Hügelkultur Raised Beds

[akroberts1085]

Well done. Looks great to me. It should last you a number of years.

I just want to highlight one thing that I do which I think adds more strength and years to my pallet wood raised bed builds. In my builds, I use two 2X4's in each corner to tie the outer frames together...

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My first raised bed builds, years ago, did not have those corners reinforced with 2X4's on the inside. I had a few of my raised beds blow out at the corners because they were only held together with a few screws in the outer frame. Since I add those 2X4's in each corner, I have not had any blow outs.

Well, my older beds were 4X8 feet, so maybe the smaller 4X4 beds do not the extra support. But I tend to overbuild my stuff. In any case, you can think about those added supports in the corner on future builds, or not, depending on how well your raised bed holds up.

I would love to hear what you thought of the design and if you had any problems with the build. I have made so many of them, that it takes me very little time to put one together. And, of course, if you come up with any improvements, I would love to hear about it. I would love to someday upgrade my pallet wood raised bed v2.0 to v3.0!

I thought that the little one would need some supports so I can do that tomorrow because I have a busy day today. It's a learning process for my husband and I. We usually only build something that is necessary for working with or on. We built some shelves for the shed but we don't usually build anything else. It took a long time to get the 1st one done and the 2nd one was easier to make, we just had a couple of boards break on us so we had to stop and deal with that. I'm really happy about the beds probably more because my husband and I built them rather than the fact that it's a garden bed. I'm going to try to figure out if they will maybe need a rebirth or if they work just fine. I will let you know what I think.

 

[gtaus]

It's a learning process for my husband and I. We usually only build something that is necessary for working with or on.

Yeah, I have learned a few things along the way and made some changes to my raised bed design, which is why I now call it v2.0 because of some of the improvements I found out that worked for me.

It took a long time to get the 1st one done and the 2nd one was easier to make

I have made about 8 pallet wood raised beds now. Each year, I get faster at putting them together. I have cut my project time in half, if not more, from my first build.

I'm really happy about the beds probably more because my husband and I built them rather than the fact that it's a garden bed. I'm going to try to figure out if they will maybe need a rebirth or if they work just fine. I will let you know what I think.

Making pallet wood raised beds became a sort of hobby for me. I just enjoy tearing apart pallets and rebuilding them into something useful. I do take pride in my work. The best thing, for me, is that if something fails, I can fix it myself because I know how I built it.

Some of my oldest garden raised beds (~8 years old), before I started using pallet wood, had started to fail with sidewall and end corner blowouts. That's when I added the 2X4's to the corners of my current v2.0 design. I don't have any end corner blowouts anymore. Having the sidewall planks inside the 2X4 outer frame, instead of on the outside of the frame, has prevented sidewall blowouts that I got on some of my earlier raised beds. It was just something that I learned over a number of years.

I do make smaller pallet wood flower planters for Dear Wife, and they have the sidewall planks on the outside. But they are much smaller and don't have the outward pressure on the boards like in the larger raised garden beds...

I built those type of pallet wood planters to replace some ~25-year-old half whiskey barrel planters that were falling apart.

Dear Wife is very happy with my pallet wood planter builds. Plus, she can tell me how big or how small she wants each planter depending on where she plans on putting it out in the yard.

She likes deciding what size planter she wants for each spot. I started off with one pallet wood planter build and now have about 6 of them built, every one a different size, but all the same basic design as in the photo above.

A new half whiskey barrel was selling for almost $50.00. I can make a pallet wood planter for about $1.00 using free pallet wood. If/when the pallet wood rots out and needs to be replaced, I can easily repair it or just make another one.

 

[Land of Lincoln]

Those who sprout the seeds in paper towel or fabric... how far long do you let them get before you put them in some kind of potting soil? And do you pick them up -- gently! -- with tweezers? I'm thinking of trying this

 

[Land of Lincoln]

I typically will put them in a growing medium as soon as I see roots coming out of one end. It can vary from as soon as 1 day up to several days or weeks depending on the seed. I’m actually starting onion seeds right now.

As you can see in the first photo, not all have germinated. I started these candy onion seeds on 2.9.25. As soon as I see the white root I’ll put them in my growing medium and either cover them with plastic wrap or a used zip lock bag to create a greenhouse effect, shown in the pictures below.

These onion seed I can place in the pot with my fingers if I’m .careful enough because they’re a little bigger than say a tomato seed. With smaller seeds, I’ll usually use a set of tweezers.

I place everything on a heat mat and have always had good luck starting seeds this way. It works pretty well for me and how I grow things. I’m starting a lot more veggies this year and starting more flowers as well so we shall see how it all pans out.

Good luck to you all who start your own seeds.

 

[Sally PB]

Thanks! I plan to do this with my saved onion seeds.

 

[Land of Lincoln]

I forgot to mention that I use both the paper towel and cut up pieces of denim and they both work. If you let the seeds germinate too long without checking on them, the roots can get interwoven into the fabric of the paper towel, this doesn’t happen with the denim.

Only con I’ve noticed with the denim is that it dries out a lot sooner than the paper towel does so you really have to check it daily or it could go completely dry on you. However it’s a lot easier to tell visually when the denim dries out than it is the paper towel.

I still use both methods but the denim is easier to remove the seeds to place into a potting medium when transferring as the roots don’t get woven into the fabric if it’s been a few days and the roots are lengthy.

 

[akroberts1085]

I bought miracle grow potting soil and thought about starting some seeds but it's been rather cold here so I might just wait a bit longer. I didn't realize that it wasn't seed starter but I can always just go get some more from a different store.

 

[gtaus]

Only con I’ve noticed with the denim is that it dries out a lot sooner than the paper towel does so you really have to check it daily or it could go completely dry on you. However it’s a lot easier to tell visually when the denim dries out than it is the paper towel.

Thanks. I will look out for the denim drying out.

FWIW, I have been using the empty plastic containers, with lids, from the Honey Ham we get at WalMart...

The lids help to lock in the moisture do the paper towels don't dry out too fast. They take up a bit more room than zip lock bags, but I like to stack them so it's not too bad. We have lots of those empty containers.

I take that paper label off the lid so I can see directly into the container. Sometimes I will tape the empty seed packet to the lid or just use a piece of masking tape and write on it. Either way, they are reusable a number of times whereas the zip lock bags were used only once.

I think those plastic containers would be great for seed starting in a soil mix and then transplanting into pots. But I don't do that method. I'll have to look into that some more, it may be a better option for some seeds. I really don't know.

 

[akroberts1085]

Thanks. I will look out for the denim drying out.

FWIW, I have been using the empty plastic containers, with lids, from the Honey Ham we get at WalMart...

View attachment 4053189

The lids help to lock in the moisture do the paper towels don't dry out too fast. They take up a bit more room than zip lock bags, but I like to stack them so it's not too bad. We have lots of those empty containers.

I take that paper label off the lid so I can see directly into the container. Sometimes I will tape the empty seed packet to the lid or just use a piece of masking tape and write on it. Either way, they are reusable a number of times whereas the zip lock bags were used only once.

I think those plastic containers would be great for seed starting in a soil mix and then transplanting into pots. But I don't do that method. I'll have to look into that some more, it may be a better option for some seeds. I really don't know.

Using plastic to go containers is something I am going to try this year for seed starting. I also saved a plastic container for a meat, cheese and crackers tray. I'm hoping that this method will work better than just going straight into pots. I'm also considering using toilet paper rolls. Cut them in half and tape one end and fill with some soil add seeds and at the time of planting just put the whole thing in the garden after removing the tape of course. Also going to use egg shells for seed starting.

 

[gtaus]

I'm also considering using toilet paper rolls. Cut them in half and tape one end and fill with some soil add seeds and at the time of planting just put the whole thing in the garden after removing the tape of course.

I am all for exploring new ways and methods of seed starting. If one system works better than another for you, then use it, of course. Having said that, let me respond to your post with my experiences in the toilet paper roll and egg shell methods you mentioned - with the understanding that it was my personal experience and others may have better results.

Starting with the toilet paper roll method. One year I saved up a lot of toilet paper rolls and made lots of pots for seed starting. The seeds started and things looked pretty good at the start. Maybe if I would have transplanted them in the first week or so after sprouting, that paper roll method would have worked for me.

But I start my plants inside about 6-8 weeks before transplanting in my gardens at the end of May where I live. Somewhere around week 3 or 4 of starting the seeds in the toilet paper rolls, the paper rolls developed lots of mold growing on them. Maybe I overwatered them. I don't know. However, the paper roll was always wet and never dried out. Around week 5 or 6, the paper roll pots were overrun with mold, and I had to toss out everything and start over.

I was a complete failure at using the toilet paper roll system. I am open to the suggestion that I could have just done it wrong, but that was my experience.

I had to look for a better seed starting system for me, one that would not grow mold. I ended up finding some YouTube videos on using 3 inch net pots for seed starting. Net pots have slits in them, which allows the excess water to drain out and, in my case, prevented mold from growing. The slits in the net pots also prevent the plants from getting root bound, when the roots circle around the pots until they choke themselves, because the roots will air prune when they reach a slit open to the air.

Most of the plants I start indoors are pepper and tomato plants that are inside for about 8 weeks. The 3-inch net pots are big enough to carry my plants from spouting to transplant in one pot. I have never had mold problems with the net pots with plants even after 8 weeks.

For anyone more interested in this method, here is a good video that I watched on using net pots...

Also going to use egg shells for seed starting.

Since eggshells are so small, you only get days of growth before you need to transplant. I tried it, but it did not work out for me because I grow my plants for about 8 weeks before transplanting. I suppose the eggshell method would be great for plants up to the point of sprouting and maybe a few days longer. In my case, I wanted to find a solution where I did not have to up-pot my plants.

One method I might try this year is the double cup method. I know some people here on the BYC forums really like that method...

No matter what system a person tries, there will be some people that think it's great and others who had problems with it. I prefer the 3-inch net pots, but others here on the BYC forum did not like it and preferred the double cup method.

I guess you just have to try a number of different methods and see what works best for you with the type and length of growing time of your seed starting plants. If you give the toilet paper roll or eggshell methods a try, I would love to hear how it worked out for you.