Gardening Retaining Wall

LizzieLou

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Hi Mark!
Thanks for sharing your passion for gardening with the world! I love your YouTube channel!

I want to grow a hugelkukter raised bed gardening around the perimeter of our enclosed patio. There is approximately one foot width of open ground from the fencing to the edge of the patio. The fencing measures about 20' long and 6' high. I'm considering building a temporary 2-3 foot retaining wall-something easily removable - opposite the fencing then filling it. This would be the best use of space. What material can I use for the wall that will be safe and inexpensive? We're considering cinder blocks. Thoughts? I've included a pic of a portion of the space I have to work with. I look forward to your response!

Blessings!
 

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Mandy Onderwater

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Cinder blocks could definitely work, but might not always look the prettiest. I have seen people paint them with non-toxic paint though, to help them either blend in or stand out, depending on what result they were eyeing.
I have seen people build it out of hardwood also, can give a beautiful, natural look. Just be cautious that if you fill soil against it to use something non-toxic (if it's for edible plants) as it could leech into your fruit.
 

Mark

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I want to grow a hugelkukter raised bed gardening around the perimeter of our enclosed patio.
Hi there!

Is the fence going to be used as part of the garden bed? If so, I wouldn't do that because it will ruin your fence on the inside.

A good cheap but effective option would be to buy a number of large black plastic pots/containers and line them all along this space (between the fence and the patio) and grow in them. You could get more elaborate and buy rectangular long garden planters that would fit well into the space and look even better but this would be more expensive.
 

Cobbadiggabuddyblooo

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I’ll second what Mark Mark has to say on not utilising the fence as the back of the garden bed. A cheaper option than buying a number of rectangular pots may be to use 200mmx50mm pine sleepers which come in 2400 0r 3m lengths and build a raised bed against it. Just leave a small air gap to keep moisture off the fence.
Go 400mm( 2 high ) and line with bottom 200mm with plastic , fill the bottom 150mm with sand And the top with your mix of preference. The bottom course will act as a wick to hold moisture and any excess water will flow out via the join of the 2nd course of 200high pine sleepers. 400 high in your patio you can do the gardening on a seat.... perfect to grow salad veges , zucchini’s and greens, place a trellis on the back wall for cucumbers , tomatoes, beans n peas .
 

Cobbadiggabuddyblooo

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Another option which I use as winter beds is to hang pocket matting on the fence . Corflute sheeting is cheap from places like Bunnings and you can slip that behind the matting to protect the fence from moisture. Just put it behind before filling with soil and don’t load the fence with more than 1 single 1mx1m Matt between upright posts.
 

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Mandy Onderwater

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Another option which I use as winter beds is to hang pocket matting on the fence . Corflute sheeting is cheap from places like Bunnings and you can slip that behind the matting to protect the fence from moisture. Just put it behind before filling with soil and don’t load the fence with more than 1 single 1mx1m Matt between upright posts.
The picture sadly isn't loading properly for me.
 

Cobbadiggabuddyblooo

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Salad mix n herbs in the first photo , strawberry wall in the 2nd and final photo had a mix of peas, Bok Choy , marigolds , herbs etc
 

Mandy Onderwater

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Very smart!
Right now to me that sounds like tons of space, but that's because my area is overgrown with guinea grass and I don't know how to get rid of it.
 

Cobbadiggabuddyblooo

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How big is your plot of dirt Mandy??? I usually dig them out with a fork. Bit of hard yakka but do a few each day and a wonderful way to take out any frustrations so rather therapeutic... Lol
You’ll start the new yr with a clean slate and gives you time to check the soil and plan your gardens in respect to shade and position...
 

Mandy Onderwater

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How big is your plot of dirt Mandy??? I usually dig them out with a fork. Bit of hard yakka but do a few each day and a wonderful way to take out any frustrations so rather therapeutic... Lol
You’ll start the new yr with a clean slate and gives you time to check the soil and plan your gardens in respect to shade and position...
I'd estimate it to be about 6m by 10m, but completely overgrown. More guinea grass than anything else. We've burnt it, poisoned it, tried about anything but digging as it's just too much. My back and shoulders aren't the greatest (so much for being young) and it's already quite hard to keep up with the new growth near our patio.
 
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