Raised flower bed?

I haven%26#039;t a sufficient amount of soil or dirt before it hits concrete so I wanted to do a raised flower bed. I have no clue what I%26#039;m doing. Do I need to lay out rocks along the bottom, or is it fine to put the soil on the ground? Any suggestions for a retaining wall? Materials? Any input would be alot of help %26amp; appreciated.

Raised flower bed?
If I am reading your question correctly, you have some soil on top of old concrete. You would be fine to place the new soil on top of the existing dirt. I would till it or at the least, remove any sod before you add the soil. As far as material, I used landscape concrete retaining wall blocks to build mine. Should you ever decide to use your planting bed for some vegetables, there would be no issues with any chemical leaching from the treated timbers. The block also give you a nice ledge to sit on while tilling your soil.





E-mail me if you would be interested in some photos.
Reply:As long as there is a few inches of dirt under the bed I don%26#039;t think you will have a drainage problem. I made a flower box out of 2x12s. On the inside I stapled black plastic sheeting. I left the plastic a couple of inches longer so it blocked the cracks where the box meets the ground. I didn%26#039;t use rocks or anything else because boxes dry out really fast. As for the retaining wall, dry stacked rock looks good but may not work well if it is a tall wall. For a tall wall, railroad ties and re-bar would probably be your best bet.
Reply:Yes you will need a small drainage system and


felt or landscape fabric for backing this not only


works as a weed barrier, but it will also keep the


soil from pushing through your wall.





I see these guys are suggesting wood, but wood


rots and it will only keep a solid form for a couple of


years, why waste money on something that will not last?





Boulders or large cobblestone will look excellent next to


almost any house exterior, plus they look natural and they


last unlike the wood or even the poured concrete blocks


you can buy at home depots (those are made w/ a low


mix of concrete and don%26#039;t usually last past 4 yrs).





Don%26#039;t forget to bury about 4 - 6%26quot; of whatever you use to


have a solid footing and if you do use boulders it will make


it look more natural with a part of the rock in the ground.
Reply:Use prressure treated wood to create the sides of the bed. Since you have concrete below I would go at least 12-16 inches high on that. Plus I would put a light layer of pea gravel down before the soil. Now with that in mind-try not planting anything that is going to need really deep root systems. This way with the wood sides, if you change your mind later and don%26#039;t want the beds-you can easily knowck out he sides. You know you can also use really large plastic tubs. Those with the rope handles work well, and I have seen K-mart put them on sale for $5. Good luck.
Reply:A drainage system such as gravel would do fine, if your going to use railway sleepers to form your walls drill holes on one side at the bottom, if your going to use bricks leave little gaps on the bottom course to allow drainage.





I find that railway sleepers are the best materials to use as you can cut and trim them up to fit, you will need to support them with steel rods to strengthen the structure.





Dont forget to line the inside with a waterproof membrane to stop the wood rotting or the bricks getting damp.



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