I’ve been using cinder blocks for a couple years now, only slight issue is actually getting enough dirt to put in them and not just filling it with coco coir, cus that apparently doesn’t do all that well cus really low nutrients for the plants 
But yea I ordered a TON of them from home depot and the shipping WAS kinda meh, but it was worth it 
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I have wood raised beds that need to be replaced, too, so I have been thinking about this as well. So many of the “permanent” options are just too expensive, so I’ve been looking into earth bag construction (superadobe/ hyperadobe.) I figure if you can build a house out of it, I could do raised beds. Still in my research phase, but I’m curious if anyone else has done this.
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Maybe cross-reference with this thread on cheaper metal Temu or aliexpress beds…
That is actually a huge consideration of mine. How long ago did you do this? How many bricks did you get? My biggest question, are they flexible in the place they will deliver/drop off a pallet of bricks? (I always see them on front of people’s house.) I haven’t got to call and ask yet, but do you know of they woukd deliver in the back alley behind my house?
I got like… let me check… nvm I can’t see my earlier orders Anyway I definitely got like 150 blocks at least; they came in two pallets all nice n saran wrapped. They did deliver in the area I asked n they didn’t even block the whole driveway xD Only thing I’ll suggest is not going bare foot when you start playing with them 
lol, so I guess it’s possible. Just recently I somehow managed to get a big pallet of miracle grow from amazon…. and somehow, they’re bringing it all the way from california O_o
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Pretty sure I will need at least 180, so why not 200… depends on price really.
No need to elaborate on your feet… (but did you lose a toenail?!) D:
It is reassuring to know they will put them where I want cause I definetly will not be able to move them quickly! I figure my hand truck will probably be my best moving tool.
That sounds like a LOT OF MG!
I’ve been lurking around this thread wondering how people afford to fill the raised beds with anything decent and weed free.
From what I’ve seen in my area, I can get “raised bed soil” by the cubic yard that is affordable. However, it doesn’t seem very good. I pH tested one friend’s and it was 9. Another appeared to have a real weed problem. Local people are not interested in giving away manure - they’ll sell you the stuff raw though. And my compost pile isn’t producing enough to fill a bed. In some of those pictures the soil was sooo pretty I’m wondering if I’m overlooking a source.
That’s the real challenge (and expense) in my situation.
I just used “cheap” topsoil to fill my beds but if I was planting more particular plants that wouldn’t work well either.
I also am only trying to fill my concrete block beds 4” deep (roughly) to save on costs since my main goal with them in my case is to raise the crown of my plants’ roots a few inches out of the occasionally sodden ground and expecting my roots to go into the native soil under my beds where I am lucky to have pretty fertile native soil.
But even with this strategy, the $1~ per concrete block I spend on the bed perimeter is the cheaper part, and the dirt is definitely the expense you need to keep in mind with any raised bed I imagine.
If you have a lot of time to work with and a large space to expand your compost pile, I imagine you might be able to get chip drops and compost the chips instead of just using them for mulch but… that’s a lot of time and work to go to even assuming the chips are pretty finely ground up to start with which may offset any benefit in getting the base material dropped off cheap/free.
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if you know farmers with cows horses goats and pigs. they will fill your truck bed or trailer for free or very cheap. green partially composted full of weed seeds,. it doesnt matter. fill it up 3/4 of the way then top it off with a decent soil. i added leaves sticks and med. branches then filled it in with green horse manure then good loam the last 6-8in.in all of mine 5 years ago. every fall since i top it off with green chicken bedding. by spring its almost compltely broke down. i make my rows by pulling any thats left on top back and plant in the soil underneath. it grows very well with no other imputs so far and almost no weeds..
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I do bulk top soil and bulk leafgro. I love Hawkins, see if they deliver to your area. Their prices are slightly higher than others, but include shipping and work out to be quite a bit less than everywhere else that has a delivery fee. Then, add whatever else you want- leaves, amendments, etc.. Raised bed soils/sandy mixes/mushroom compost/etc are crazy expensive and not necessary. I don’t use rotting logs, but a lot of people do that for the first foot. I’ve even see people put plants in on their sides and then bend them up if the actual soil is shallow
For the two new beds I’ve added this year, I’m doing leafgro and sand plus amendments/food scraps. I don’t have enough soil needs at the moment to justify another bulk delivery and what I’m growing in these two will do well with a sandy mix. And, sand is cheap.
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My neighbor got some 3x12 pieces of wood . They were 4ft long. He gave me enough to redo my old beds, they are working out.
I would suggest using 2x6s, cleating them together on the outside with 2x4s. Line the inside with Hardi backer cement board. Use some steel form stakes to secure the box to the ground. The backer board should protect the wood for a good while.
I’ve tried several different materials and I’m settling on drystone (no mortar) construction using whatever random rocks are handy. In the Ozarks there’s no shortage of rocks. If they get messed up somehow they’re easy to repair and they’ll be there long after I’m dead and gone. The only downside is it is possible for weeds to try to grow through the cracks. Seedling weed trees coming through the cracks are possible. The pros far outweigh the cons for me.
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I just saw this and immediately realized the usefulness it suggested:
When skid steer rubber tracks wear down they don’t provide as much grip since the grooves aren’t anywhere near as deep, and so they need to be replaced in order to maintain the effectiveness of the machine. I’ve never asked the guys at the local tractor sales and repair shop what they are charged for the disposal fee but I’m sure that they have to pay to get them gone afterwards. There are full-size machines that are much more popular and which would make for longer track loops (like those pictured above) and there are smaller ride-on machines that would give much smaller track loops, but at least around here those will be harder to find since they aren’t used as much.
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