed screen. Unfurl it inside the garden border so that the entirety of the garden in a spiral pattern toward the center. Close the gap between blocks as much as you can without pinching either hose.

Build the second layer of cinder blocks. Tuck the extra four inches of weed screen in between the two block layers. This will create a ‘cup’ which will hold both the soil and plants. It will also keep the screen from blowing away or shifting.

Fill the garden with the pre-mixed soil discussed earlier. The soil represents what will likely be the largest investment financially in the garden, but with proper soil maintenance can be used over and over again. Remember those nice spaces inside the cinder blocks? Fill those with soil as well, right up to the top.

This wall that serves as a border that separates your garden area from your lawn area can also serve as a barrier to insects as well. Plant a single bulb of garlic or an onion in each square. The scent will surround the garden keeping pests away and produce a vegetable as well. Make sure to keep plants sensitive to onions and garlic toward the center of the garden. You could also use these handy squares to create an herb garden for planting beneficial herbs near your vegetables.

These herbs include:

 

Each herb should get one square per plant for maximum effect. The scent of the herbs, garlic and onions should sufficiently discourage many of the garden pests from even hovering over your yard.

Below is the beginnings of a raised garden bed, just fill the blocks and get started.

Follow your garden plan and begin to create your raised garden. What’s that? You don’t have a garden plan? No problem! We cover that next.