sides are very nice but cost a lot and well cost a lot and often mean one has to weed wack about them too!!

i have used wood and made tem long so the tiller goes in one end and out the other, open on th ends that is. now i have discovered sawdust!

no not for the sides but for the paths. here is what i do, in fact just made a few new ones this spring. tilled the whole plot working in lime then i put up garden stakes and pulled some strings laying out the beds to 30" wide and 48" paths and shoveled the soil out of the paths onto the beds. I can get big loads of sawmill sawdust for 50 dollars [15 + cubic yards] and i lay it thick in the paths.

it is not the perfect solution but is low cost and the only drawback is f\for the first while the tires of the carts and wheel barrel get a bet hard to push but it settles down. my beds are narrow and paths wide as i get older!

one think i like about this system is the whol plot is flat and shoveling sawdust is pretty easy

Yeah, sawdust and chips are great. I get them for free from our local sawmill. I put down cardboard first, which seems to keep the weeds down better.

I use cinderblock beds. I have one-level and two-level beds. The one-level one looks better (less obtrusive, since these things aren't exactly pretty to begin with), but the two-level are easier to work in (i.e. I can sit my lazy butt on the edge while I work!)

Dee

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looks nice but u give upp the width of the block in reach and growing everyplan has its plusses and minuses

You don't really give up the width of the block - you can grow IN the blocks too. I plant herbs and annuals in the holes in the blocks. I just leave two blocks empty every few feet so I can sit or kneel if I need to reach in. The beds are only approximately 4 feet wide, so reaching in isn't really problem.

:)
Dee

The Samuel Roberts Nobel Foundation may have the answer for you. Go to their site, click on Agricultural Division on the left and then click on horticulture. Articles will appear including one on using corrugated metal raised beds. Plans are available. I've dealt with them in the past and these folks are into serious agriculture research and are very helpful. Tom

Here is a link that might be useful: Samuel Roberts Nobel Foundation

There is a company in Oregon that manufactures and sells "rubber" lumber they call Rumber. It comes in standard demensioanl lumber sizes, including T&G, with lengths up to 24". They have a $250 minimum order. Tom

Here is a link that might be useful: Rumber

Thanks goat man! I'll be looking into some of your links. My plan is to cultivate with a pto tiller on our tractor (our neighbor has one that I can borrow) then lay cardboard around the edges and in the paths and cover with woodchips (plentiful and free around here.)The beds I'll plant to a cover crop. That will probably be enough for this year!

I really like that corrugated metal raised bed. I've been looking for a cost effective way to make raised beds for some time now and that is the best solution I have seen. You could even get the cost of $1.36/sq ft way down if you can find some scrap tin lying around somewhere that can be had for cheap or free.

The Rumber idea is a good one. At least they are finally finding some innovative ways to recycle all of those tires that we go through all of the time but at $3.50 per linear foot you would have to sell a lot of produce to pay for those beds. Hopefully some day they will be able to make that stuff affordable.

Frankly, I see sides as an impediment to production not to mention the cost of materials and the labor. We have twenty 150 foot long beds each 5 feet wide. This would require 6,200 feet of construction material--well over a mile of it.

When weeds, particularly perennials, get established under and around the construction material the going can get real tough especially if you want to be organic. Also construction materials are rough on the knees when kneeling at the beds to plant and weed.

Please check our website for details on our raised beds with sloping sides. These shoulders provide excellent opportunities to plant catch crops and nurse crops.

Good wishes

Here is a link that might be useful: Whole Systems Agriculture

sundaks, sounds like you have a plan - have fun! I've always been of the same persuasion as flowerman when it comes to raised beds. I couldn't afford the material for the size growing area I had. But the Noble Foundation also has designs for raised beds using snow fence materials for the sides which is really inexpensive. The design allows you to run a walking tractor on the beds. Tom