How to set up a plastic raised garden bed for growing vegetables?

[mccude]

I have purchased a plastic raised garden bed from Bunnings and want some advice on how to set it up for growing vegetables. I also purchased  a 50L bag of garden soil and a bag of special potting mix for vegetables. Do I drill holes in the bottom of it for better drainage? What should I place on the bottom before I add the soil and potting mix? I have sugar cane mulch. Can I place that around the tomato and lettuces that I plan to plant ? Debbie

 

 

 

[MitchellMc]

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @mccude. It's wonderful to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about setting up a raised garden bed.

Do the legs of that garden bed have holes in them where they touch the ground? You might like to check out this discussion on a similar raised garden bed: Do you need drainage holes in a plastic garden bed on legs? From my colleague's description, it appears that the water is designed to be retained in the base and excess flows over into the legs and drains away. If this were the case, I'd expect holes in the legs' bottom. Adding additional holes in the bottom of the raised section is possible, but it will negate the self-watering feature of the bed.
 

If you did drill holes in the base, adding some weed matting over the holes will prevent the potting mix from falling out through them.

Adding Sugar cane around your veggies is an excellent way to retain moisture and prevent the soil from drying out.

You might like to check out this step-by-step guide: How to fill a raised garden bed. We also have a Best Advice article on How do you fill a raised garden bed?

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell
 

[dgmills53]

Hi Mitchell... as you said.. the legs are hollow, i was wondering

1. how you stop them from filling up with soil etc

2. Do you think it is ok to drill a water drain hole in the leg a lil way up from the bottom.

Thankyou for your help

[MitchellMc]

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @dgmills53. It's great to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about filling a raised garden bed.

Did you have a particular concern about the legs being filled up? Obviously, there is some wastage of soil, but I can't think why the legs being filled would cause an issue. You could fill them with gravel, or lining the base with weed matting could prevent soil from filling the legs.

Drilling a hole in the legs would be fine, and if the bed receives rainwater, I'd certainly suggest adding a few holes in each leg.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell
 

[dgmills53]

Ty very much.. my concern was that it may hinder the excess water getting out as i have it sitting on flat pavers hense the 2nd question

Tyvm

[MitchellMc]

I think if you pop a couple of holes in each leg, that will allow the water to drain sufficiently even with the leg filled with soil @dgmills53.

Mitchell