Cinder blocks are a great alternative to landscape timbers that are full off CCA preservatives(hope you're organic). Is it just an appearance thing for you? One thing you oculd do is plant creeping/cascading herbs in the holes of the blocks and have a nice herb perimeter cascading off the edge. Or, you might mound up shredded native mulch around the blocks to cover them up, while having them do the job of holding in your raised bed. Something that might be more attractive than cinder blocks would be rumbled limestone wallstone, available at the big box home centers. They are 4x8x16 inches. I'm using them as a foundation perimeter for the greenhouse I'm building. I could email you a pic.
What part of the hill country are you in? I'm south of DFW now, but grew up in Kerrville...

ishoot, I would love a pic of what you are doing. I really enjoy seeing other people's gardens...

I am organic, completely, which is why I don't want to use concrete stain. However, budget is an issue which is why I can't use the beautiful stones. And those things are darned heavy to boot!! I'm hoping cinder blocks would be cheaper, though, I can't find them on the home depot web site! And I'm sure they will last longer than wood (untreated). I also think they will be easier to build (no sawing, measuring, etc.) So, yes, it is an appearance thing. I want it to be "pretty".

I'm northwest of Austin. Kind of in the southern beginning of the hills. Some people say it isn't really hill country out here, but walk your dog once and you'll disagree... I do see this area referred to as hill country, though. Over and over again. I'm in the North Lake Travis area, also known as the Highland Lakes.

I like the idea of using cascading herbs/plants around the edge. However, I would like to grow carrots, etc. in the holes. But an herb border type thing is a good idea! Just might solve the "ugly" problem.

Also, the area that I am dedicating to raised beds is about 45 by 35 feet. I intend to do it in a pattern with pathways in between. A "french potager" style (sp?). Mostly vegies and herbs, with a few flowers here and there.

Any more thoughts?

I have not tried it, but I read an article about rubbing mud on cinder blocks to make them blend in with the garden.

I have raised beds, 1 block high, across the back and around 2 sides of my back yard.

I have not paid attention as to whether they soak up water. So I guess if they do it is not enough to catch my atention.

We've had concrete blocks outside for a variety of uses. Occasionally, they get a bit of algae from being wet often, but they tend to stay just maybe a tad darker gray than their original color--they just lose their sharp edges and points after a while.

I like the idea of cascading borders....you could also use pots or benches as camoflage (and if it's a backless kind....ya can weed or harvest seated, which is always a bonus...lol). Good luck, and post a picture when you do it!

I don't know if you've seen this web site but here is someone who has used cinder blocks for their raised beds. This has very detailed pictures and explanations of what they planted.

Here is a link that might be useful: Cinder block raised beds

srburk, what a good idea about benches! Hadn't thought of that at all. I'd like to have a center bed of herbs and I might just put benches around that part (on top of the cinders). It would be a nice spot to sit and look at the rest of the garden. And also to pinch the herbs to smell them! I'll be doing at least two cinders high (maybe three), so I think the bench idea is great.

I'm going to ask Santa for a digital camera this Christmas. It'll probably take me a couple of years to complete this project. But, if I can, I'll post pictures of my progress...

natvtxn, I will give the mud a try. I'm not against experimenting.

And, bettytt, thanks for the link.

tr

I wanted some cinder blocks for my compost and was lucky to get them from my uncles place. I went to home depot last week for some items and looked at the price of cinder block's cause I still need a few more and the cost is 1.29 each.
So your looking at a few 100 dollars for the size your wanting to make the rasied bed.
If that is to much maybe you can look into freecycle.com and find what you need to make the rasied bed.

mikeandbarb,

Ok, so you're great! The freecycle idea had flitted through my mind before but I shoved it aside thinking, noone is gonna give away rocks or bricks.

But, I took your advice. What they hay? If nobody responded, so what?? Well, I've had 4 replies in one day. My first pick up is tomorrow.

Now the problem is how to mesh all the different materials together, but I'll work it out. It's better than paying $500.00 (or more) for the structure. Already have a pile of dirt but will probably need another $400.00 load. So every penny saved counts!

Thanks!!
tr

TR, you may save even more if you do a compost, now is a great time to start, with fall coming soon and hopefully rain all you need to do is make an area to construck a pile, fill with dirt, leaves, grass, coffee grounds.
I used Hi Yeild to help it along and by spring you can have a good amount of compost that you're veggies will love you for.

I tried going to freecycle.com and I guess I don't know how to use it correctly to find people who have concrete or cindr blocks to give away. Any body out there who can help me with this? I am in Missouri, about 70 miles north of Columbia. It's called northcentral Missouri. Thanks. akt

Hi aktbet,
the first thing you'll need to do is join a local freecycle group. The Missouri page is here:

http://www.freecycle.org/groups/uscentral/#Missouri

You have to join using your Yahoo email address, because freecycle is based on email.I tried to sign up for the Columbia group since I am not aquainted with Missouri...there may be cities closer to you. Once you have joined the group, you will receive a confirmation email...then you will be able to look for cinder blocks.

I hope this helps, and once my confirmation is completed, I will try to point you to cinder blocks in the Columbia, MO area.

Pam

Here is something that might work better . . . Look for someplace where sidewalks or something concrete is being replaced. Ask if you can have some of the concrete pieces and use those to build a border. I did this for a flowerbed on the side of my house and it looks more like stone since they are irregular shaped. It does take a little time stacking them, but it works. You could ask for broken up concrete in your freecycle request too.

Before you go with a raised bed for anything you should have a plan on how to deal with the fire ants that will try to use it as a condo. Especially since you mentioned you want to be organic. Just a thought before you have a huge problem....

Carla

It's great to read about someone else who is using cinder blocks!

I am planning a small raised bed for our backyard, using cinder blocks for two of the sides. The bed will feature cannas, but will be surrounded by other plants.

We already have a kind of ground cover called Tradescantia, that I intend to propagate in a few of the holes in the blocks. Pieces of it root and spread easily. In alternating holes I am thinking either chocolate mint or some kind of sedum. Any of those will spread, droop, and at least partially hide the top lines of the blocks. To mask the walls of the blocks, I am considering some kind of clumping grass. I don't care if part of the tops of the blocks show. I just don't want them to look prominent or "sore thumb-ish," with their entire height visible.

If I get the look I am aiming for, I'll try to post photos.
Hope to see your garden too when you're ready to show it!

Here is a link that might be useful: Tradescantia or Wandering Jew

I have a cinder block raised bed in my yard in south Austin and I have not noticed them taking any water out of my bed yet. In fact, they seem to be working sort of like clay pots -- they get wet and retain the water, and then release it into the bed.

I've planted morning glories in a couple of cells and wave petunias in others, and am waiting for my Confederate jasmine to grow out...all of those, theoretically, will combine to cover the cinder blocks.

Whole thing was free; the cinder blocks were at my house when I rented it. The only thing to be careful about is that if you have something with a large root system planted in a block which is facing west, your roots might get really hot, so make sure something is growing in front of it in that case.

Hi ackbet,
Unfortunately, since I do not reside in Missouri, I was denied a membership to the freecycle group in your area. I hope you will be able to get registered in your neighborhood.

Pam

Just a little update since this thread started up again. I have two raised beds so far. Each about 12 feet long by 4 feet wide. I started vegies from seed and two tomato transplants. So far so good. We've had a lot of rain since I put in the seeds. Both drainage and moisture retention have been perfect. The true test will be in August!

They weren't near as much trouble to put together as I thought they would be. Our yard has a fairly good slope to it... Although, it is trouble getting the cinder blocks to my house one batch at a time. I'm going to have some areas with "caps" on them. They sell them at Home Depot to go on top of the cinders. I decided to only go two blocks high. That's just tall enough to sit on and weed, etc., but not so tall that it's awkward for me to till, or get in and out of them if needed.

I also found a website a while back that showed someones interior concrete floors. They used Ironite to stain them and it looked fantastic! As soon as I have a day off with no rain, I'm going to use that on the cinders.

The free materials I picked up from freecycle members will be used for a circular herb bed in the center. The materials were mostly rocks. Some I would even call small boulders. I hope to have it finished by spring of '08. And if I ever get a digital camera, I'll post pictures!

Trsinc, I was wondering where you were.
You raised beds sound really cool, and very functional
Good to see you back
jolana

Thanks Jolana, nice to know I was missed. I've just been working way too much the last few months. And, when I've had time to come here, there hasn't been anything I felt I could contribute to. Things are slowing down now, just in time for spring!! :)

Well, you can contribute *hi* LOL
I understand tho, I just went through a little bit of not wanting to post
It is good to hear from you tho

I've built rose bed out of cinder blocks. To hide the cinder blocks since they aren't all that great looking, I planted liriopes in each hole and now they are finally starting to fill out after a year. So far, they look cool.

Trsinc thanks for sharing about the Ironite stain. Considering how tomato sauce stains everything, I am considering experimenting with that on one of our blocks, in a patch that I can hide if it turns out hideous. Anything to eliminate the boring uniform gray of the blocks would be welcome.

I also let my st aug grow tall, about 4 inches to hide them...

The information has been great regarding the cinder blocks....

Those of you that have done this...did you mortar them or dry stack?

I am planning to build about 6 4x12 beds when it starts to cool off a bit to have beds ready for spring planting....a combination of budget and available time. I have been looking for a cost effective solution all week. I gave up on cedar and the prebuilt faux stone as they are WAY too expensive. I was thinking about using hardie plank for the beds,but it is too flexible on a 12 foot length. However, I plan to cover the face of the cinder blocks with the hardie plank once I have the walls up. I will probably only put it on the walls that face toward the house and are in view. They look like wood and could easy be painted with a safe outside latex.

Another camouflage for the cinder blocks might be available in the form of hypertufa. Hypertufa is a portland cement/sand/peatmoss/kitchen sink mixture that can be made to look like lots of other finishes.

Try visiting the hypertufa forum right here at GW.