We have been busy, busy, busy working in the yard. I was determined that we would have things ready in time to get a garden planted before it got too late in the year. When we moved into this house we had a pre-existing orchard area, and last year we built a new fence that was taller (to keep the deer out) and encompassed a larger area (so one day we could have a garden in there); so this year was the year that finally I was going to get my garden that I’ve been dreaming of since we were poor college students living in UCLA student housing.
So this past weekend we got everything in the ground and I cannot wait for the coming months to see everything (hopefully, fingers crossed) start coming up and producing lots of fruits and vegetables. Preparing the space properly was a big job and one that could have easily gotten away from us, but thankfully my parents now live right behind us and since they were going to be sharing our garden space with us (their yard gets a lot more shade than ours does and we have plenty of room) they were a huge help getting everything ready and then planted. I honestly don’t know if we could have had things planted in time without their help. We planted a lot from seeds so there’s not much to see right now, but as soon as there’s a little more green in the garden I’ll have a fun before and after post for you.
Today, though, I’d like to share a simple tutorial for raised planter beds that anyone could do, even if they don’t have and tools or know-how. Instead of constructing them out of wood (which Mike has actually done before), they are simply laid out with concrete cinder blocks, making this a much simpler and cheaper project than a traditional raised planter bed.
The first thing you need to do is decide the size of the bed you want so you can determine how many blocks you’ll need to purchase. Keep in mind the dimensions of the blocks when calculating your planter bed size.
Next, mark out the area in your garden where you want to have your beds. Make sure the area is nice and level and dig out slight indents with a shovel where your blocks will go, this will help keep everything straight and in place.
They might not be the prettiest thing ever but I’m pretty sure they start filling in bushy, green plants you won’t even notice what they look like. I also like like that if you wanted you could paint them any color you wanted or even use chalkboard paint so you can label what you’ve planted!
One of the great things about doing your raised beds this way is that you can use the interior of the blocks to plant herbs, flowers, or smaller plants. I can’t wait until everything fills in and we can start enjoying all our hard work. For now I’m enjoying the satisfaction of seeing how far our garden/orchard area has come since we’ve bought the house.
24 Responses to diy concrete raised beds
I’ve been too cold for us to plant anything, but I’m hopeful that I’ll be inspired to start planting something outside.
I love these kind of garden beds – actually my sister is making one with her son and I think that they are perfect for a small family to start. I can’t wait to see more once they fill in.
What kind of veggies did you put in?
I hope the weather improves for you soon! We planted so much! Tomatoes, cucumbers, basil, cilantro, strawberries… I will be sharing more in a future post.
Justine, I love your blog it is so pretty. I am a now a new follower. I am also envious of you and your green thumb. I wish I could grow plants, flowers and veggies. I can keep basil alive in the kitchen window for a while. I purchase flowers every season and need to replace them often. My baking is even worse! LOL
LOL, our soil is terrible so we’ve had some bad luck in the past too, but I think this garden might jsut take off. Fingers crossed anyway. 🙂 Thanks for your sweet comment!
Omg low how you used those blocks to make a garden!!! I would of never thought of doing this. So cool
Thank you so much! It was a great solution, so easy!
I love the concrete! What an easy idea! I think there is something about it that is really sophisticated 🙂
Thanks so much Tiffany!
This is a genius idea! We already had a wooden raised bed constructed but Im itching to add more produce so this may be the way to go!
I’ve been really happy with it so far Whitney!
I actually have lots of cinder blocks sitting around and waiting to be used. I think I found me a weekend project! Thanks for sharing!!
Awesome! We had a few, but had to buy several to finish this project. Still not bad from a cost stand point though. 🙂 I want to see pics if you make one!
This is a great idea! You’re going to have gorgeous gardens in no time!!
Evelina @ Fortunate House
Thank you so much! I am excited for things to really start growing! I agree, it’s going to be great! 🙂
Seriously have some garden envy right now. I have to get going on this soon. You inspire me
Thank you so much for your sweet comment! All the little seeds are starting to come up now so it’s pretty exciting!
Great idea! I’ve been growing my plants in pots right now, but I need to expand… like now! Definitely will need to take note for the very near future 🙂
Thank you so much LZ! Appreciate your sweet comment. Good luck with your plants! 🙂
what a great idea! wish i had space for a garden or able to get a plot at a local community one.
I know, we spent a long time waiting to be able to plant a garden. 🙂 Maybe you could plant a little windowsill herb garden or something.
About 40 years ago my family planted a garden using 2 hole concrete blocks. It was all the rage at the time. We had great success with ours. You laid down black plastic and then placed the blocks on top and then cut holes in the plastic in the bottom of the block holes. You then put dirt in one hole and your seeds or plant in there. I just can’t remember what you put in the other hole. Are you familiar with this kind of garden? Can you help me? My parents are deceased and I have no one to ask. Thanks
Oh really?? So interesting! Unfortunately I’ve never seen that before, but it sounds a lot like what we did, we just didn’t use plastic. And we just planted in both holes.
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