Cinder blocks are one of the cheapest, most common materials available for garden building. So why not build raised vegetable gardens? They’re easy to construct and you can use your entire yard for planting—no more wasted space on your patio or balcony. When you have a raised bed like this, you can grow more than just tomatoes and peppers; add plants that thrive in hot climates like beans and squash.
A raised vegetable garden is a great way to use space that might otherwise be wasted. It also allows you to grow things such as tomatoes and peppers that would otherwise be hard to harvest because of their height. And if you don’t want or need produce right away, you can just let it sit until it’s ready.
Raised vegetable garden beds are great for a variety of reasons: they help deter pests, prevent soil erosion and compaction, provide good drainage, and serve as a barrier to harmful fungi. They’re also easier on your back than gardening directly in the ground. If you want to learn how to build raised vegetable garden beds, follow these steps:
Select a Garden Location
The first step in building a raised vegetable garden with cinder blocks is to select a location that gets at least 6 hours of sunlight each day. Ideally, you will choose a spot in your yard that receives full sun all day long—this way you can grow vegetables that need lots of light, like tomatoes and squash.
A good location will also have good drainage; this prevents water from pooling up in the soil and helps prevent root rot for plants with shallow roots, such as lettuce and radishes.
You’ll also want to focus on accessibility: how easy it is to access the garden space both physically (for watering) and visually (for monitoring pests). Ideally, this would be located away from your home or other structures so they don’t block sunlight or provide shelter for pests.
Create a Plan
- Planning is important.
- A plan is the first step to building a raised garden bed.
- A plan can be the first step to building a vegetable garden.
- Consider your space and how you want to use it before deciding on the size of your raised bed or beds. You may have leftover cinder blocks that can be used as part of your plan, or you might need additional materials like lumber or cement blocks if you’re starting from scratch. Also consider your property value—raised beds can increase its attractiveness by adding height and visual interest to an otherwise flat yard.
Prepare the Soil
- Add organic matter to your soil. The best way to do this is by adding compost, manure, and other organic matter.
- Fertilize the soil. You should also add fertilizer to the soil at this stage; however, be careful not to overdo it as too much fertilizer can burn your plants’ roots.
- Till the soil with a rototiller or spade before planting in order to loosen it up and make it easier for water penetration. If you’re using blocks rather than bricks then till will be a bit trickier since they’ll move around on you but try anyway.
- Water thoroughly after tilling or else wait until later when you’ve planted your seeds or young seedlings into the garden bed–this helps settle all that dust that was stirred up when tilling (because we all know how annoying dust is).
Add Beds
You’ll want to add 6-8 inches of soil to the beds, depending on how deep your cinder blocks will be placed. If you plan to grow your vegetables in pots, you can use only 4 inches of soil. After adding fertilizer and compost (described in Step 5), you can add mulch for aesthetics and weed control.
Next, fill up your beds with soil until it reaches a height of about 2 feet from top to bottom.
Add Layers of Soil
Now that you have your blocks stacked, it’s time to start building the garden. First, add a layer of compost to the top of the stack. Next, add a layer of mulch to this compost. Then add another layer of soil on top of that mulch. Once again, repeat this process until all four sides are completed with compost and/or soil (you may not need to do all four sides depending on how big your block is).
Raised garden beds are great for vegetables since they help deter pests and create ideal growing conditions.
Raised garden beds are great for vegetables since they help deter pests and create ideal growing conditions.
Raised beds are easy to maintain and can be built with a variety of materials, so you can choose the look that best suits your home’s exterior. In addition, they’re a great option if you have limited space or want to use part of your yard as an herb garden or other fun project.
Raised beds can be built in any shape or size — just ask yourself what you’ll need them for! If all you’re interested in is growing tomatoes, then building a small box will suffice. But if you have lots of space available outside your home, consider constructing an entire walled area dedicated solely to gardening.
If you’re looking forward planting some new plants this year but don’t know where to start then check out these 10 tips on how-to build raised vegetable gardens from scratch.
Final words
Using cinder blocks to build a raised bed garden is an affordable and easy way to grow vegetables. This post provides detailed instructions for building one, so that you can get started planning your own garden.
