MIgardener: Why THIS is The WORST Thing to Build Raised Beds With (IMO)
I truly can’t stand raised beds made with cinder blocks. I am going to outline a few reasons why they are the worst building material. However, if you disagree that is fine. I want you to have success, and however that happens I am happy with.
Ummm, his point that one level – 8" – is not sufficient for deeper rooted vegetables. So if you're just growing lettuce and radishes maybe you'll be ok. But you can't do anything that goes down deeper
Yes, all things mentioned about the blocks are true. I'll agree to disagree. I use them for one of my beds. Because in the deep south here in Florida I used pressure treated. And with how wet we get, humidity, rain etc. and the termites and grubs the wood would last at most three years. With blocks they help with excessive moisture, and retaining heat during what little cold we get. I don't worry about the heat retention in the summer because I have them under a large shade tree. Wood might be the smart option there but here it's the block that lasts and works the best. Also like you said I got some logs this year (free) cut so I could carry and used those in two raised beds under another shade tree for more heat and water sensitive plants that wouldn't work in the block bed ( lettuce, garlic etc.) which stays cooler. Just have to find what works for you and your area.
I have metal, wood, and cinder block beds. All of them work fine in different ways. Your "concerns" are way overblown. I don't know why you're so focused on weight, unless you're wanting a rooftop garden. I have no problems with fracturing over eight years of freeze thaw with my concrete beds. And the only drying problems I have are if I plant inside the holes, and that's the same problem as any container garden has. (I live in Missouri and I can assure you we get much hotter and drier summers than y'all in Michigan.) 8" is perfectly adequate as long as you till up the soil underneath before building the bed to allow root growth.
I'd honestly say the biggest problems I've had with cinder blocks: if you plant in the holes, you can't lean on the blocks to reach the middle of the bed. It's a noticeable difference in reach for a 4' wide bed. If you don't plant in the holes and don't cover them, they become a place for weeds to grow. If you do plant in the holes, they can get too big and shade the bed (I had really good success with yarrow, marigolds, calendula, and wormwood in the holes – too much success.)
Sure they have pros and cons – so do metal and wood. I think we can talk honestly about that without saying it is a bad idea altogether to use one over another.
I think it just boils down to personal preference. I use all materials to build beds. Especially repurposed building materials. Anything will work. So I too agree to disagree
My experience over several years… I stack the cinder blocks, staggered to 16”. I fill the holes in the blocks with soil to plant flowers for pollinators around the edges. The soil in the holes with planted material holds and regulates the moisture levels, overall. Once they’re in place… they’re in place – they’re only heavy once! Cinder blocks hold the heat of the sun and warm the soil to grow in the ‘shoulder’ seasons. We use shade cloth over all of our gardens, here in Ga. – to regulate the heat of summer, anyway. We’ll have to agree to disagree on this one, Luke. I still absolutely love you, though! Wishing you much success in selling your raised bed kits! The Lord’s continued blessings! ❤️❤️❤️
I made cinder block beds 2 high, put concrete in every other hole and put caps in them. They look great and I love them. Not for everyone but it works great for me. Had them in place for 3 years now.
I agree with you. I tried planting nasturtium in cinder blocks and no matter how much I watered they dried up. Your explanation about how they retain heat makes sense. Thanks.
Once upon a time there was an old mother pig who had three little pigs and not enough food to feed them. So when they were old enough, she sent them out into the world to seek their fortunes. The first little pig was very lazy. He didn't want to work at all and he built his raised bed out of straw bales. The second little pig worked a little bit harder but he was somewhat lazy too and he built his raised bed out of wood. The third little pig worked hard all day and built his raised bed with cement blocks…
Construction Blocks come in different dimensions. The 4" wide (4x8x16) are a much better option (and cheaper) and some coated rebar stakes are an option anyone with a car can go to the home center and pick up and build a garden with. Getting 10 inch wide board of any reasonable length dimension automatically becomes huge hurdle for most people, while construction blocks are a great compromise (in price and possibility) for people just getting started.
I agree with your conclusion, but I disagree with your reasoning. Solid lightweight concrete blocks with mortar is a sturdy solution that's way cheaper in the long run, without any of your perceived downsides. In my local area, lumber is a third of the price. But concrete blocks will outlast wood by 10 times, making them cheaper in the long run. But, what I feel most people in the comments miss is that concrete blocks waste a tremendous amount of space. I like my beds about 5–6 foot long and 2 feet wide. For 8 inch thick concrete blocks the footprints of my beds are doubled, while keeping the same growing area. Even after taking the aisles into account, I waste 25 % of my total growing area with blocks. That's not acceptable for me.
I would've used them but had landscape bricks for one. Rebar, cement or mortar to hold together and top off with same sized pavers for steps. Made steps down a slope and works. Cinder blocks would've done as well. No chipping or anything. Had wood beds and got sick of replacing wood. I have some metal and some are bulging. Wish I went with Cinder blocks like my steps.
I've always enjoyed your videos, especially because of your humility. This video greatly disappoints me. Your attitude seems uncharacteristically arrogant. Many of us have had great, yes believe it or not, great success from cinder block raised beds. It isn't until the very end of your diatribe that you seem to say it's ok if we have cinder block raised beds. But, even then, your attitude is that we are idiots and laughable. Making raised beds out of tinder blocks has worked for years for me & it would seem many others from the comments. One bed even saved my house from being hit buy a thief driving a SUV & only about 5 blocks were disrupted & only 2 broken. He drove through our almost acre yard, crashing through our fence, an umbrella table (with umbrella), & destroyed much more in his wake. The raised bed stopped him … He even ended up driving over & into it before he could go no further. Needless to say, I have built 2 more cinder block raised beds since then & have built a couple of existing beds out farther to prevent any such thief from getting any where near our house. Not sure why your attitude has changed so negatively, but I hope your very helpful & humble charm returns. We can all have different opinions, but we don't need to make the other feel inferior. This video reminded me too much of the hateful political videos … Gardening is supposed to bring joy (& hopefully sustenance) not hard feelings or feelings of inferiority. It might seems like a huge mistake for you, but for many of us, it works fantastically well (including the plantings in the little squares of the cinder blocks). Peace to you & I look forward to future, more positive videos. P.S. no the thief was not held accountable for the damage he did to our yard & the deductible on our home owners insurance was to high to recover losses. But, worse was that I used to feel safe in our back yard … now I don't … even with more cinder block beds blocking his path. I miss the umbrella table, umbrella, some yard ornaments & pots & our back fence (my husband & I basically had to nail, screw & wire some salvaged very used lumber to kind of close up the hole in back fence), but the trama of the invasion has really left it's mark. So, I'm looking for as much joy as I can from my cinder block raised garden beds!
You can build a raised bed out of pine or pressure treated, but you will be replacing it in a couple years, if not the following year. If you build it out of cedar or redwood, it could theoretically last 10 years. A double layered cinder block level, (properly built), could last for decades. Which to me, means that your hard work in the beginning was worth it. And raised beds are going to get chipped corners.
I was going to point out the exaggerations and out right incorrect info in this video on cinder block raised beds but in reading through the comments posted here I can see that you have pretty much heard about it all ready. So let me just say this. I’ve been successfully gardening in “concrete” not cinder block raised beds for over 20 years. There is a difference between cinder block and concrete block OK, yes they are a tad bit on the heavy side at 35 lbs not 50 lbs. each. But at76 years of age I can still manage to move them around no problem. And that is one of the big advantages of blocks I can stack and restack them as I want to any new design need I come up with. Finally, no they don’t break apart in the freezing cold of winter here in Indiana. In that over 20 years I’ve been moving and stacking my blocks I e never lost a block because it was brittle and cracked from a winter freeze
Growing vegetables is something I do for food and as a hobby. I've been growing vegetables since I was 14 years old (70 now) . I've built beds above ground with no side barrier, with galvanized panels (rusted out), with wood (rotted out and termite infestations – even the cedar ones). In my zone 8a California high desert region 10 degrees to 115 degrees garden, other than food safe container gardens, cinder blocks are for me the best investment. You can abuse any building material or misuse construction techniques as you seem to prove by your lack of knowledge in that area. I am glad you have found "a thousand other ways of building raised beds". Waiting for that upcoming series of videos BTW. Growing veggies is my hobby…not rebuilding and wasting money on raised bed materials every 3-4 years. I recommend your seeds to all of my friends but will warn them off of this video as it ( in my opinion) totally misrepresents a viable building material and it's use. Happy Gardening to all of my friends.
Obviously a lot of people like cement blocks. I’m going to reiterate 2 points I mentioned in the video that seem to be missed by a large majority of commenters.
1. Gardening is not a one size fits all solution. If they work for you then great! They don’t work for me, and I am thrilled for anyone who has a garden at all. That’s the main point if this channel. 2. Raised beds can be from anything and do NOT have to come from the store.
Moved to a place with 5 year old wood and metal raised bed. It rusted and rotted out 3 years ago. Theyre completely unusable now and are dangerous to remove
I use cinder blocks and have no problem with them. I originally started because they were cheap. I have one that is four years old, no cracking or degradation at all. Of course, I live in north carolina and not some frozen wasteland like Michigan.
I am growing in a greenhouse. I was planning to use cinderblocks for outdoor flower beds. After watching this, I will use the cinderblocks for winter heat retention in the greenhouse. Thanks.
Cinder blocks contain "fly ash" and should never be used in garden beds where the cement blocks are touching the dirt that food is going to be grown in. "Fly ash is a byproduct of burning coal and so contains heavy metals and other hazardous waste."
33 Comments
My gf thinks 8 inches is fine….
I think this one backfired on you Luke!😂😂😂
I am surprised you mentioned pressure treated lumber to use.
Ummm, his point that one level – 8" – is not sufficient for deeper rooted vegetables. So if you're just growing lettuce and radishes maybe you'll be ok. But you can't do anything that goes down deeper
Yes, all things mentioned about the blocks are true. I'll agree to disagree. I use them for one of my beds. Because in the deep south here in Florida I used pressure treated. And with how wet we get, humidity, rain etc. and the termites and grubs the wood would last at most three years. With blocks they help with excessive moisture, and retaining heat during what little cold we get. I don't worry about the heat retention in the summer because I have them under a large shade tree. Wood might be the smart option there but here it's the block that lasts and works the best. Also like you said I got some logs this year (free) cut so I could carry and used those in two raised beds under another shade tree for more heat and water sensitive plants that wouldn't work in the block bed ( lettuce, garlic etc.) which stays cooler. Just have to find what works for you and your area.
Sounds like you need to build 100 more….that way your muscles will grow and be useful.
I have metal, wood, and cinder block beds. All of them work fine in different ways. Your "concerns" are way overblown. I don't know why you're so focused on weight, unless you're wanting a rooftop garden. I have no problems with fracturing over eight years of freeze thaw with my concrete beds. And the only drying problems I have are if I plant inside the holes, and that's the same problem as any container garden has. (I live in Missouri and I can assure you we get much hotter and drier summers than y'all in Michigan.) 8" is perfectly adequate as long as you till up the soil underneath before building the bed to allow root growth.
I'd honestly say the biggest problems I've had with cinder blocks: if you plant in the holes, you can't lean on the blocks to reach the middle of the bed. It's a noticeable difference in reach for a 4' wide bed. If you don't plant in the holes and don't cover them, they become a place for weeds to grow. If you do plant in the holes, they can get too big and shade the bed (I had really good success with yarrow, marigolds, calendula, and wormwood in the holes – too much success.)
Sure they have pros and cons – so do metal and wood. I think we can talk honestly about that without saying it is a bad idea altogether to use one over another.
Waste of my time. This is was not your best. disappointed
You have lost me as as listener
🤔 But with all of your negative cons. The pro is you build the raised bed once and you shouldn't have to replace the raised bed ever.
I think it just boils down to personal preference. I use all materials to build beds. Especially repurposed building materials. Anything will work. So I too agree to disagree
My experience over several years… I stack the cinder blocks, staggered to 16”. I fill the holes in the blocks with soil to plant flowers for pollinators around the edges. The soil in the holes with planted material holds and regulates the moisture levels, overall. Once they’re in place… they’re in place – they’re only heavy once! Cinder blocks hold the heat of the sun and warm the soil to grow in the ‘shoulder’ seasons. We use shade cloth over all of our gardens, here in Ga. – to regulate the heat of summer, anyway.
We’ll have to agree to disagree on this one, Luke. I still absolutely love you, though! Wishing you much success in selling your raised bed kits! The Lord’s continued blessings! ❤️❤️❤️
I made cinder block beds 2 high, put concrete in every other hole and put caps in them. They look great and I love them. Not for everyone but it works great for me. Had them in place for 3 years now.
I'm just here for the comments, waiting until I find a SINGLE ONE that agrees with you……
I agree with you. I tried planting nasturtium in cinder blocks and no matter how much I watered they dried up. Your explanation about how they retain heat makes sense. Thanks.
Once upon a time there was an old mother pig who had three little pigs and not enough food to feed them. So when they were old enough, she sent them out into the world to seek their fortunes.
The first little pig was very lazy. He didn't want to work at all and he built his raised bed out of straw bales. The second little pig worked a little bit harder but he was somewhat lazy too and he built his raised bed out of wood. The third little pig worked hard all day and built his raised bed with cement blocks…
Construction Blocks come in different dimensions. The 4" wide (4x8x16) are a much better option (and cheaper) and some coated rebar stakes are an option anyone with a car can go to the home center and pick up and build a garden with. Getting 10 inch wide board of any reasonable length dimension automatically becomes huge hurdle for most people, while construction blocks are a great compromise (in price and possibility) for people just getting started.
I agree with your conclusion, but I disagree with your reasoning. Solid lightweight concrete blocks with mortar is a sturdy solution that's way cheaper in the long run, without any of your perceived downsides. In my local area, lumber is a third of the price. But concrete blocks will outlast wood by 10 times, making them cheaper in the long run. But, what I feel most people in the comments miss is that concrete blocks waste a tremendous amount of space. I like my beds about 5–6 foot long and 2 feet wide. For 8 inch thick concrete blocks the footprints of my beds are doubled, while keeping the same growing area. Even after taking the aisles into account, I waste 25 % of my total growing area with blocks. That's not acceptable for me.
I would've used them but had landscape bricks for one. Rebar, cement or mortar to hold together and top off with same sized pavers for steps. Made steps down a slope and works. Cinder blocks would've done as well. No chipping or anything. Had wood beds and got sick of replacing wood. I have some metal and some are bulging. Wish I went with Cinder blocks like my steps.
I've always enjoyed your videos, especially because of your humility. This video greatly disappoints me. Your attitude seems uncharacteristically arrogant. Many of us have had great, yes believe it or not, great success from cinder block raised beds. It isn't until the very end of your diatribe that you seem to say it's ok if we have cinder block raised beds. But, even then, your attitude is that we are idiots and laughable.
Making raised beds out of tinder blocks has worked for years for me & it would seem many others from the comments. One bed even saved my house from being hit buy a thief driving a SUV & only about 5 blocks were disrupted & only 2 broken. He drove through our almost acre yard, crashing through our fence, an umbrella table (with umbrella), & destroyed much more in his wake. The raised bed stopped him … He even ended up driving over & into it before he could go no further.
Needless to say, I have built 2 more cinder block raised beds since then & have built a couple of existing beds out farther to prevent any such thief from getting any where near our house.
Not sure why your attitude has changed so negatively, but I hope your very helpful & humble charm returns. We can all have different opinions, but we don't need to make the other feel inferior.
This video reminded me too much of the hateful political videos … Gardening is supposed to bring joy (& hopefully sustenance) not hard feelings or feelings of inferiority.
It might seems like a huge mistake for you, but for many of us, it works fantastically well (including the plantings in the little squares of the cinder blocks).
Peace to you & I look forward to future, more positive videos.
P.S. no the thief was not held accountable for the damage he did to our yard & the deductible on our home owners insurance was to high to recover losses. But, worse was that I used to feel safe in our back yard … now I don't … even with more cinder block beds blocking his path. I miss the umbrella table, umbrella, some yard ornaments & pots & our back fence (my husband & I basically had to nail, screw & wire some salvaged very used lumber to kind of close up the hole in back fence), but the trama of the invasion has really left it's mark.
So, I'm looking for as much joy as I can from my cinder block raised garden beds!
You can build a raised bed out of pine or pressure treated, but you will be replacing it in a couple years, if not the following year. If you build it out of cedar or redwood, it could theoretically last 10 years. A double layered cinder block level, (properly built), could last for decades. Which to me, means that your hard work in the beginning was worth it. And raised beds are going to get chipped corners.
I love my cinder block garden. I'm excited to plant your seeds in them this spring😂.
Thanks, Luke. I had never considered those drawbacks!
I have tried cinder blocks and concrete too, and found out that they are alkaline. The crops did poorly and so I stopped. Porosity is also a problem.
I was going to point out the exaggerations and out right incorrect info in this video on cinder block raised beds but in reading through the comments posted here I can see that you have pretty much heard about it all ready. So let me just say this. I’ve been successfully gardening in “concrete” not cinder block raised beds for over 20 years. There is a difference between cinder block and concrete block OK, yes they are a tad bit on the heavy side at 35 lbs not 50 lbs. each. But at76 years of age I can still manage to move them around no problem. And that is one of the big advantages of blocks I can stack and restack them as I want to any new design need I come up with. Finally, no they don’t break apart in the freezing cold of winter here in Indiana. In that over 20 years I’ve been moving and stacking my blocks I e never lost a block because it was brittle and cracked from a winter freeze
Growing vegetables is something I do for food and as a hobby. I've been growing vegetables since I was 14 years old (70 now) .
I've built beds above ground with no side barrier, with galvanized panels (rusted out), with wood (rotted out and termite infestations – even the cedar ones). In my zone 8a California high desert region 10 degrees to 115 degrees garden, other than food safe container gardens, cinder blocks are for me the best investment. You can abuse any building material or misuse construction techniques as you seem to prove by your lack of knowledge in that area.
I am glad you have found "a thousand other ways of building raised beds". Waiting for that upcoming series of videos BTW.
Growing veggies is my hobby…not rebuilding and wasting money on raised bed materials every 3-4 years.
I recommend your seeds to all of my friends but will warn them off of this video as it ( in my opinion) totally misrepresents a viable building material and it's use.
Happy Gardening to all of my friends.
Video starts at 7:30
Obviously a lot of people like cement blocks. I’m going to reiterate 2 points I mentioned in the video that seem to be missed by a large majority of commenters.
1. Gardening is not a one size fits all solution. If they work for you then great! They don’t work for me, and I am thrilled for anyone who has a garden at all. That’s the main point if this channel.
2. Raised beds can be from anything and do NOT have to come from the store.
Moved to a place with 5 year old wood and metal raised bed. It rusted and rotted out 3 years ago. Theyre completely unusable now and are dangerous to remove
I use cinder blocks and have no problem with them. I originally started because they were cheap.
I have one that is four years old, no cracking or degradation at all.
Of course, I live in north carolina and not some frozen wasteland like Michigan.
I am growing in a greenhouse. I was planning to use cinderblocks for outdoor flower beds. After watching this, I will use the cinderblocks for winter heat retention in the greenhouse. Thanks.
Pressure treated wood is created with chemicals. It’s a bad idea unless you’re only growing flowers
Cinder blocks contain "fly ash" and should never be used in garden beds where the cement blocks are touching the dirt that food is going to be grown in. "Fly ash is a byproduct of burning coal and so contains heavy metals and other hazardous waste."