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Raised Bed Material Analysis
| Material | Cost per Foot | Pros | Cons |
| Hand Built Raised Beds (beveled edges) | 0 | No cost, no installation required | Must be rebuilt each year, no containment |
| Untreated Pine | $1.10 / 2"x8"x16' |
Inexpensive, boards are 2" thick | Requires some carpentry skills, wood rot and insect attack. Last 3-4 years. |
| Hardie backer cementatious board panel | $0.79 / 3/8"x3'x5' |
Inexpensive, will not rot, no insect damage, lasts for years. Boards are 3/8" thick. | Requires some carpentry skills, material is brittle, needs to be cut into narrower lengths from larger panel, needs extra support. |
| Pressure treated lumber | $1.25 / 2"x8"x12' |
Inexpensive, resists rot and insects for years. Boards are 2" thick. | Requires some carpentry skills, classified as a group 1 human carcinogen. |
| Concrete blocks | $1.20 / 8"x 8"x16" |
Cost is reasonable, will never rot or decay, easy installation by anyone | Blocks get very hot in summer sun, transmitting heat to plants and humans alike, additional cost to fill cores with soil. Blocks are 8" wide. |
| Natural cedar | $2.84 / 2"x 8"x16" |
Rot and insect resistant, boards are 2" wide | Expensive and requires some carpentry skills. |
| Oldcastle Planter wall blocks (Lowes) |
$3.38ea. / 8"x 6"x8" |
Blocks to fit each corner with planks any length up to 2" thick for raised beds, 4 per bed to start, stackable, last forever
|
None, really. They can be used with any kind of inexpensive lumber (long deck planks, for example) and reconfigured every year. |
Updated August 2022
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