How to line your WoodBlocX raised bed (2024)

FAQs

How to line your WoodBlocX raised bed? ›

If you are building WoodBlocX on soft ground such as soil or grass...we recommend lining the sides of your raised bed with our DPM material (damp proof membrane) to protect the wood. You can also line the bottom if you wish, but remember to use a breathable / permeable liner to allow water to drain through.

Depending on your budget and gardening goals, you can line the bottom of your raised garden beds with wide-mesh hardware cloth, stainless steel mesh, landscape fabric, burlap sack, or newspaper/cardboard.

Plastic (non-porous liners / damp-proof membranes)

High-quality plastic damp proof membranes offer the best type of protection for your raised bed. This type of liner will ensure your structure stays in great condition.

If you have already constructed the garden bed with standard sleepers and not ACQ, I suggest lining the inside of the bed with builder's plastic. My best advice is to make sure that the plastic is much higher than the soil that you'll be putting in the garden bed.

You can line the bottom of your raised garden bed with cardboard and newspaper to deter pests and weeds.

We'd thoroughly recommend you use one of our thick, one piece, polypropylene fabric raised bed liners when growing in raised beds on the patio; the porous material of the liner will help water retention, prevent the compost and soil from running out onto the hard surface - possibly causing staining - and will also help ...

Plastic sheeting is the best material for lining a planter with. Pond liners work well for lining the bottom of planters as they are robust and can easily be shaped into the perfect size to fit the dimensions of your planter. Pond liners are also thick enough to reduce any evaporation of water from the soil.

Plastic sheeting works well to protect the wood. For a cheaper alternative, you could use an empty compost bag, just cut it open and staple the bag to the inside of the box. Treating the wood with a sealant, waterproof paint, or wood preservative will protect wooden planters from rotting.

Liners can help prevent burrowing pests such as voles, moles, gophers, groundhogs and groundhogs. The padding suppresses weeds that may grow from the ground under a raised bed, but this is only necessary if your bed is under 6 inches.

Should I put landscape fabric under a raised bed? ›

Landscape fabric is beneficial for raised garden beds, here are just a few of the many reasons why you should use landscape fabric for raised bed gardening: Prevents soil erosion in a raised bed: As a liner, landscape fabric lets water drain away from the soil while leaving the soil intact.

They look like they will do the job and can suppress weeds you could even use them to cover an area and cut holes for the plants you already have. Just remember these options are a very quick solution and should not be used long term, the plastic is an impermeable layer that will not allow for water to pass through.

To start, lay down sheets of cardboard or newspaper for weed suppression and then fill the raised bed structure halfway up with alternating layers of nitrogen-rich materials (like kitchen scraps and grass clippings) and carbon-rich materials (like wood chips and dried autumn leaves).

You can line your raised bed to make it more durable and to prevent toxics from leaching into the soil. For lining, use landscape fabric found at garden supply stores or cloth fabric from clothing. Avoid non-porous plastic, as it can retain too much water and discourage beneficial insects and worms.

If you're going to pay for a product to fill your raised beds, again, it should just be really good soil and compost. I only recommend a thin layer of gravel at the bottom of your raised bed and under the edges to help you level the area. Save the rest of your gravel for your garden pathways.

One frequently asked question is whether you can put cardboard in your raised beds. The answer is yes.

They also state that when people are concerned about the migration of wood preservatives, they can use polyethylene (plastic) to line the inside of the planter. Their scientific results indicate that although plastic lining is “not entirely necessary”, it can be used if there are safety concerns.

Lining your raised bed with landscaping fabric, polythene or permeable membrane before adding in soil, is also a popular choice for increased durability. Using heavy duty staples and a staple gun, secure the liner to the sides of the bed before trimming the excess away.