I’m finally trying out raised beds, made of galvanized metal, to elevate my vegetable gardening options. Over recent years, my vegetable and herb container gardening has been growing. Literally! I started out with a few pots on the deck, then it expanded to several large containers in my driveway. Last year, I integrated veggies and herbs in my flower beds and heavily pruned out a spot in the shrubbery of my back foundation area.

I’ve had some success, but it wasn’t really working for me. I just wanted some raised beds. But I wasn’t sure how to go about it until I discovered the modern-yet-vintage style of corrugated metal raised beds at my friends’ house. I immediately fell in love with them.

I didn’t want to deal with digging up the lawn to install wooden raised beds or having to hire someone to build them for me. I’m independent with my gardening projects. And that’s as far as my thinking went once I decided to get some metal raised beds. I wasn’t sure how I’d fill them. Or what I’d plant in them. I knew I’d figure that out later!

Garden Solution to a Troublesome Yard

By the end of last summer, I found the perfect-sized raised bed kits and planned to squeeze two into foundation beds. There was really no other available gardening space in my yard.

Believe me, my yard has its share of issues when it comes to growing vegetables. It slopes downward and the only level spot at the bottom of our lot is full shade. In fact, I had a garden in the level area and it made me happy for many years. I even had a thriving asparagus patch. But that all came to nil when the trees’ limbs branched out over the garden, eliminating sufficient sunlight to grow veggies.

Reasons to Try Galvanized Metal Beds

Below I list the top-six reasons why these raised beds are an attractive option for hobby gardeners like me:

• DIY Friendly
• All sizes for all spaces
• Affordable
• Pick your soil
• Aesthetically pleasing
• Long lasting and highly rated

Building the Beds

I picked out two different raised bed kits, produced by Land Guard: a 4x2x1-foot oblong and a 2x2x1-foot round. I selected them to use along the foundation in the side and back of the house. I knew they’d be a tight fit, but would work. Before you invest, shop around, you’ll find the sizes you need. Besides Amazon, you can find them at your local Lowe’s, Home Depot and other outlets.

I never really thought much about building them until sat down to do it. I assumed I would be able to put them together by myself, which I did. And after I built the first one, I was a pro at the second – and then a third! I ordered and additional oblong once I realized I had room for a second. Yay!

If you’re worried they’ll be too hard to put together, don’t be! It’s basically aligning the sheets of metal and screwing together a bunch of nuts and bolts. The bigger the bed, the more you have to put together. I did the first one in about 45 minutes, and the additional ones in record time. Once you get the first one done, you’ll be a pro!

Once you build them, place them on the site to see how they’ll fit before prepping the soil.

Stylish in a Variety of Sizes, Shapes and Colors!

I love the industrial chic look and they come in all shapes, colors and sizes. I opted for the traditional silver with rounded corners. They also come in square and rectangle shapes. Besides the silver I chose, they come in various hues from gray, green, beige, brown and blue. I have my eye on fun sage number for my front flower bed. Maybe next year!

What to Fill the Beds With?

I didn’t really think much about what I’d fill them with until my sister-in-law asked me about it. She told me to look up hügelkultur, a process using organic materials (such as logs, twigs, leaves, grass clippings, kitchen scraps) that would decompose and compost while your garden is growing. (Check out what TV home improvement expert Bob Vila says about it).

This method got me intrigued and I starting researching options for using the hügelkultur method in raised beds. After doing a lot of online research, I consider my beds to be a combination of hügelkultur and lasagna gardening. Read this Gardening Channel post for an overview.

I started out by working the native soil where the beds would be placed. I softened up the soil and removed the roots and weeds.

I then laid out a layer of cardboard to place the raised beds to help kill off any weeds I may have missed. I thought this was a good idea for the first growing season as the cardboard will compost naturally (plus I covered it with mulch when I finished). Then I started the layering process, starting out with the hügelkultur process with small branches.

I then added in partially decomposed leaves from last fall along with kitchen scraps (chopped watermelon rinds and egg shells).

Next, I added in: manure, top soil, peat moss, garden soil and Miracle-Gro Potting Mix.

I’m not sure others would agree on my choice of using an outdoor potting mix as the top layer, but I’ve had great success using in my vegetable containers over the years and Bob Vila recommends the brand I use for raised beds. My end-of-the-season plan is to mix the layer of potting mix and other soils with organic materials (such as leaves and manure) to compost over the winter.

Good Value, Long Lasting 

The raised beds I ordered are a good value. At the time of publishing this post, the 4x2x1-foot oblong was priced at $45 and the 2x2x1-foot round $39. Of course, the bigger the beds, the more expensive they are.

From my research, it appears that metal beds should last about 20 years or longer compared to cedar beds, which Bob Vila says has a 10-year lifespan. Here’s a review by Popular Mechanics on 9 top rated metal raised beds, and the Land Guard brand is rated number one.

Picking the Plants

The size and depth, along with sunlight and your personal preferences will dictate what you plant in your beds. Before I ordered my beds, I read through all the reviews to see what folks were using them for and found most were growing veggies and herbs, just like I planned to do. I likely overfilled them with my first-year enthusiasm, but I plan to encourage the plants to grow upright

Oblong Beds: In the one closest to the foundation, I picked out zucchini, summer squash and pickling cukes plants. I plan to train them to grow vertically on poles and trellises.

For the second, I selected a Celebrity tomato, Japanese and tradition eggplant, along with dill, parsley and basil (from seeds).

Round Bed: Nestled among boxwood and euonymus shrubs, I planted a Sweet 100 Tomato plant in my 2×2-foot bed, giving it extra space to spread. It’s already starting to bear fruit.

Behind it, because there was some extra space, I squeezed in a large pot with Sungold tomatoes to climb the trellis along the foundation wall.

DIY Name Tags for Plants

I save corks to use in projects and every year, I make new ones for all my containers. You just need corks, a Sharpie and 12-inch skewers. Simply write the name on the cork lengthwise and spear and twist the pointed end of the skewer into the cork.

Now that my raised beds are planted, I just need to be patient to watch and wait. My fingers are crossed I’ll be blessed with a green thumb and made wise plant choices. I hope to be sharing more with you about my veggies and herbs as the summer unwinds. I wish all my gardening peeps a fruitful and fun growing season.

Hands-in-the-dirt enthusiast? Check out all my gardening blog posts!

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