Thanks Julia for some other ideas. My plan is to use the raised bed for seedlings. I will check them out. I also thought about just purchasing the metal corner posts and using lumber from Lowes. I will let folks know what I end up doing.

David

David - I did reply to you about my raised beds on the Thursday's Treasures thread. I'm not sure if you saw it.

Debra

Debra,

I did see your reply, but then got distracted and forgot to respond. The price jump from when you purchased it was astronomical.

Thanks again Debra.

David

It seems to me, though I could be wrong, that raised beds, like pots, take a lot of time and expense watering. Am I wrong in this?

Brad

Brad - Raised beds for me allow seedlings to grow more extensive root systems than the ones I plant in the native heavy clay soil. Those beds are so much easier to weed too. The downside is that they do have to be watered a couple of times a week when there is no rain. I only water them during the active growing season though.

Debra

Brad: I think the key to raised beds is a good mix of soil and compost plus adding enough mulch to retain moisture. I have raised beds in my front garden without any boards. The only time I had to water so far is when we had no rain for 2 weeks. For my veggie garden I do have raised beds with retaining boards to retain the soil/compost mix. I see no difference in watering. Had to water during the very dry spell also. Our soil here in a word "sucks". Clay soil worse than I had in NY.

I don't spend as much time weeding, feeding or watering.

Julia