Concrete block raised garden bed plans4/15/2024 Older cinder blocks are made with fly ash and contain chemicals that can be harmful to your health. I also used them interchangeably, not knowing there was an important difference, until I shared this post. To a lay person, these terms are often used interchangeably and I wanted to use terms that would be easily recognized. I sometimes use the word “cinder” in place of “concrete” when describing these concrete blocks. I still recommend reading the written tutorial because there are lot of details that I didn’t include because it would have made the video too long. It shows you how the mixture looks being spread on, which is probably the most helpful part. I put together a video tutorial below that documents what I did. This will not compact and will create an unsteady base for your blocks. Do not use pebble gravel or any gravel that has smooth rocks. I used granite gravel with “minus” or gravel dust that gets in between the rocks and helps it compact so that when you walk on it, you don’t sink. **You want to use a gravel that can be compacted like what is used in driveways. *I wasn’t able to find QuikWall at my local big box store, although I think some locations carry it, so I ordered it through my local tile shop. I found my concrete blocks from Home Depot for $1.45 a piece. *I used 19 concrete blocks, 19 caps, and about 1.5 bags of surface bonding cement per bed. optional: patio paint or garage flooring epoxy paint and heavy duty rough texture paint brush.level (preferably a long level that’s at least 2 feet). QuikWall surface bonding cement made by Quikrete*.It made sense though that if this stuff can make walls sturdy then it could handle a foot tall garden bed…And it did! MATERIALS It was all a bit of an experiment because the only tutorials I could find when I started this project last year, were for small walls. I found this QuikWall product from Quikrete that not only pretties up the blocks a bit but also literally cements them together into a sturdy, permanent structure. I wanted to plant some berry plants along our fence line, parallel to our septic lines, but I didn’t want well….poop berries or a ruined septic system, so I needed to come up with a way to contain the berries and keep them the requisite 10 feet away.Ĭoncrete block beds seemed like a good choice, but I didn’t want them to look like concrete blocks. Or you can choose to use another material.These are actually concrete block garden beds covered in surface bonding cement, but that was too much of a mouthful for a title. If you plan to use blocks as a raised bed material - and many people do – and you are concerned about potential risks, you could seal the blocks with polymer paint. Ultimately, this becomes a personal choice based on your comfort level.There is also little research data on this topic. Labels do not give specific information on exactly what aggregate is used in the manufacture of the block.Fly ash is a byproduct of burning coal and so contains heavy metals and other hazardous waste. Cement block, cinder block, and concrete block, all are made with cement and fine aggregates such as sand or small stones. Is it safe to use cement blocks to build a raised garden to grow vegetables? If you have concerns about using MCA-treated wood for raised beds, paint or stain the wood, use a heavy plastic liner between the wood and your soil, or use a non-wood building material (e.g., stones, bricks). Avoid using older types of wood treatments such as CCA, creosote, and Penta-treated lumber.For information on the health risks associated with MCA-treated wood, refer to the National Pesticide Information Center Wood Preservatives page. It does not contain arsenic, but it does contain copper. Micronized Copper Azole (MCA) is currently the most widely available type of wood preservative for residential use.CCA treated wood is no longer available for residential use as of 2004. An older type of wood preservative called Chromated Copper Arsenate (CCA) contained arsenic, copper, and chromium.Should I be concerned about arsenic or other chemicals in pressure-treated wood used in raised beds? Use a non-wood material such as stones, concrete blocks, bricks, or synthetic lumber.Build your raised bed with a decay-resistant type of wood, such as cedar, black cherry, oak (bur, chestnut, post, white), black locust, Osage orange, or redwood.Apply a heavy plastic liner between the treated wood frame and your garden soil, allowing for soil drainage (Source: Iowa State University, Mass.
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