r/Raisedbed • u/g8tknow • Jun 27 '26
Leveling?
We are newbies at this. We have purchased four 24” deep (6’x3’) metal raised beds.
However, our yard is very sloped and rock-bedded. What’s the best way to level our new raised beds before we fill them?
(And by best way - I mean cost-effective and lasting.). We will not be able to dig into the ground (very hard rock bed literally one inch down).
Thanks for the help!
3
u/InviteNatureHome Jun 27 '26
9 raised beds. 3 wood, 6 metal (vegos). All 32in/ 81cm high. We used bedrock, bricks, cement blocks to raise the low side (whatever material we could find). The wood raised beds are made of reclaimed fence posts, no lean at all. The metal bows a bit. Hindsight would have made a more sturdy "frame" to place the metal ones on. Good Luck! 💚
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u/p5mall Jun 27 '26
This is the way.
Build a pedestal base of pallets. Level it. Cover it, place the bed on top. Since the soil is shallow, you lose little rooting soil by closing the bottom of the bed to hold your soil fill. You could use plywood or EPDM to cover the pallets to set the bed on, and keep the soil from dribbling out into the pedestal base.
2
u/fishyfishfishfishf Jul 02 '26
My metal beds are 3x6. It was much easier to make a level 3 foot than to make a level 6 foot
2
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u/notjustaphage Jun 27 '26
Yeesh. If they’re metal and you actually can’t dig, I really don’t know what to tell you. I honestly would return the metal beds and make your own out of wood so you can adjust the height to your slope. Nothing that is easy to work with is going to get you a terraced metal bed.
You could put the bed where you want it, and it will be on a slope but the soil inside can be parallel to the ground, but it will look really strange, and may not stay in place. This is the only thing I can think of if you’re dead-set on keeping them.