That is genius. I am 79 (almost) and I can’t afford or am able to make my own raised beds. However I like everyone else on the planet has Amazon boxes. I will be doing this and call my new garden area “The Amazon”. Thanks for this video.
i was so impressed... this guy starts the video showing u right away what u need to know. no pre-ads, just boom. u rarely see this. i subscribed his knowledge seems legitimate. youtube mostly is one mountebank or another, monetizing everything. he gives it away to keep it. sure u get $ from views. i didnt see an ad at the end either. impressive. ya gotta love this kind of thing. restores my faith in humanity
I am a box hoarder too...my housemate hates it...but instead of getting rid of them, he will break down and tie up with all other similarly sized boxes, put in basement. Personally i like to be able to grab the box and use but they take up so much space that way.
Hey Dan, That was a great idea using a box and chicken wire to make a raised bed garden. I also liked the way you did your cuttings. I'm in a wheelchair and a raised bed garden is just what I've been looking for and the way you do it won't cost me that much money. Keep sending people your new ideas because someone like me will see it and use your ideas. Thanks again and please have a blessed day.
hey, you may wanna also try using the wooden pallets (everywhere for dirt cheap/free) get one cut in half if u need that hieght level... if you have any family?/friends/yourself have chickens/ducks? save those white feed bags, open both ends one cut to open, and staple/nail to the inside of your pallet frame (full size for older people/bad backs that cant bend over) cut in half for shorter, use extra pallet for pieces to connect them..... seems cheaper then chicken wire. i mean if you have access to extra/ friends have some they arnt using... not all metal is safe for gardens but it is more dependent on the type of metal :::: as long as the rust does not come from a metal that has toxic materials on it such as oil, paint, or dissolving agents. " (copy pasted that part) so i was wrong on that part, idk if chicken wire is one or not " Although, seeing as you said your in a wheel chair, i think doing half size pallets (unless ur a giant then full) would be more your size, cut one in half for the "sides" so its a long rectangle so u can reach the middle vs a full pallet square . " I'm going to try this chicken wire method but looks like it may be a little low for a wheelchair "unless u made it alot taller?" I lack experience to know how well it would hold all the dirt in "heavy rainfall?" once the cardboard breaks down/ chicken wire can bend fairly easily, but damn am i curious to see how a taller one would work
@@whatwhat1175 I like how this box of planting medium evolved in his garden👍 The use of untreated, free wooden pallets as starters sounds good... Perhaps more work to install.
@@cherylreid2964 it really isn't much more work, just time haha, and again it's to each their own. There is no one is the one and only best, I was also stating one that may more more hieght level friendly for people in wheel chairs. And it can be "cheaper" to use stuff, and the wood doesn't need to be "clean" for it. Because the inside is covered by the feed bags. Actually looks fairly good. Why not have both going? Make most of what you have/have access to and enjoy :D My wording isn't the best so it may sound more confusing then it is :p I appologize if so. But in fairness if your Gramma/mom/dad/ friend who had a broken back? Can't really bend down, a full size pallet hieght takes away alot of the bending, for really cheap (cut them down to half hieght for typical/wheel chair/kids and such) although.. I will say it.. having a full size pallet hieght one is... ALOT!! Of dirt, and most roots don't really go that deep, so good to fill bottom with wood as shown in this video :) , just more to help people with bad backs to keep gardening as long as they can :D this next season I'm so trying both methods! Curious to see how this chicken wire one looks/does after the cardboard decays.... Maybe have zucchini growing out of top and fill some of the wire holes with like strawberries?? Sure going to try!
I like the look of rocks inside a wire form. Had not considered a cardboard version. I like this idea because one could easily poke holes in the cardboard sides and insert started plants that trail, like beans or tomatoes
Whenever I am looking for someone to get new gardening tips from I look for a pleasant voice, no fanfare, and effective artistic ideas. Glad I came across your channel. Have an amazing day!
I see everything these days as a container for my crops, Amazon boxes, veggie containers from the market, mushroom containers, milk cartons, plastic salad containers, plastic cupcake holders, empty buckets of coconut oil, baskets I was going to give away at yard sales, nope, not anymore. Everything that is rounded, or four walls is a container for my groceries now.
Thanks Dan, what a great idea, I’m a landscaper and have been recycling everything that I can that I come in contact with everyday. All my clippings from my jobs and from home go into my raised “recycling bed”. The area of that bed is producing the most beautiful black composted soil. I also put coffee grounds, potato skins, apple cores, orange peels, pop corn kernels, etc, etc. Anything organic that can be broken down. Egg shells are another great thing. Sorry so long, anyways happy composting everyone!
My husband teases me for bringing home compostable material when we're on vacation (only when we drive) but my garden is going gang busters w/ compost & rabbit poo from pet rabbits.
Thanks for sharing JV. I also watch lawn care videos on YT 🙃 and always wondered if those landscapers realised what 'black-gold' mines they're sitting on with all the clippings, etc. Now I know, some do...
I would be careful about using clippings from commercial lawns in a home garden because of likelihood of pesticides and herbicide that could prove to be toxic.
Only adjustment I would make : Don't wrap the bottom the the box with chicken wire. leave it open to the top. Because end of season, you can remove it easier, and leave the soil in place. the cardboard should break down and add to the soil. Plus the excess chicken wire on top could act as a trellis for peas or tomatoes. Great video.
You might want the bottom covered with wire if you have problems with burrowing rodents - like the ever popular pocket gopher that eat roots - but only the roots of desirable plants. NEVER the roots of the Canada Thistle :(
I’ve been gardening for a decade and this year I’ve finally decided to package and sell my dried herbs and spice mixes. So I’ve been looking for the most cost effective techniques this winter and you have absolutely just changed my entire world with this technique 🙏 I live in upstate NY and our soil is full of rocks, but the cost of lumber has made it so I had to switch to container growing last year instead of building a bed at my new house. I’m so excited to try this 🔥
Hi! I just came across this video, what perfect timing!! Even more, what a perfect idea!!! My 75yr old husband, my 82yr old mother and my 65yr old self have just moved on to a 6ac parcel in the Ozarks. We decided it was now or never. We want to grow our own food, collect our water, raise chickens for eggs and a meat source, perhaps a hog or two. We are doing this in our Social Security and on our own. I was getting disheartened at the costs associated with gardening. Then l stumbled onto this gem of a video. Thank yoy, thank you for this wonderful idea. You now have another subscriber!
I love the fact that you didn’t let money stand in your way to begin your garden. Such a great and unique way to build a planting box/raised bed. I think a lot of people will benefit from your ideas and get their imaginations flowing. Worked for me!
Love this idea! I think I might make 'the walls' of the box-bed thicker by nesting various boxes into each other ('Babushka Doll' style) before covering the outer box in wire. My red-wiggler worms are gonna love living in between the walls of cardboard!
@Irene B I have 3 boxes made up and planted some potato’s that sprouted in my refrigerator. So far all of them came up. Now about 3” high. I plan on putting my leftover pepper seedlings in individual boxes. I did what you mentioned and lined my boxes with additional boxes, so far so good. The proof will come at harvest. Fun experiment😎🌽🥒🥬🍆
I bought into the commercialized “gardening” path because I thought I needed it. It’s so much easier than people think and this is a great video to showcase that!
I loved it. Getting older, I've been planting in cattle mineral large tubs, but always need places to grow more garden. In this strange world, I believe we will need to grow and preserve as much as possible. The prices of all food is going up and up. When we grow our own veg and fruits, we know how they were grown with no pesticides on them. Better for our food health. LET'S ALL GET GROWING ASAP. BLESSINGS
@@norxgirl1 My neighbor and his brother have cattle. The minerals for them come in large tubs. When they're empty, the farmers don't use them. You can find them on facebook marketplace. BLESSINGS
My son has a restaurant and throws away tons of 5 gallon buckets all the time. I have used them for growing vegetables. I like this idea of the cardboard bed. Previously have used flattened boxes just as a weed suppressor.
My granny ,Lizzie Carter, loved red Bliss potatoes. But she hated digging them out of Georgia Clay. Once you disturb the potato plant when it was planted in clay it's life is over. She wanted to extend the life of it because she loved potatoes. So, on her own she built a raised bed with two things, cinder blocks and sawdust. She stacked two high cinder blocks on a offset stack. She filled it with sawdust to the top. She used regular water to water them but then she would also use plant food diluted. I think once or twice a week. She did a 5 ft by 10 ft bed of red Bliss potatoes. She sent me out there when they were coming into harvest. I took a claw, a hand tool, and disturb the top because it would solidify and then move everything back cuz underneath it was fluffy. I came in on the side and start harvesting very gently the potatoes and they yielded three times their normal yield. 🤣🤣🤣🤣. She was in her 70s these when she did it. That was in the 1970s. I never knew a woman that loved potatoes so much. Necessity is the mother of invention. 😁😇🤣🤣
I am so grateful to you for sharing this brilliant idea. It’s just what needed. My refrigerator died a few days before finding your video and when they delivered the new one , I was more excited about the gigantic box than the fridge lol.. i cut the box in half which gives me 2 planters measuring 34”x34”x36”. Joy!! I want you to know that you make my gardening journey a lot easier, enjoyable and affordable. May you be blessed for your generous list of informative videos....
And for extra bang for the buck, we can always stack smaller boxes on big ones and build a garden tower! I have this spot in my backyard - it gets tons of sunlight and is protected from wind. But nothing except grass and weeds can grow there, because underneath thin layer of soil there is old foundations from old demolished building. Concrete is so hard it was impossible to break it even with jackhammer, so we had to just cover it. Hell, if the summer is hot, even grass dies there. Now i know what i will try to make use of this spot :) Thank you for this excellent idea!
@@dogslobbergardens6606 I'm not planning to build anything excessive. Two levels tops, with a smaller container on top for in-place composting and worm feeding. Boxes don't have to be particularly high too - just enough for stuff like carrots, parsley, some leeks and celery. Maybe cherry tomatoes and herbs. If i run out of space, i can always build second tower.
@@FrikInCasualMode if you put some large PVC pipes throughout the bed, you can use them as supports AND for the worm tower areas to drop in kitchen waste. You can make or tops for the PVC with upside down cans with a piece of wood in the bottom to allow airflow, which can also be used as watering holes that will take the nutrient rich castings into the beds. Just be sure to drill many large holes along the lower half of the pipe. It will help keep vermin from getting to the kitchen waste too.
@@marlenen6130 So not sure I followed that exactly... wish you could show me a pic or diagram... i am new to this and want to start a few boxes outside of my lanai here in Florida. I didn’t get how the pvc would be helpful? I know some people use pvc as a watering system.
@@anncolburn3722 if you look up PVC worm tower, you’ll find videos on different ways to make them, but basically you want 6”-8” diameter PVC cut into 2’-4’ length, drill 1/4”-1/2” holes randomly along the bottom 1/3 of PVC, then bury most of it (straight up) into the soil, be sure to cover the holes. You want airflow into the top of the pipe so you can screw a small block of wood to a large can that can keep it from closing off all airflow, but the can needs to be long enough to not fly off in the wind. This will keep vermin from going into the pipe. You can just take the lid/can/cap off to put in kitchen scrapes to attract worms to the garden bed. Occasionally stop feeding it or move to a different location to avoid pests and to give it time to feed your plants. You can water in the hole at times to disperse the castings nutrients. The PVC would be strong enough at the corners to hold up cattle panels, just zip-tie the panels to the PVC pipes as if they were long garden stakes, but easier to just use metal garden stakes for strength and PVC for worm towers in the garden beds. You could even bury one of those plastic milk cartons in the garden bed and make a lid for it and use that as an in-ground worm farm. You should always add shredded paper, cardboard or dried leaves when you add kitchen scraps too, or it will get rancid.
I’ve been wanting a raised garden for a few years now. I’ve not done it because of the cost and labor to build the planters. I’m so excited now. I even rescued the two cardboard boxes I put out front for anyone to take. TY TY TY TY
Getting ready to teach grandkids about growing your own food. Wanted to do raised beds, but too expensive. Since we just moved into this house, there are plenty of packing boxes waiting to be recycled. Perfect for our purpose. Grandson wants to grow potatoes. This just went from possibility to reality. Thanks. I subscribed so I’ll be sure to get all your videos.
Buckets are cheap too. Contact a Burger King for pickle buckets. Any fast food or bakery. Hope this helps. Good to teach em skills. Grandma Kearney sent mason jars home every visit. Depression Children. Perhaps start with a you tube video on that. Will scare the hell out of them in a good way.
Yes! SO, so discouraging. I even began growing inside & foolishly believed it wouldn't be too difficult to get up & running 🥺. I feel better now, though. Best of luck!!!
- SWEET POTATOES ARE PERENNIALS, & REQUIRE LITTLE TO NO SPECIAL CARE, & THEIR LEAVES ARE VERY NUTRITIOUS LIKE SPINACH…!!! CHIVES CAN GROW ANYWHERE THERE IS SUN. ALWAYS PLANT YOUR CUT VEGGIE ENDS - THEY WILL REPRODUCE GIVEN WATER , & SUNSHINE ..!!
So many ways to grow potatoes for your grandkids to experiment with! Boxes, old laundry baskets, raised beds, in ground, old totes with holes in them.....
Genius! Has to be the next "big thing" among backyard gardeners. If not, it should be. Boxes can degrade into the soil and in these times theres an endless supply. Great video. Thanks for sharing.
If you let the excess wire extend over the top of the box it can be a great cat deterrent from them thinking it's an outdoor litter box. Just drape an extra piece of wire across the top until plants fill in.
Having it over the top might help with our deer problem too, maybe also attaching a "lid." Watch out for sharp ends that might poke you when gardening or harvesting though!
i've seen the recommendation of using tule fabric to deter things with tiny claws like rabbits, mice, and birds. it's super cheap on amazon and comes in lots of nice colors.
My 24 instant raised beds are these 250 gallons big plastic bags that are used to deliver compost, builders sand, woodchips, etc. I backfold them once, then fold the ears back to the inside. Then I have to fill them with my mix. Takes only 15 minutes in total to get a 3 by 4 foot raised bed. Use them now for 7 years and then they still keep up, but the outside looks a bit wrinkled. The veggies don't mind. Hope this helps saving money. Most of these bags I got for free.
@@joyflores7307 Over here in Holland and also in Belgium they are very much used for delivering. The free ones I also got from my nephew who is a builder. New ones I did order on the internet at sellers who advertize with packaging materials.
I have chickens, goats and horses, lots of fed bags. feed now comes in plastic bag. lf you know some one who has horses I am sure they would give you the empty bags I am gonna try this. I am almost 84, still going!!!
So excited about this idea. We are in the middle of a 2600 mile relocation. So having to start completely over from scratch on raised beds. And our new property is known to have clay and rock. So raised beds are going to be essential. This will make it so easy and inexpensive. Makes me excited to get started rather than dreading. We are moving to an area that rains year around. Neighbors say you may need to water 2x during an entire growing season.....so even more exciting....no money and endless work on irrigation systems. Not to mention giant water bill. Growing in our new place is going to be cake!!!
WOW, this is pure genius! Thank you for this. We just moved and all our $ went into buying our new home - I've been trying to figure out how to do raised bed gardening without spending a fortune and this is a perfect solution. I've still got all the boxes we used for moving. My hats' off to you, sir you're a very creative person. Will be watching other of your videos now, too. THANK YOU!!
I have had 25 raised beds for over 40 years. You don’t need wood or wire. Just dig the earth. Dig out pathways and throw the pathway soil on the beds to add some height. Easy
That is brilliant! I live on a very small farm in the middle of a forest with many many old growth trees. The ground is so much roots and rocks so really hard to dig. This is definitely going to start my spring garden and future gardens. Thanks so much!😊🙏
Hey Sandy: I live in the most harsh agro zone in turdo canuckstan, and forget growing anything of sq. footage here unless u get an excavator and take out those rok nuggets and large roots that GOD placed there and were not meant to be cultivated around easily. A few cardbord boxes may give u a few more tomatoes but i m a subsistance guy and corn, squash, potatoes, zuccini, et al need more space than a few lettuce plants in a cardbord box.
Another fun and space saver to do is to stand pallets on there side wrapped in cardboard and chicken wire for vertical gardening For things like spices and herbs. Then you fill the whole pallet with soil and pop a hole anywhere you want to plant. Good for all sorts of plants. And takes no space at all. And its cool to see a wall of edibles.
At my Dollar Tree (Dollar store, Virginia, USA), our paper towels, napkins, and toilet paper come in boxes almost as tall as my hip. So, there's a sourcing option.
The most important is creating a piece of heaven on earth! I love my raised beds build from beautiful palettes found in construction dumpsters! My husband did a great job and I even painted! There is nothin more gratifying than going into your garden, no matter what size and grab the most delicious fresh herbs and greens, and all the treasure that you planted there, and cook for your family! Good luck everyone!
I definitely found your channel for a reason. Yesterday I was scratching my head on how I can do raised beds, Ive recently moved and dont have a lot of spare cash, but I do have all the things you stated, so Im so chuffed I can start right away, thank yo so much!! You are a life saver!!
i'm 73 and kneeling is no longer an option so i use raised beds. we make them from old refrigerators and freezers. so far we have an aisle of four boxes with cattle panels arching over head and aluminet shade cloth because we are at 2500 feet in the desert. works great.
om goodness! I do the same thing and have for years. They work wonderfully and a dream on the back.. The ease in maintaining from this high up makes it a breeze.
My Grandfather, Father and I were all Sheetmetal workers. I can hear them from the grave saying, "there is the right tool for every job and that would be wire cutters." You chip the cutting edge of your tin snips over time. As always, Love your videos and the information that you and your wife give. God Bless.
I planned a raised garden this last year, but when lumber shot up there was no way to afford it. Cardboard boxes are genius. I'm definitely going to be trying that this spring. Thank you for helping us deal with the crazy that's going on in the world and still be able to provide fresh grown produce for our families
Cardboard is crappy looking and toxic . Every day I see places giving away used pallets for free . Rough lumber for this purpose is free , chicken wire is not free and you would need a heavy Guage wire for it to hold wet cardboard
Bless you!! I’ve got a huge yard to work solo. It’s been challenging trying to figure out how to make raised beds. I’m not confident (yet) with lumber and power tools. This is brilliant and keeps me doing my best to recycle AND use hugelkultur methods. Thank you so much! 🙏🏽❤️
Thank you kindly! Once things begin taking shape in the garden the ideas will flow. With so many different ways to do things I hope you find what works best for your situation. Cheers!
Luckily I got 'waxed' cardboard from a florist I worked for. Used a heavy duty hand cardboard stapler to hold sides together. Unbelievably the sides held up 2 snowy winters as straw decomposed. Finally salvaged used decking boards for permanant sides. Veggies loved the straw!
We have used many different items to make raised beds. Lots of recycled materials. From wood boards or metal sheets we have found that were thrown out on the side of the road. From pine trees we cut down on our property. Also to purchased cedar dog eared fence boards. The important thing is just try and you will learn many way that you can grown your own food. Great video.
Just checked out your last video using cedar dog eared fence boards. I love how easy they were to put together for not to much cost. Thanks for sharing.
You've brought to mind a friend who used to do this. She used welded wire, big 4ft circles, lined with cardboard, filled with leaves from wooded areas nearby, then some soil. Planted potatoes first year. Worms were attracted, she'd end up with a huge bin of work castings after winter. Subbed! Hope you have some other ideas for me!
What a great tip and idea, next time I’m at the feed store I’m going to pick up some chicken wire. I’m going to give this a try. Thanks for sharing the video
That is a great idea! We put funds into a nice greenhouse last spring and then had none leftover for beds! I wanted to stay away from lumber for so many reasons, but this fits the bill all around. I am excited to get some potato crops going ASAP!
What a terrific idea! So simple, so cheap, and so obvious. This is exactly what I need at this stage of my life. Now, I feel like I can keep the joy of gardening in my life for years to come. Thanks a million for this video! Well done, young man.
Hello Dan, all the way from India. Thank you so much for educating me about making inexpensive containers for my garden . Im going to start my work right away. Pl keep making such videos. God bless you!
I recycled my old box mattress, used old scrap wood that also came from my old bed to fortify the sides. Filled it up with some soil and lots of leaves. Soil is looking good. Another good idea for A cardboard box is to sprout seeds. I use a old Modelo, Pacifico or other bottled beer box. leave the cardboard insert that separates the bottles and fill it with soil. Then you can add your seeds and they can be pulled out easily as a separate plant. You can also add shrink wrap or a repurposed plastic cover from cupcakes or what have you. 🌱 To make a small green house.
Last year I bought some organic salad in a plastic box - when done, cleaned it with mild bleach water and used it to start my own salad for this winter - worked pretty good!
I have shared this unique cost saving idea 💡 with my family and friends !!!! Keep making gardening videos and I'll keep watching !!!! Thank you very much !!!!
ive just planted & saved 3 fruit trees by planting them in my raised bed garden. they werent doing well till then. youve just made me glad ive done it. its like im seeing my garden in 5 yrs. this awesome idea is going to allow me to expand. thank you
**If you start with a plastic bag of potting mix . Poke some holes in the bottoms cut the bag in half. And wrap with chicken wire. 🐔 . Raised bed. Later recycle the plastic. 2. In the cardboard box version. Could you add mushroom spore to the wood? Stack your harvest. And break down the wood. Cheers
You are a wonderful source of useful info, my friend. Thank you. And I am grateful for the cadence in your voice. So many other people doing gardening channels have voices that are not calming and gentle. Your voice is timbered in such a way that I can actually listen without the hair raising on the back of my neck. It's a true gift.
Hey, that's what I did in September, because I was way behind in prepping the garden for the new season due to home renovations. I also wanted to see how much I can cram into a mini garden. I got chip boxes from the grocery store as they were packing their shelves, each measuring 90cm x 60cm x 30cm. I squeezed 15 of them in behind the toolshed, right next to each other; 8 (2x4), on the right and 7 (single boxes next to each other) on the left - the two seperated by a 30cm pathway. Fortunately, I had access to enough compost and I used old skirting boards and tile offcuts inbetween the boxes, with bricks on the parameter, instead of chicken wire. It worked perfectly, even when the boxes started to disintegrate after all the rain we've had. I managed to plant garlic, onion, spring onion, spinach, zucchini, tomatoes, peppers, a variety of chillies, green beans, carrots, mixed herbs, butternut (trailing up the back fence), with a few marigolds. This I rounded off with a tower of 3 used SUV tires filled with potatoes and two brinjal plants behind it. Just using boxes, works a treat with very little (some seed, fertiliser and bonemeal), to no money spent on set up costs. I also experimented with planting kitchen offcuts (all the onion varieties, garlic, coriander, potatoes, butternut and cherry tomatoes were started this way). It works! Using boxes as raised beds and kitchen offcuts as seeds... I'm really chuffed with myself and the outcome of these experiments. Oh, it seems like my cauliflower, cabbage and broccoli from offcuts are also going to be successful. 😍
@@TrickleCreekFarm 😅 You've said it! With all the vigorous growth, things started competing for space! I've had to move or gift some of the plants. Fortunately, with some help, the rest of the garden has now been sorted out.
Brilliant idea , as I’m at the start of planning to move house which will mean leaving all my raised beds behind, I intend growing some veg in pots this year so I can move them , but planning new raised beds and building them was a concern, so thank you so much for solving that for me .
I'm in the same boat. Had planned on building a raised bed but don't want to invest in expensive lumber that we can't take with us. Just hope that I can have a garden box when we move. I would be willing to shovel the lovely soil that will be in that box from my first hugelkutur experience.
Everybody can have a raised bed garden, it's a great idea, thanks!! I could always fit some of those amazon boxes in my garden anywhere. They would great for planting mint and flowers. 👩🏽🌾👍🏽🙏🏽🧡💖
I have some very steep slopes (about 50%) and have already put a fine mesh fence at the base so that I can have some chance of raising beds. But I knew it wouldn’t be enough - that all the compost and mulch would wash towards the fence and eventually the fence would fail. This method in combination with my fence gives me one more piece of the puzzle. I might use some fallen logs between the cardboard pot plants to help hold it all in place. Thanks!
One thing I did similar to this was just to buy cardboard boxes that were 30 inches wide, 10 inches deep and 12 inches long. Fill them half full of your soil mixes, put 2 seed potatoes in each one, and line them up and basically make a 30 inch bed at 50 ft long (50 boxes). You then mound up the potatoes by filling the boxes, and by the time the potatoes are ready, the grass that was underneath the boxes is dead, you lift up the boxes ( the bottom will be degraded), and you have a perfect 50ft by 30 inch mounded bed without having to worry about the grass. The boxes cost very little (less than $1 each), and having them uniform size makes it easy to make a nice bed.
I love this idea! The only thing that sucks is that I live on a busy road so it's going to look ugly for people driving by to see all my cardboard boxes lined up 😅
@@rubylace9963 I don't think that would be ugly. It's all cardboard, so looks uniformly neat. And, I think, as time goes by, you might figure a way to dress it up with a nice roll of fencing. I plan on doing that myself. Good luck.
Beautiful! My mother-in-law bought a house she'll be in for a year, this is a great, cheap way to give her some growth in her garden and revitalize the soil.
Hi, I'm a recent viewer from UK. I'm planning to re-start my garden, my old raised beds have disintegrated and the price to replace is crazy....the boxes and chicken wire idea is fabulous. I'm not starting yet, it's too wet here in uk....love your channel.
Awesome idea for all those boxes. Saves me money on buying more planters. I've been wanting to do a raised garden to save my back, this is perfect. Thank you!
Absolutely fantastic. I remember 50 years ago in England when I had a BIG garden, I made some beds like that for specific vegetables and also turned the whole garden to fruit and vegetables. There's nothing like the 40 minute meal, harvesting the vegetables, then washing, preparing, and cooking, then eating a full meal with the most incredible fresh taste in 40 minutes. Everyone should try growing their own and experience not just the incredible taste, but also the health benefits too. A great great video...!
I'd love to know more about the 40 minute meal. I want to plant a food garden. My husband & brother tried to plant a garden last year. It didn't do too well. I bought 6×10 feet of chicken wire for fencing. I wanted to use the entire 10 feet for an enclosure. They cut it smaller. They didn't amend my red soil, just loosened it up. I tried to tell them I had watched lots of videos on gardening. They wouldn't listen. I have limited mobility but might do better, as I heal, with raised beds. I love your comment here and would appreciate any advice. I want to eat fresh fruits & vegetables from my own garden, for delicious food, as you describe, and for my healing. Thank you.
Made a couple of beds last year for this year's season and used 2-year old wood chips to raise the beds. We will have to try the cardboard idea next time.
What a great idea! Perfect for me. Keep getting boxes in the mail, which are usually way too big for what is inside, plenty of old chicken wire, 100 year old trees that keep shedding dead branches, plus trimming for much newer trees that I keep accumulation (in case I ever need to use my rocket stove). First a composting box, then a planting raised bed, and less stuff that's too good to throw out! I'm ready to get started if all those feets of snow start melting (were it not for those -27 degrees F, that we are having lately). I can wait.
I have been gardening for fifty and its true what they say you learn something new every day, cuttings of brasica,s, thank you so much and I love your show.
YOU ARE A GENIUS!!! I've had to switch everything to container due to salt water intrusion from king tides. ( most unusual) on social security... this is blessing. Thank you and God bless!!!!!!❤💜🧡👍🙏
I love working in the ground but I'm 83 and had a stroke 22 yrs ago so can't get down ,saw this idea and am going to buy reber 3 ft and 2 ft wide chicken wire . I plan beds 10 ft by 4 ft. Should work great oh plus line with cardboard. My daughter has 50 acres and organic soil and lots of trees to get dead wood to start with. We're going to have a blast .thanks for the idea.
The only other thing comparable is free pallets. The best of this is the removing the structure and creating the pathways when the right time comes. What a wonderful idea.
Wow what a great idea! I love this because the cardboard is compostable too! My current raised beds are very shallow, it was an insane amount of work driving around to find skids, rip them apart, and rebuild them into beds. I’m probably moving before spring and can’t take them as they’re frozen in snow now! Instead I’ll be repurposing my moving boxes for my new garden!! Thanks so much.
WOW. I'm doing this! It's been so hard getting started on my wooden raised beds since we moved. I think this is definitely a good motivator. And I love the hugelkulture component as well. You're the man!
Thanks so much, Dan! I'm planning on making some new beds in my orchard, which is on a slope on very sandy soil. I already use cardboard to define beds and suppress weeds, so I can change my mind if I want to. I'm lucky to have a local publican who delivers as many cardboard boxes as I want, but using chook wire to stabilise it is brilliant. Have a groovy day, from a new subscriber in Tasmania, Australia.
Wow!!! I've been looking for ideas for a raised garden come the Spring! I have 2 quite large dogs. They eat ALOT! I have subscribed to an online company for their vittles, and I got broken down cardboard boxes coming out of my ears. I do lay some on the ground in the fall to keep down weeds. I lay them in a semi-compost bin, and the rest I toss. I'll have to put this on my list of things for the not too distant future! Great idea!
This is brilliant! I’ve used cardboard boxes as temporary raised beds before, actually cut the tape off the bottom and pushed those pieces up before I turned down the top pieces to reinforce the sides and leave the bottom open to the ground, has survived 3 full years now in wet AL. This is even better-anyone with vole issues should be able to plant without fear with the addition of the chicken wire on bottom and sides! I’ll be using this method-thank you for sharing!
@@grovermartin6874 I have five and a half acres worth of gophers! Ha! They have pretty much ruined my in-ground gardening life. I'm mostly raised beds now. For the plants that I do have in the ground I use the Aviary wire...but it needs to be replaced every 2 to 3 years.
that was my question before I even watched the vid- how long would the cardboard last? Would I be replacing this huge amount of soil into new structures every year, etc... Thanks for letting us know we could get at least 3 from the set-up.
@@catherines4202 yes- called hardware cloth. Has varying size square holes and is also much stiffer than the chicken wire. Tunneling stuff can sometimes be thwarted by getting 24" and folding in half in an "L" and putting outside the box on the ground since most critters are too stupid to back up and dig- they just try digging at the corner and can't get in. can even mow right over it and grass grows up and hides it. use lawn staples to hold it down... hope that works for you!
Great idea! If you get giant boxes, remember to pull those giant staples. A rusty poke on a leg or the hand later on won't be too pleasant. Great idea though!
I had an idea of using boxes on top of no dig beds, with the bottoms folded open to grow potatoes and carrots (things that require digging to harvest basically) no chicken wire, and at the end of the growing season just lifting the box and spreading the contents, and if its not broken down enough to just incorporate go toss it in the compost pile, you didn't dig your bed, you got your harvest, and added new soil for next year all at ounce, with potatoes especially since they like really fresh and at times not quite 'finished' compost you can have fully finished compost added to the bed and fresh potatoes all at once.
Wow! What a great, useful idea. 😄 Thanks for expanding my gardening capabilities. I’m planting in what is essentially clay, and this gives me a workable method of quickly converting patches into usable grow spaces that will eventually transform the ecology. Worms love the cardboard, too. 👍🏻
Thank you, thank you, thank you Thank You! For years I have been trying to figure out how to build a raised bed garden (hip and back issues from a car accident, prohibit me from doing anything at ground level) on very, very little money, and I have been really struggling on how to build the structures becsuse of the costs and keep small burrowing rodents out. I've been growing everything in plastic bins or baby pools. However even a dozen or more of those can be expensive, plus...plastic. 😖 I will spend the next couple months coverting each piece into a cardboard & chicken wire raised beds, which ultimately must be so much more healthy for the plants and me. So...thank you. Now...I'm going to go watch your video on how you plotted out your garden. I am certain I will get a ton of good ideas! 🥰
You are a blessing to me with this information. I am creative in certain areas, love gardning and working with my hands. So practical, purposeful and fits in my budget.
That´s a brilliant idea !!! Thank you very much for sharing it with us !!! I send you back the best soul energy and as many blessings as you can take !!! Thanks again !!!
Cooolest raised bed idea ever! We have chicken wire and cardboard boxes a plenty…I wil be making these all along the side of the house where I want my medicinal herb garden!
Excellent idea, Thank you. I was thinking that the extra wire could protect the plants from chickens or larger rodents if you put the surplus at the top. At the bottom though, it would prevent rats from digging up through to the veggies. I will look for the taller chicken wire so that I can utilize it top. and bottom, and start with a shorter box.
I’ve been watching lots of gardening videos to prepare for a new garden area and yours is the best idea I’ve seen. So excited to give this a try! Thank you 😊
I love this! Thanks! I’m starting a raised bed garden in a new location and will definitely use this. I live in the city and often find inexpensive bookcases in the alley. I take them home. Set flat on the ground they make excellent raised beds.
That is genius. I am 79 (almost) and I can’t afford or am able to make my own raised beds. However I like everyone else on the planet has Amazon boxes. I will be doing this and call my new garden area “The Amazon”. Thanks for this video.
"The Amazon" ( : Love it.
@@Trendlespin Ditto that. 😊
Every garden area needs a name. Love "The Amazon".
Love your sense of humor. The amazon😆
Great name!!
I've been surfing CZcams looking for raised garden bed ideas. I think you just won the internet!
i was so impressed... this guy starts the video showing u right away what u need to know. no pre-ads, just boom. u rarely see this. i subscribed his knowledge seems legitimate. youtube mostly is one mountebank or another, monetizing everything. he gives it away to keep it. sure u get $ from views. i didnt see an ad at the end either. impressive. ya gotta love this kind of thing. restores my faith in humanity
Agree 100%! I get furious when people start telling a story that has absolutely nothing to do with what they say they will show you. BS!
No fuss. No over the top exuberant enthusiastic greetings and hand gestures, Just plain old solid down to earth sound advice. A like from me...!
And amazon
I no longer feel weird for hoarding boxes, this is exactly what I'll be doing in the spring.
Me too. Everyone thought I was crazy for holding boxes and broken totes. Wait until they see my garden. Lol.
Me too! My spouse throws them in recycling bin against my will!
@@olololo9224 Mine too! 😆
cardboard broken up in small pieces is great in the compost bin as well.
I am a box hoarder too...my housemate hates it...but instead of getting rid of them, he will break down and tie up with all other similarly sized boxes, put in basement. Personally i like to be able to grab the box and use but they take up so much space that way.
Hey Dan, That was a great idea using a box and chicken wire to make a raised bed garden. I also liked the way you did your cuttings. I'm in a wheelchair and a raised bed garden is just what I've been looking for and the way you do it won't cost me that much money. Keep sending people your new ideas because someone like me will see it and use your ideas. Thanks again and please have a blessed day.
I was wheelchair bound for years and am finally upright but my knees are messed up. Raised is it! This is a great great idea.
hey, you may wanna also try using the wooden pallets (everywhere for dirt cheap/free) get one cut in half if u need that hieght level... if you have any family?/friends/yourself have chickens/ducks? save those white feed bags, open both ends one cut to open, and staple/nail to the inside of your pallet frame (full size for older people/bad backs that cant bend over) cut in half for shorter, use extra pallet for pieces to connect them..... seems cheaper then chicken wire. i mean if you have access to extra/ friends have some they arnt using...
not all metal is safe for gardens but it is more dependent on the type of metal :::: as long as the rust does not come from a metal that has toxic materials on it such as oil, paint, or dissolving agents. " (copy pasted that part) so i was wrong on that part, idk if chicken wire is one or not "
Although, seeing as you said your in a wheel chair, i think doing half size pallets (unless ur a giant then full) would be more your size, cut one in half for the "sides" so its a long rectangle so u can reach the middle vs a full pallet square .
" I'm going to try this chicken wire method but looks like it may be a little low for a wheelchair "unless u made it alot taller?" I lack experience to know how well it would hold all the dirt in "heavy rainfall?" once the cardboard breaks down/ chicken wire can bend fairly easily, but damn am i curious to see how a taller one would work
@@whatwhat1175 I like how this box of planting medium evolved in his garden👍
The use of untreated, free wooden pallets as starters sounds good... Perhaps more work to install.
@@cherylreid2964 it really isn't much more work, just time haha, and again it's to each their own. There is no one is the one and only best, I was also stating one that may more more hieght level friendly for people in wheel chairs. And it can be "cheaper" to use stuff, and the wood doesn't need to be "clean" for it. Because the inside is covered by the feed bags. Actually looks fairly good. Why not have both going? Make most of what you have/have access to and enjoy :D
My wording isn't the best so it may sound more confusing then it is :p I appologize if so.
But in fairness if your Gramma/mom/dad/ friend who had a broken back? Can't really bend down, a full size pallet hieght takes away alot of the bending, for really cheap (cut them down to half hieght for typical/wheel chair/kids and such) although.. I will say it.. having a full size pallet hieght one is... ALOT!! Of dirt, and most roots don't really go that deep, so good to fill bottom with wood as shown in this video :) , just more to help people with bad backs to keep gardening as long as they can :D
this next season I'm so trying both methods!
Curious to see how this chicken wire one looks/does after the cardboard decays.... Maybe have zucchini growing out of top and fill some of the wire holes with like strawberries?? Sure going to try!
Ooooooo99o kk@ o
I like the look of rocks inside a wire form. Had not considered a cardboard version. I like this idea because one could easily poke holes in the cardboard sides and insert started plants that trail, like beans or tomatoes
That's called a Gabion. I love them too.
Tarp between two panels of wire mesh, near instant greenhouse, almost anything else,
Wow that's a great idea! Make one that's sort of long and tall maybe.
Ooooh! That’s a great idea! I’m thinking strawberries!
@@eddybrevet6816 dang! That’s so clever!
Whenever I am looking for someone to get new gardening tips from I look for a pleasant voice, no fanfare, and effective artistic ideas. Glad I came across your channel. Have an amazing day!
I see everything these days as a container for my crops, Amazon boxes, veggie containers from the market, mushroom containers, milk cartons, plastic salad containers, plastic cupcake holders, empty buckets of coconut oil, baskets I was going to give away at yard sales, nope, not anymore. Everything that is rounded, or four walls is a container for my groceries now.
Me, too! Cans, boxes, bottles, vines, light bulbs, baskets, boots, furniture, packing forms, every snack bag, fruit packaging, nets, nutshells, soup tureens, orange rinds, luffa sponges, mud, tree trunks, huge water towers!
Same!!!
I think this is great, but does it look messy?
I tried that but with everything in non uniform sizes watering was hard to keep up with.
@@maecarpenter6735 How are you using light bulbs?
Thanks Dan, what a great idea, I’m a landscaper and have been recycling everything that I can that I come in contact with everyday. All my clippings from my jobs and from home go into my raised “recycling bed”. The area of that bed is producing the most beautiful black composted soil. I also put coffee grounds, potato skins, apple cores, orange peels, pop corn kernels, etc, etc. Anything organic that can be broken down. Egg shells are another great thing. Sorry so long, anyways happy composting everyone!
My husband teases me for bringing home compostable material when we're on vacation (only when we drive) but my garden is going gang busters w/ compost & rabbit poo from pet rabbits.
Thanks for sharing JV. I also watch lawn care videos on YT 🙃 and always wondered if those landscapers realised what 'black-gold' mines they're sitting on with all the clippings, etc. Now I know, some do...
@@chrishearn9790That's me, too! I can't resist the urge to collect things and forever experimenting 😅
I would be careful about using clippings from commercial lawns in a home garden because of likelihood of pesticides and herbicide that could prove to be toxic.
We use a kiddie pool as a compost. I think that kitty pool sometimes eats better than I do with 2 full sized refrigerators
Only adjustment I would make : Don't wrap the bottom the the box with chicken wire. leave it open to the top. Because end of season, you can remove it easier, and leave the soil in place. the cardboard should break down and add to the soil. Plus the excess chicken wire on top could act as a trellis for peas or tomatoes. Great video.
You might want the bottom covered with wire if you have problems with burrowing rodents - like the ever popular pocket gopher that eat roots - but only the roots of desirable plants. NEVER the roots of the Canada Thistle :(
Good thoughts, but alternatively, the chicken wire on the bottom should keep out critters, no?
Moles
You have to remove the tape for it does degrade.
@@learnshareevolve1842 Yes indeed, it will keep out moles, voles etc...
I’ve been gardening for a decade and this year I’ve finally decided to package and sell my dried herbs and spice mixes. So I’ve been looking for the most cost effective techniques this winter and you have absolutely just changed my entire world with this technique 🙏 I live in upstate NY and our soil is full of rocks, but the cost of lumber has made it so I had to switch to container growing last year instead of building a bed at my new house. I’m so excited to try this 🔥
Hi! I just came across this video, what perfect timing!! Even more, what a perfect idea!!! My 75yr old husband, my 82yr old mother and my 65yr old self have just moved on to a 6ac parcel in the Ozarks. We decided it was now or never. We want to grow our own food, collect our water, raise chickens for eggs and a meat source, perhaps a hog or two. We are doing this in our Social Security and on our own. I was getting disheartened at the costs associated with gardening. Then l stumbled onto this gem of a video. Thank yoy, thank you for this wonderful idea. You now have another subscriber!
BOXES check at local dollar stores or other big box stores.
Good for you!!! Here's to a bountiful harvest!!! Never too late to start something new!!!
Posting your name, ages of your household and your location....come on ma'am.
I love the fact that you didn’t let money stand in your way to begin your garden. Such a great and unique way to build a planting box/raised bed. I think a lot of people will benefit from your ideas and get their imaginations flowing. Worked for me!
Love this idea! I think I might make 'the walls' of the box-bed thicker by nesting various boxes into each other ('Babushka Doll' style) before covering the outer box in wire. My red-wiggler worms are gonna love living in between the walls of cardboard!
Matryoshka doll hahaha but yes your idea is very smart
@Irene B I have 3 boxes made up and planted some potato’s that sprouted in my refrigerator. So far all of them came up. Now about 3” high. I plan on putting my leftover pepper seedlings in individual boxes. I did what you mentioned and lined my boxes with additional boxes, so far so good. The proof will come at harvest. Fun experiment😎🌽🥒🥬🍆
That's a great idea!
@@plantabundance
So you can replant greens straight from the stem or my eyes are deceiving me. I'm Loving your channel 🙏❤️
I bought into the commercialized “gardening” path because I thought I needed it. It’s so much easier than people think and this is a great video to showcase that!
I loved it. Getting older, I've been planting in cattle mineral large tubs, but always need places to grow more garden.
In this strange world, I believe we will need to grow and preserve as much as possible. The prices of all food is going up and up. When we grow our own veg and fruits, we know how they were grown with no pesticides on them. Better for our food health.
LET'S ALL GET GROWING ASAP. BLESSINGS
Yes!!
@@norxgirl1 My neighbor and his brother have cattle. The minerals for them come in large tubs. When they're empty, the farmers don't use them.
You can find them on facebook marketplace.
BLESSINGS
Wish I could have chickens, but I'm in a city area
@@artemishunter8993 You could have quail. They're small, quiet and can be put in a cage in the garage. They give small eggs and you can eat them.
@@artemishunter8993 many cities allow hens....
My son has a restaurant and throws away tons of 5 gallon buckets all the time. I have used them for growing vegetables.
I like this idea of the cardboard bed. Previously have used flattened boxes just as a weed suppressor.
seems wasteful. I buy and resell buckets and double my money.
I brewed beer in mine.
Oh that's sad! Tell him he needs to come up with a more eco friendly solution!
Take all his buckets and share them with fellow gardeners in your area.
Smart on buckets. Bakery uses all different sizes too.
My granny ,Lizzie Carter, loved red Bliss potatoes. But she hated digging them out of Georgia Clay. Once you disturb the potato plant when it was planted in clay it's life is over. She wanted to extend the life of it because she loved potatoes. So, on her own she built a raised bed with two things, cinder blocks and sawdust. She stacked two high cinder blocks on a offset stack. She filled it with sawdust to the top. She used regular water to water them but then she would also use plant food diluted. I think once or twice a week. She did a 5 ft by 10 ft bed of red Bliss potatoes. She sent me out there when they were coming into harvest. I took a claw, a hand tool, and disturb the top because it would solidify and then move everything back cuz underneath it was fluffy. I came in on the side and start harvesting very gently the potatoes and they yielded three times their normal yield. 🤣🤣🤣🤣. She was in her 70s these when she did it. That was in the 1970s. I never knew a woman that loved potatoes so much. Necessity is the mother of invention. 😁😇🤣🤣
I am so grateful to you for sharing this brilliant idea. It’s just what needed. My refrigerator died a few days before finding your video and when they delivered the new one , I was more excited about the gigantic box than the fridge lol.. i cut the box in half which gives me 2 planters measuring 34”x34”x36”.
Joy!! I want you to know that you make my gardening journey a lot easier, enjoyable and affordable.
May you be blessed for your generous list of informative videos....
hilarious :)
And for extra bang for the buck, we can always stack smaller boxes on big ones and build a garden tower! I have this spot in my backyard - it gets tons of sunlight and is protected from wind. But nothing except grass and weeds can grow there, because underneath thin layer of soil there is old foundations from old demolished building. Concrete is so hard it was impossible to break it even with jackhammer, so we had to just cover it. Hell, if the summer is hot, even grass dies there. Now i know what i will try to make use of this spot :) Thank you for this excellent idea!
Building a garden tower is a great idea!!
@@dogslobbergardens6606 I'm not planning to build anything excessive. Two levels tops, with a smaller container on top for in-place composting and worm feeding. Boxes don't have to be particularly high too - just enough for stuff like carrots, parsley, some leeks and celery. Maybe cherry tomatoes and herbs. If i run out of space, i can always build second tower.
@@FrikInCasualMode if you put some large PVC pipes throughout the bed, you can use them as supports AND for the worm tower areas to drop in kitchen waste. You can make or tops for the PVC with upside down cans with a piece of wood in the bottom to allow airflow, which can also be used as watering holes that will take the nutrient rich castings into the beds. Just be sure to drill many large holes along the lower half of the pipe. It will help keep vermin from getting to the kitchen waste too.
@@marlenen6130 So not sure I followed that exactly... wish you could show me a pic or diagram... i am new to this and want to start a few boxes outside of my lanai here in Florida. I didn’t get how the pvc would be helpful? I know some people use pvc as a watering system.
@@anncolburn3722 if you look up PVC worm tower, you’ll find videos on different ways to make them, but basically you want 6”-8” diameter PVC cut into 2’-4’ length, drill 1/4”-1/2” holes randomly along the bottom 1/3 of PVC, then bury most of it (straight up) into the soil, be sure to cover the holes. You want airflow into the top of the pipe so you can screw a small block of wood to a large can that can keep it from closing off all airflow, but the can needs to be long enough to not fly off in the wind. This will keep vermin from going into the pipe. You can just take the lid/can/cap off to put in kitchen scrapes to attract worms to the garden bed. Occasionally stop feeding it or move to a different location to avoid pests and to give it time to feed your plants. You can water in the hole at times to disperse the castings nutrients. The PVC would be strong enough at the corners to hold up cattle panels, just zip-tie the panels to the PVC pipes as if they were long garden stakes, but easier to just use metal garden stakes for strength and PVC for worm towers in the garden beds. You could even bury one of those plastic milk cartons in the garden bed and make a lid for it and use that as an in-ground worm farm. You should always add shredded paper, cardboard or dried leaves when you add kitchen scraps too, or it will get rancid.
I’ve been wanting a raised garden for a few years now. I’ve not done it because of the cost and labor to build the planters. I’m so excited now. I even rescued the two cardboard boxes I put out front for anyone to take. TY TY TY TY
Getting ready to teach grandkids about growing your own food. Wanted to do raised beds, but too expensive. Since we just moved into this house, there are plenty of packing boxes waiting to be recycled. Perfect for our purpose. Grandson wants to grow potatoes. This just went from possibility to reality. Thanks. I subscribed so I’ll be sure to get all your videos.
Buckets are cheap too. Contact a Burger King for pickle buckets. Any fast food or bakery. Hope this helps. Good to teach em skills. Grandma Kearney sent mason jars home every visit. Depression Children. Perhaps start with a you tube video on that. Will scare the hell out of them in a good way.
A potato tower is even more efficient.
Yes! SO, so discouraging. I even began growing inside & foolishly believed it wouldn't be too difficult to get up & running 🥺. I feel better now, though. Best of luck!!!
- SWEET POTATOES ARE PERENNIALS, & REQUIRE LITTLE TO NO SPECIAL CARE, & THEIR LEAVES ARE VERY NUTRITIOUS LIKE SPINACH…!!!
CHIVES CAN GROW ANYWHERE THERE IS SUN.
ALWAYS PLANT YOUR CUT VEGGIE ENDS - THEY WILL REPRODUCE GIVEN WATER , & SUNSHINE ..!!
So many ways to grow potatoes for your grandkids to experiment with! Boxes, old laundry baskets, raised beds, in ground, old totes with holes in them.....
Genius!
Has to be the next "big thing" among backyard gardeners. If not, it should be. Boxes can degrade into the soil and in these times theres an endless supply.
Great video.
Thanks for sharing.
If you let the excess wire extend over the top of the box it can be a great cat deterrent from them thinking it's an outdoor litter box. Just drape an extra piece of wire across the top until plants fill in.
Just cut the top wire and push the sharp points back to a 45° angle. It will help keep squirrels out.
It has been challenging to keep the cats and squirrels out. Thanks so much, Katherine B and Shanon Allen!
That’s why we have Pyrenees
Having it over the top might help with our deer problem too, maybe also attaching a "lid." Watch out for sharp ends that might poke you when gardening or harvesting though!
i've seen the recommendation of using tule fabric to deter things with tiny claws like rabbits, mice, and birds. it's super cheap on amazon and comes in lots of nice colors.
My 24 instant raised beds are these 250 gallons big plastic bags that are used to deliver compost, builders sand, woodchips, etc. I backfold them once, then fold the ears back to the inside. Then I have to fill them with my mix. Takes only 15 minutes in total to get a 3 by 4 foot raised bed. Use them now for 7 years and then they still keep up, but the outside looks a bit wrinkled. The veggies don't mind. Hope this helps saving money. Most of these bags I got for free.
Where do you go to get those bags??
I would also be interested in finding out where to get those types of bags.
@@joyflores7307 Over here in Holland and also in Belgium they are very much used for delivering. The free ones I also got from my nephew who is a builder. New ones I did order on the internet at sellers who advertize with packaging materials.
@@lisaalbarras3029 See my remark to Joy
I have chickens, goats and horses, lots of fed bags. feed now comes in plastic bag. lf you know some one who has horses I am sure they would give you the empty bags I am gonna try this. I am almost 84, still going!!!
So excited about this idea. We are in the middle of a 2600 mile relocation. So having to start completely over from scratch on raised beds. And our new property is known to have clay and rock. So raised beds are going to be essential.
This will make it so easy and inexpensive. Makes me excited to get started rather than dreading. We are moving to an area that rains year around. Neighbors say you may need to water 2x during an entire growing season.....so even more exciting....no money and endless work on irrigation systems. Not to mention giant water bill. Growing in our new place is going to be cake!!!
WOW, this is pure genius! Thank you for this. We just moved and all our $ went into buying our new home - I've been trying to figure out how to do raised bed gardening without spending a fortune and this is a perfect solution. I've still got all the boxes we used for moving. My hats' off to you, sir you're a very creative person. Will be watching other of your videos now, too. THANK YOU!!
I have had 25 raised beds for over 40 years. You don’t need wood or wire. Just dig the earth. Dig out pathways and throw the pathway soil on the beds to add some height. Easy
That is brilliant! I live on a very small farm in the middle of a forest with many many old growth trees. The ground is so much roots and rocks so really hard to dig. This is definitely going to start my spring garden and future gardens. Thanks so much!😊🙏
Oh man, enjoy those trees!
@@grovermartin6874 Trumpet vine...
And all those roots are going to love your compost and other added nutrients!
In a forest with free lumber you would use toxic cardboard to grow in ?
Hey Sandy: I live in the most harsh agro zone in turdo canuckstan, and forget growing anything of sq. footage here unless u get an excavator and take out those rok nuggets and large roots that GOD placed there and were not meant to be cultivated around easily. A few cardbord boxes may give u a few more tomatoes but i m a subsistance guy and corn, squash, potatoes, zuccini, et al need more space than a few lettuce plants in a cardbord box.
❤ 💖 ❣💖 ❤ Love this! This is like a mobile raised bed! This is awesome! All those Chewy boxes are perfect!
Another fun and space saver to do is to stand pallets on there side wrapped in cardboard and chicken wire for vertical gardening For things like spices and herbs. Then you fill the whole pallet with soil and pop a hole anywhere you want to plant. Good for all sorts of plants. And takes no space at all. And its cool to see a wall of edibles.
I didn't know how I was going to expand my garden this year, now I know 😁🐝🌱
At my Dollar Tree (Dollar store, Virginia, USA), our paper towels, napkins, and toilet paper come in boxes almost as tall as my hip. So, there's a sourcing option.
The most important is creating a piece of heaven on earth! I love my raised beds build from beautiful palettes found in construction dumpsters! My husband did a great job and I even painted! There is nothin more gratifying than going into your garden, no matter what size and grab the most delicious fresh herbs and greens, and all the treasure that you planted there, and cook for your family! Good luck everyone!
Sonia, sorry you have a husband! I would have liked to get to know you better.
@@geoffreyfoster8039 🤭
I use garden gloves most of the time in the yard work! Great idea for composting organic waste! You are an awesome gardener! Thanks!
I definitely found your channel for a reason. Yesterday I was scratching my head on how I can do raised beds, Ive recently moved and dont have a lot of spare cash, but I do have all the things you stated, so Im so chuffed I can start right away, thank yo so much!! You are a life saver!!
i'm 73 and kneeling is no longer an option so i use raised beds. we make them from old refrigerators and freezers. so far we have an aisle of four boxes with cattle panels arching over head and aluminet shade cloth because we are at 2500 feet in the desert. works great.
om goodness! I do the same thing and have for years. They work wonderfully and a dream on the back.. The ease in maintaining from this high up makes it a breeze.
Do you drill holes in the bottoms?
@@maecarpenter6735 yes you do
@@maecarpenter6735 yes that is what i did
yes, we drill holes, then we put pieces of wood in the bottom for hugelkultur effect, then soil.
My Grandfather, Father and I were all Sheetmetal workers. I can hear them from the grave saying, "there is the right tool for every job and that would be wire cutters." You chip the cutting edge of your tin snips over time. As always, Love your videos and the information that you and your wife give. God Bless.
Learn something new everyday, thanks.
@@frederickvanpelt6393 👍
Now this is viral content! A++
I planned a raised garden this last year, but when lumber shot up there was no way to afford it. Cardboard boxes are genius. I'm definitely going to be trying that this spring. Thank you for helping us deal with the crazy that's going on in the world and still be able to provide fresh grown produce for our families
Cardboard is crappy looking and toxic . Every day I see places giving away used pallets for free . Rough lumber for this purpose is free , chicken wire is not free and you would need a heavy Guage wire for it to hold wet cardboard
@@ohmikeodd yes, free pallets are very poor wood. The thought of the cardboard being toxic did run across my mind
@@ohmikeodd don' t forget the soil is holding it too and the roots of the plants .. eventually. And the weight of wood at the bottom.
Your wisdom and teaching is helping humanity, thank you!
Bless you!! I’ve got a huge yard to work solo. It’s been challenging trying to figure out how to make raised beds. I’m not confident (yet) with lumber and power tools. This is brilliant and keeps me doing my best to recycle AND use hugelkultur methods. Thank you so much! 🙏🏽❤️
Excellent
Thank you kindly! Once things begin taking shape in the garden the ideas will flow. With so many different ways to do things I hope you find what works best for your situation. Cheers!
Amazon sells corrugated raised beds I have 4 of them 2 feet tall. I love them there around $120.00each. Cheap compared to others
It’s 3 am where I am. I found this to be very informative, and entertaining . Thank you
Luckily I got 'waxed' cardboard from a florist I worked for. Used a heavy duty hand cardboard stapler to hold sides together. Unbelievably the sides held up 2 snowy winters as straw decomposed. Finally salvaged used decking boards for permanant sides. Veggies loved the straw!
Thank you for your loving kindness to share this information with me.
We have used many different items to make raised beds. Lots of recycled materials. From wood boards or metal sheets we have found that were thrown out on the side of the road. From pine trees we cut down on our property. Also to purchased cedar dog eared fence boards. The important thing is just try and you will learn many way that you can grown your own food. Great video.
Just checked out your last video using cedar dog eared fence boards. I love how easy they were to put together for not to much cost. Thanks for sharing.
Awsome Dan thank you for sharing great idea on raised bed gardens.
I learned so much from you in 11 minutes! Thanks for all the great info.
You've brought to mind a friend who used to do this. She used welded wire, big 4ft circles, lined with cardboard, filled with leaves from wooded areas nearby, then some soil. Planted potatoes first year. Worms were attracted, she'd end up with a huge bin of work castings after winter.
Subbed! Hope you have some other ideas for me!
What a great tip and idea, next time I’m at the feed store I’m going to pick up some chicken wire. I’m going to give this a try. Thanks for sharing the video
That is a great idea! We put funds into a nice greenhouse last spring and then had none leftover for beds! I wanted to stay away from lumber for so many reasons, but this fits the bill all around. I am excited to get some potato crops going ASAP!
What a terrific idea! So simple, so cheap, and so obvious. This is exactly what I need at this stage of my life. Now, I feel like I can keep the joy of gardening in my life for years to come. Thanks a million for this video! Well done, young man.
I love this video. Thank you for sharing this. So important to have low cost options as lumber costs continue to climb
My 1 question is why put the chicken wire on the bottom?
Hello Dan, all the way from India. Thank you so much for educating me about making inexpensive containers for my garden . Im going to start my work right away. Pl keep making such videos. God bless you!
I recycled my old box mattress, used old scrap wood that also came from my old bed to fortify the sides. Filled it up with some soil and lots of leaves. Soil is looking good. Another good idea for A cardboard box is to sprout seeds. I use a old Modelo, Pacifico or other bottled beer box. leave the cardboard insert that separates the bottles and fill it with soil. Then you can add your seeds and they can be pulled out easily as a separate plant. You can also add shrink wrap or a repurposed plastic cover from cupcakes or what have you. 🌱 To make a small green house.
Last year I bought some organic salad in a plastic box - when done, cleaned it with mild bleach water and used it to start my own salad for this winter - worked pretty good!
Improvising and recycling are a perfect pair. Way to go!!
Excellent idea thanks!
Ah, man, I just threw away two old twin box springs. I didn't even think about using the frames for a raised garden. smh
I have shared this unique cost saving idea 💡 with my family and friends !!!! Keep making gardening videos and I'll keep watching !!!! Thank you very much !!!!
ive just planted & saved 3 fruit trees by planting them in my raised bed garden. they werent doing well till then. youve just made me glad ive done it. its like im seeing my garden in 5 yrs.
this awesome idea is going to allow me to expand. thank you
do the roots from the trees grow through the box into the ground?
**If you start with a plastic bag of potting mix . Poke some holes in the bottoms cut the bag in half. And wrap with chicken wire. 🐔 . Raised bed. Later recycle the plastic.
2. In the cardboard box version. Could you add mushroom spore to the wood? Stack your harvest. And break down the wood.
Cheers
I ❤ this. I am always looking for more sunny spots to grow. This opens up possibilities where I can't actually put whole beds.
I had no idea you could simply root brassicas by sticking them in the soul!! Genius!! Thanks-I like the garden bed also!
You are a wonderful source of useful info, my friend. Thank you. And I am grateful for the cadence in your voice. So many other people doing gardening channels have voices that are not calming and gentle. Your voice is timbered in such a way that I can actually listen without the hair raising on the back of my neck. It's a true gift.
Hey, that's what I did in September, because I was way behind in prepping the garden for the new season due to home renovations. I also wanted to see how much I can cram into a mini garden. I got chip boxes from the grocery store as they were packing their shelves, each measuring 90cm x 60cm x 30cm. I squeezed 15 of them in behind the toolshed, right next to each other; 8 (2x4), on the right and 7 (single boxes next to each other) on the left - the two seperated by a 30cm pathway. Fortunately, I had access to enough compost and I used old skirting boards and tile offcuts inbetween the boxes, with bricks on the parameter, instead of chicken wire. It worked perfectly, even when the boxes started to disintegrate after all the rain we've had. I managed to plant garlic, onion, spring onion, spinach, zucchini, tomatoes, peppers, a variety of chillies, green beans, carrots, mixed herbs, butternut (trailing up the back fence), with a few marigolds. This I rounded off with a tower of 3 used SUV tires filled with potatoes and two brinjal plants behind it. Just using boxes, works a treat with very little (some seed, fertiliser and bonemeal), to no money spent on set up costs. I also experimented with planting kitchen offcuts (all the onion varieties, garlic, coriander, potatoes, butternut and cherry tomatoes were started this way). It works! Using boxes as raised beds and kitchen offcuts as seeds... I'm really chuffed with myself and the outcome of these experiments. Oh, it seems like my cauliflower, cabbage and broccoli from offcuts are also going to be successful. 😍
Yay! Sounds like you had fun and lots of good results....what will it look like in a few months? I’m guessing you will have it packed ...
@@TrickleCreekFarm 😅 You've said it! With all the vigorous growth, things started competing for space! I've had to move or gift some of the plants. Fortunately, with some help, the rest of the garden has now been sorted out.
Brilliant idea , as I’m at the start of planning to move house which will mean leaving all my raised beds behind, I intend growing some veg in pots this year so I can move them , but planning new raised beds and building them was a concern, so thank you so much for solving that for me .
I'm in the same boat. Had planned on building a raised bed but don't want to invest in expensive lumber that we can't take with us. Just hope that I can have a garden box when we move. I would be willing to shovel the lovely soil that will be in that box from my first hugelkutur experience.
Everybody can have a raised bed garden, it's a great idea, thanks!! I could always fit some of those amazon boxes in my garden anywhere. They would great for planting mint and flowers. 👩🏽🌾👍🏽🙏🏽🧡💖
I have some very steep slopes (about 50%) and have already put a fine mesh fence at the base so that I can have some chance of raising beds. But I knew it wouldn’t be enough - that all the compost and mulch would wash towards the fence and eventually the fence would fail. This method in combination with my fence gives me one more piece of the puzzle. I might use some fallen logs between the cardboard pot plants to help hold it all in place. Thanks!
One thing I did similar to this was just to buy cardboard boxes that were 30 inches wide, 10 inches deep and 12 inches long. Fill them half full of your soil mixes, put 2 seed potatoes in each one, and line them up and basically make a 30 inch bed at 50 ft long (50 boxes). You then mound up the potatoes by filling the boxes, and by the time the potatoes are ready, the grass that was underneath the boxes is dead, you lift up the boxes ( the bottom will be degraded), and you have a perfect 50ft by 30 inch mounded bed without having to worry about the grass. The boxes cost very little (less than $1 each), and having them uniform size makes it easy to make a nice bed.
I love this idea! The only thing that sucks is that I live on a busy road so it's going to look ugly for people driving by to see all my cardboard boxes lined up 😅
@@rubylace9963
I don't think that would be ugly. It's all cardboard, so looks uniformly neat. And, I think, as time goes by, you might figure a way to dress it up with a nice roll of fencing. I plan on doing that myself. Good luck.
If there is a will, there is a way ! You are one smart gardener Dan ! Thank you for keeping us informed 💚
Beautiful! My mother-in-law bought a house she'll be in for a year, this is a great, cheap way to give her some growth in her garden and revitalize the soil.
This is so so great when needing a low cost planter box ... thank you
❤🕊
Hi, I'm a recent viewer from UK. I'm planning to re-start my garden, my old raised beds have disintegrated and the price to replace is crazy....the boxes and chicken wire idea is fabulous. I'm not starting yet, it's too wet here in uk....love your channel.
Great suggestion! I am making this! We actually have the supplies! Lol!
Awesome idea for all those boxes. Saves me money on buying more planters. I've been wanting to do a raised garden to save my back, this is perfect. Thank you!
Absolutely fantastic. I remember 50 years ago in England when I had a BIG garden, I made some beds like that for specific vegetables and also turned the whole garden to fruit and vegetables. There's nothing like the 40 minute meal, harvesting the vegetables, then washing, preparing, and cooking, then eating a full meal with the most incredible fresh taste in 40 minutes. Everyone should try growing their own and experience not just the incredible taste, but also the health benefits too. A great great video...!
I'd love to know more about the 40 minute meal. I want to plant a food garden. My husband & brother tried to plant a garden last year. It didn't do too well. I bought 6×10 feet of chicken wire for fencing. I wanted to use the entire 10 feet for an enclosure. They cut it smaller. They didn't amend my red soil, just loosened it up. I tried to tell them I had watched lots of videos on gardening. They wouldn't listen. I have limited mobility but might do better, as I heal, with raised beds. I love your comment here and would appreciate any advice. I want to eat fresh fruits & vegetables from my own garden, for delicious food, as you describe, and for my healing. Thank you.
Made a couple of beds last year for this year's season and used 2-year old wood chips to raise the beds. We will have to try the cardboard idea next time.
What a great idea! Perfect for me. Keep getting boxes in the mail, which are usually way too big for what is inside, plenty of old chicken wire, 100 year old trees that keep shedding dead branches, plus trimming for much newer trees that I keep accumulation (in case I ever need to use my rocket stove). First a composting box, then a planting raised bed, and less stuff that's too good to throw out! I'm ready to get started if all those feets of snow start melting (were it not for those -27 degrees F, that we are having lately). I can wait.
Gardening just became fun again. Thank you so much. Be blessed
I have been gardening for fifty and its true what they say you learn something new every day, cuttings of brasica,s, thank you so much and I love your show.
YOU ARE A GENIUS!!! I've had to switch everything to container due to salt water intrusion from king tides. ( most unusual) on social security... this is blessing. Thank you and God bless!!!!!!❤💜🧡👍🙏
I love the simplicity of it. Great job.
I love working in the ground but I'm 83 and had a stroke 22 yrs ago so can't get down ,saw this idea and am going to buy reber 3 ft and 2 ft wide chicken wire . I plan beds 10 ft by 4 ft. Should work great oh plus line with cardboard. My daughter has 50 acres and organic soil and lots of trees to get dead wood to start with. We're going to have a blast .thanks for the idea.
The only other thing comparable is free pallets. The best of this is the removing the structure and creating the pathways when the right time comes. What a wonderful idea.
Wow what a great idea! I love this because the cardboard is compostable too! My current raised beds are very shallow, it was an insane amount of work driving around to find skids, rip them apart, and rebuild them into beds. I’m probably moving before spring and can’t take them as they’re frozen in snow now! Instead I’ll be repurposing my moving boxes for my new garden!! Thanks so much.
WOW. I'm doing this! It's been so hard getting started on my wooden raised beds since we moved. I think this is definitely a good motivator. And I love the hugelkulture component as well. You're the man!
Excellent idea. I like that it can be pretty temporary or permanent I love how you have your pathways and plantings laid out.
Thanks so much, Dan! I'm planning on making some new beds in my orchard, which is on a slope on very sandy soil. I already use cardboard to define beds and suppress weeds, so I can change my mind if I want to. I'm lucky to have a local publican who delivers as many cardboard boxes as I want, but using chook wire to stabilise it is brilliant. Have a groovy day, from a new subscriber in Tasmania, Australia.
Wow!!! I've been looking for ideas for a raised garden come the Spring!
I have 2 quite large dogs. They eat ALOT! I have subscribed to an online company for their vittles, and I got broken down cardboard boxes coming out of my ears. I do lay some on the ground in the fall to keep down weeds. I lay them in a semi-compost bin, and the rest I toss.
I'll have to put this on my list of things for the not too distant future! Great idea!
This is brilliant! I’ve used cardboard boxes as temporary raised beds before, actually cut the tape off the bottom and pushed those pieces up before I turned down the top pieces to reinforce the sides and leave the bottom open to the ground, has survived 3 full years now in wet AL. This is even better-anyone with vole issues should be able to plant without fear with the addition of the chicken wire on bottom and sides! I’ll be using this method-thank you for sharing!
@@grovermartin6874 I have five and a half acres worth of gophers! Ha! They have pretty much ruined my in-ground gardening life. I'm mostly raised beds now. For the plants that I do have in the ground I use the Aviary wire...but it needs to be replaced every 2 to 3 years.
that was my question before I even watched the vid- how long would the cardboard last? Would I be replacing this huge amount of soil into new structures every year, etc... Thanks for letting us know we could get at least 3 from the set-up.
@@catherines4202 yes- called hardware cloth. Has varying size square holes and is also much stiffer than the chicken wire. Tunneling stuff can sometimes be thwarted by getting 24" and folding in half in an "L" and putting outside the box on the ground since most critters are too stupid to back up and dig- they just try digging at the corner and can't get in. can even mow right over it and grass grows up and hides it. use lawn staples to hold it down... hope that works for you!
Greatcidea about folding the bottom up!! Thank you
We have a problem with voles, too. This is brilliant. Can’t wait to start it!
Woohoo 1 million views 💗.
You have helped that many people. You're awesome👍 What a wonderfully cheap idea 💡. Thank you so much 🙏
Great idea! If you get giant boxes, remember to pull those giant staples. A rusty poke on a leg or the hand later on won't be too pleasant. Great idea though!
I had an idea of using boxes on top of no dig beds, with the bottoms folded open to grow potatoes and carrots (things that require digging to harvest basically) no chicken wire, and at the end of the growing season just lifting the box and spreading the contents, and if its not broken down enough to just incorporate go toss it in the compost pile, you didn't dig your bed, you got your harvest, and added new soil for next year all at ounce, with potatoes especially since they like really fresh and at times not quite 'finished' compost you can have fully finished compost added to the bed and fresh potatoes all at once.
Absolutely awesome!! I tried using just the box for a raised garden, but it was a rainy summer & the box left too soon! 🙄
Wow! What a great, useful idea. 😄 Thanks for expanding my gardening capabilities. I’m planting in what is essentially clay, and this gives me a workable method of quickly converting patches into usable grow spaces that will eventually transform the ecology. Worms love the cardboard, too. 👍🏻
I’m moving to a new home and have been trying to figure out an economical way to do raised beds. This is brilliant. Thank you!
Thank you, thank you, thank you Thank You! For years I have been trying to figure out how to build a raised bed garden (hip and back issues from a car accident, prohibit me from doing anything at ground level) on very, very little money, and I have been really struggling on how to build the structures becsuse of the costs and keep small burrowing rodents out. I've been growing everything in plastic bins or baby pools. However even a dozen or more of those can be expensive, plus...plastic. 😖
I will spend the next couple months coverting each piece into a cardboard & chicken wire raised beds, which ultimately must be so much more healthy for the plants and me. So...thank you. Now...I'm going to go watch your video on how you plotted out your garden. I am certain I will get a ton of good ideas! 🥰
You are a blessing to me with this information. I am creative in certain areas, love gardning and working with my hands. So practical, purposeful and fits in my budget.
Praying for your hips and legs
Jesus Christ saves. 💜
I love this. I might try this but add some logs under the soil to build a more structured hugelkultur bed. Great video!
That´s a brilliant idea !!! Thank you very much for sharing it with us !!! I send you back the best soul energy and as many blessings as you can take !!!
Thanks again !!!
Cooolest raised bed idea ever! We have chicken wire and cardboard boxes a plenty…I wil be making these all along the side of the house where I want my medicinal herb garden!
How clever are you. I will certainly try this around the edges of my garden. Thanks for sharing this wonderful idea.
Excellent idea, Thank you. I was thinking that the extra wire could protect the plants from chickens or larger rodents if you put the surplus at the top. At the bottom though, it would prevent rats from digging up through to the veggies. I will look for the taller chicken wire so that I can utilize it top. and bottom, and start with a shorter box.
I’ve been watching lots of gardening videos to prepare for a new garden area and yours is the best idea I’ve seen. So excited to give this a try! Thank you 😊
I love this! Thanks! I’m starting a raised bed garden in a new location and will definitely use this.
I live in the city and often find inexpensive bookcases in the alley. I take them home. Set flat on the ground they make excellent raised beds.