Decided this summer I’m going to venture into growing strawberries (along w the 7 Apple trees I’ll be planting)
I’d like a raised garden bed without a bottom…specifically something about 12ftx3ftx1ft. any suggestions on whether I should make it or buy it? And what it should be made of to not only look good but be durable as well?
Any other tips on growing strawberries would be welcome too. I live in Maine 5b
Thanks in advance
Cedar works well, I have used pine and it doesn’t last very long. Building is better because it can get expensive and all you need is a screw drill and lumber. brackets can help and are cheap. Not needed with 2 inch thick wood though. Cedar like that is hard to find, all the stuff around here is one inch. It’s expensive too, I would go 4 feet across instead of three. Try to get 2x12 footers, and one 8 footer. You can also use copper treated pine. it doesn’t last much longer than untreated, maybe 2 or 3 more years. Some feel it’s dangerous, I do not. I spray my trees with copper, plants don’t absorb large amounts, and it only leaches out possibly an inch…I would rather go with cedar anyway as it lasts the longest For growing info go to https://strawberryplants.org/2010/05/growing-strawberries/
Many will disagree but I used railroad ties for the outside perimeter when I grew strawberries. What everyone does not like is the fact they are soaked in oil. What I like is that the termites don’t eat them. I keep the strawberries back from the ties. But typically the runners grow that way and you can setup small pots to root new plants on the perimeter. The last drought wiped out my strawberries and I had over a thousand at that time. I used standard woodchips inside the beds which attract wood roaches, termites, carpenter ants , voles, moles, mice, rats etc. . Keep it a ways from your house because the moisture, strawberries, wood chips etc. won’t go unoticed.
I don’t know if there are any of the older ones still around but I think they were soaked in creosote. Oil sounds like the better option in my opinion.
Bumping this old thread. At the new house I have a slope right next to the house that is too steep to mow with the rider. I am considering strawberries, but not sure the would get enough light . It may get three or four hours of direct light per day.
I’m thinking here where the tallest grass is currently 