Cinder Blocks Make Great Container Gardens — Here's How to Use One As a Garden Bed (2024)

FAQs

Do cinder blocks make good raised garden beds? ›

There are a lot of options when it comes to the material used to build a raised bed border. Wood is a common choice. Bricks and stones are good options, too. But if you want something cheap and attractive that's not going to go anywhere, you can't do better than cinder blocks.

Leaving a 1/4″ gap between every third cinder block, place the blocks hole side up. 20 blocks will give an interior bed area of 4′ x 8′.

Begin gathering sixteen 8” x 8” x 16” concrete blocks and four 8” x 8” x 16” corner blocks for the first layer of the raised bed. If using fabric as a weed barrier, cut two strips of landscape fabric approximately 14” x 112” and two strips in the dimensions of 14” x 64”.

I planted each of these cloves in its own cinder-block hole. Each one will grow into a full bulb. I also planted two bunches of basil, two bunches of cilantro and one bunch of oregano. Each of these grows in its own cinder-block hole as well.

Stay away from old-fashioned cinder blocks, which may contain heavy metals—not a good thing for food gardens. Second, a concrete block bed can affect your soil's pH, making it more alkaline, so it's not good for growing acid-loving plants like blueberries.

Fill the vertical holes of the cinder blocks with soil or drive a wood stake or a piece of rebar in the corners of your wall to secure the next level of blocks. An added bonus of filling your cinder blocks with soil is you create small, individual gardens.

Dampen the footing surface with water and place a one-inch bed of mortar on the footing. Furrow the mortar bed using the tip of the trowel to create a “v” to help distribute the mortar evenly. The mortar should be workable but firm enough to support the weight of the block.

I wanted to be able to continue gardening, despite my disabilities, so my sister and I designed these tall raised beds made from concrete blocks. These awesome beds are not only easy to work in, but they have also proven to be incredibly productive.

Vertical Cinder Block Garden Bed

By installing small shelves on walls and placing small cinder block plants on these shelves, you will be creating your vertical garden. This is ideal for those who do not have enough floor space to grow plants but want some greenery in their houses.

How deep of a garden bed do I need? ›

The minimum required depth depends on the plant. But on average, a raised garden bed should accommodate about 20 inches of soil for the roots of flowers and vegetables.

An ideal size for a raised bed is 3 to 4 feet wide with the length to suit the space available. It is most often rectangular in shape and generally 8 to 12 feet long. The bed may be as much as a foot deep, depending on the type of plants being grown.

Q: This is amazing! Check out these tomatoes growing in cinderblocks. A: Looks like the gardener put small plants into the compost-filled holes in the cinderblocks and the plants grew roots down into the soil underneath. Nice job!

Cinder block walls are strong, long-lasting and resistant to elements such as wind and rain, however, they are still subject to the effects of mold growth.

If you plan to use blocks as a raised bed material -- and many people do – and you are concerned about potential risks, you could seal the blocks with polymer paint.

Concrete will last for a long time and will not rot like wooden sides do. However, if you change your mind and want to move your garden, they are quite the things to move. Building a raised garden bed out of concrete blocks can be a good idea, but it is important to make sure that it is done correctly.

What are some examples of safe and sustainable materials for raised garden beds? Raised garden beds can be constructed from a variety of safe and sustainable materials. Cedar or redwood are two great options for wood as they are naturally rot-resistant and won't leach harmful chemicals into the soil.

Cinder blocks can't hold a ton of soil, so they need to be in the shade, or to have plants that can retain moisture. To have blanket flowers in the sun, I needed to have watered daily. And, I didn't. I crammed them full.

Depending on your budget and gardening goals, you can line the bottom of your raised garden beds with wide-mesh hardware cloth, stainless steel mesh, landscape fabric, burlap sack, or newspaper/cardboard.