The most elegant solution for raised beds is to create a healthy soil layer beneath their entire surface. There is one downside, however, and that is the price. It can be cost-effective to fill several raised garden beds cheaply rather than spend a lot of money on them. If you are looking for a way for raised garden bed cheaply read ahead.
What is the cheapest method of filling raised beds? To save money, raised beds should be filled with logs, branches, twigs and other organic materials. We are going to discuss how to fill a raised garden bed cheap.
Calculate the Amount of Soil Needed
Before discussing how to cheaply fill a raised garden bed, it is necessary to determine the quantity of soil, and organic matter required. You’ll need to do some math to figure out how much you need and how much it would cost if you order by the yard or the bag.
To begin, the raised bed needs to be calculated in volume. It is possible to figure out the size of a bed by measuring its capacity.
Volume (cubic feet) = Length (feet) x Width (feet) x Height (feet)
The tape is the most convenient tool to measure a bed’s length. Calculating the object’s shorter side, you can measure its width. You will need to measure your bed to determine its depth and height. Calculating volume in cubic feet is done when all measurements are taken.
Typically, garden stores sell two cubic-foot bags of soil and compost. It requires sixteen bags to fill a raised bed when 32 divided by two.
Buying in bulk and getting the material in cubic yards may be a better deal if the garden is a large raised bed or multiple raised beds. Calculate how many cubic yards of material are necessary by dividing the cubic feet volume by twenty-seven.
Ways to Fill a Raised Garden Bed
Now you should know how to fill a raised garden bed cheap. There are various ways to do that. With the below-listed ways, fill raised garden beds and save money:
Try core gardening
People have a relatively limited understanding of core gardening. While it might seem complex initially, you’ll find it works for you if you give it a chance. With a sponge inside, water is sucked out of the garden in both directions for two feet.
The use of core gardening will result in a drastic reduction in weeds since it requires less water.
Raised beds should have ten inches of depth in the middle. Poke holes in the cardboard and fill them with straw bales, leaves, grass clippings, or old twigs. Materials listed above may be combined or used in any combination.
Use topsoil, compost, or potting soil for the remaining part of the core. Make sure you keep this trench well hydrated during the gardening season. It occupies a central spot in your garden as a mound.
Hugelkultur
What hugelkutur means is building a small mound or hill to grow on. You should develop your mound with logs and plant debris for yards with large branches and brush.
Making large mounds that reach five or six feet in height is possible in many ways. Increasing in height can narrow them. After a while, these mounds will eventually settle to a height of about 2 feet.
Maintain a level trench with a depth of 12-18 inches. It would be ideal to have plots approximately 4 feet by 8 feet. It would help if you dug your trench first before digging your mound.
When your trench is dug, you can fill it with wood. It is best to use rotten wood. Garden beds that are super fertile require a rich, damp environment. Rotting logs are also an option. Use whatever you have, whether that’s brush or leftover lumber. After you have built your lasagna garden over the wood, you will need to add all of your wood.
Manure and compost should be layered with a bit of green compost. Compost should be applied on top.
Building your hugelkutur mound in the fall will allow you to plant it in the spring. It would be impossible to imagine the bounty you would harvest from those beds!
Straw Bale Gardening
An alternative approach to gardening is straw bale gardening. Use a straw instead of hay to ensure you don’t have seeds sprouting during preparation. It is another cheapest way to fill raised beds.
Place straw bales in direct sunlight once they have been harvested. You can grow them in raised beds, even though they don’t require it. You should make sure that they are positioned in the right place.
Homemade compost
The benefits of composting your home garden are many, including being free and great for your lawn. It’s much more expensive to buy compost in bags; it’s like gold for your garden. Using scraps from your home and a little time, you can make compost at home.
Compost development requires six to twelve months of planning. If you begin your compost pile a year before building a raised bed, you’ll be able to fill it cheaply with compost. Other ingredients are also added, such as grass clippings, kitchen scraps, and newspapers.
Build a Trench
To fit the logs and branches into your trench, it must be deep enough to hold them. You can also place newspapers or cardboard at the bottom to prevent grass and weeds from growing.
Build with Cheap Materials
Creative people can make a lot of money. There’s no doubt about it, that’s for sure. It will save you a few dollars on raised garden bed materials. Below are some materials which you can use for filling raised garden beds
Stone
Are you constantly removing rocks and stones from your garden? When you take them out, how many always return?
The materials appear to be reusable for an indefinite period. Use them to our advantage.
Raised beds can be built from the rocks in the garden.
You can build raised garden beds using rocks from your yard for free. Metal and wooden items corrode, rot, and rust, but not rocks.
If you find the workout challenging, you may need some assistance. Among the larger stones are also heavy ones.
Bricks
Raised gardens can also be constructed using old bricks as an alternative. You might be able to find them in old brick walkways or patios.
Stone-raised beds look beautiful and are very durable.
Be careful not to let fireplace bricks fall on your project. You should avoid using them in your garden because they may contain creosote.
Wood
You can also use wooden fence parts to build your raised garden bed.
Installing fences, for example, could be affordable if you hire an installation company that does so. If they have leftover fence material from a previous project, you might be able to negotiate a great deal.
An old fence can be used to build a raised garden bed. Don’t use nasty chemicals in your garden if you want it to grow beautifully.
You can also recycle an existing fence. If you are removing an old wall, you may be able to get rid of any fence pieces that are not rotted for your raised bed.
Advantages of Raised Garden Beds
Filling raised beds has many benefits. The following are a few of them:
- Since the soil above the ground warms up faster in the spring, you get a longer growing season.
- Drainage is good, and erosion is prevented.
- The soil in raised beds can be controlled so that you can plant intensively; plants grown in raised beds mature more quickly.
- By bending and kneeling less, gardening chores become more accessible and more comfortable.
- A raised bed prevents weeds from growing because it is elevated and free from disease.
- Row gardening may be unwieldy and messy in small spaces, so raised beds are an excellent alternative.
- As you don’t walk on it, the soil stays loose and does not compaction, so you don’t have to dig it each spring. Raised beds keep things organized and in order.
Conclusion
We at Kitchen and gardening have come to the end of the story! You must be completely aware of how to cheaply fill a raised garden bed. It is possible to begin a raised garden bed in various ways or enhance one in many ways. Where you can find free resources will depend on which resources are available.
While these methods might seem obvious, their primary purpose is to build soil and protect it from weeds using natural organic matter. There is nothing wrong with the way nature works! We like to make gardening as fast and easy as possible whenever we need to do it.