The use of treated sleepers is quite broad across both residential & commercial purposes. Treated pine sleepers are widely used in gardens and landscaping projects to help enclose a space.
One can use treated pine sleepers in Melbourne to construct a garden bed. These beds can provide many benefits; these beds are easy to access, look good, and offer more area within your existing garden.
Pine is a solid, shock-resistant timber that lasts longer if you maintain it well. To stop the wood from decaying due to environmental factors, pine is treated by a chemical infusion procedure. It will make the treated pine sleepers the best candidate for your garden bed.
Sleepers made of treated pine are simple to install and maintain. The sleepers only need frequent oiling or painting if you want the sleepers to mix in with the surrounding design. Make sure you treat it with care; this will last a long time.
The treated pine sleepers can be fastened naturally on level earth using bolts or placed on a concrete bed. Due to their relative weight, each sleeper must be correctly and securely tied when suspended from the ground.
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What is a Garden Bed?
Garden beds are freestanding beds that are made above the ground level. The bed’s soil level is higher in height than the surrounding soil. The term “bed” suggests a space that is just big enough to work in without walking onto the planting area.
Box-like structures encase the raised beds to give structural support and prevent erosion. The frames of the raised beds can be made using various materials.
How to Make a Garden Bed?
Here, we will discuss the process of building the garden bed and let you know the materials & tools needed for making the bed. It will help you to create a 2 to 3 meters long garden bed.
Materials & Tools
- Impact driver
- Handsaw
- Measuring tape
- Pen or a pencil
- Additional soil
- 2.4m of treated pine fence railing 35mmx70mm
- A wheelbarrow
Procedure
- Take all the equipment, timber, and screw. Keep it ready before starting the construction; it will save time and make the process easier.
- Measure the sleepers’ 80cm cuts. Measure using a tape measure and make a pencil mark (preferably on the inside of the garden bed). Use your handsaw to make the cuts. The treated pine fence railing was also cut to 60 cm lengths.
- Set the sleepers in the desired location. If you have sandy soil, don’t stress the drainage and make the bed flat. A gentle slope can be a good bet if the sandy oil is not there.
- Do make sure to complete the end of the garden bed first. Make sure the treated pine screws pierce the fence railing as you insert them into the sleepers. You will need a helper to keep the construction steady while you drill the screws into the wood to achieve this task.
- Make sure the sleepers are levelled and fixed tightly to the railing. Complete only the first level of sleepers before checking the status & position.
- Now, complete the 2nd level of sleepers – you need to stack the second layer on top of the bottom layer.
- Now, start pouring the soil into the garden bed. After attaching the last sleeper, make sure to mound the soil as much as possible to lessen the amount of dirt needed inside the garden bed. Use the wheelbarrow to save time and lower your risk of back injury.
When the garden bed is filled with soil, fix the remaining treated pine sleepers.
Why Use a Garden Bed?
Following are the reasons why you should use a garden bed:
- Better drainage.
The areas that face floods face difficulty growing plants, and a garden bed is the best solution. Generally, raised bed depth is 11″, or 1 inch below, the sidewalls of a garden box that is 12 inches high.
For major ones, there is sufficient drainage, and it provides plants with extra breath above the wet conditions. Additionally, raised beds generally have greater drainage, even during severe downpours.
- Avoids Contaminated Soil.
Urban gardeners are more likely to consume heavy elements like lead. Growing numerous vegetables can be dangerous because they absorb heavy metals from contaminated soils, notably roots, tomatoes, and greens.
When one positions the bed far from the road, researching the past uses of the land and planting thick hedges can all help. But the raised beds will give a fantastic opportunity to bring new soil that is not toxic.
One can also reduce any harm by adding compost and diluting the concentrations of contamination yearly.
- Fewer weeds & crabgrass.
Tilling encourages the growth of weeds by submerging their seeds and providing the ideal conditions for their reproduction. Successfully raised bed gardeners to swear by mulching, covering their beds with cardboard, or using black plastic to kill off all the winter-grown plants in the spring.
When you begin planting again, remove the dead weeds with a rake before they can set the seed. The best way to fight crabgrass is with the help of a raised bed.
- You can plant earlier in the season.
Raised bed planting should begin soon due to the soil getting dry throughout the spring and warming quicker than ground-level dirt for planting. Most gardeners also unexpectedly discover many plants that shouldn’t have been able to overwinter in a raised bed.
- Raised beds help to keep out the critters.
Several gardeners say slugs won’t crawl over the copper flashing, which might border your box. To prevent crawling animals like groundhogs from stealing root crops, you can also attach hardware cloth to the bottom of the box.
It is also easy to add plastic hoops to raise the garden beds for bird barriers, cold frames, or row covers.
- Great for beginners.
Raised beds are an excellent method to begin gardening for beginners. It may require investment as well but indeed guarantee you success.
Something will grow if you include a box, soil, compost, seeds, and water. The procedure is not as apparent as the raised bed’s route.
- No tilling is good for the soil.
A raised bed is suitable for setting up the soil to do gardening easier. Instead of tilling up the soil yearly and adding fertilisers and amendments every year, gardeners can maintain the raised beds by adding the materials on the top.
Without the need for strenuous labour, compost, mulches, manures, and other soil conditioners can all be applied straight to the top few inches of soil. The soil is capable enough of low tilling as worms & roots push their way through.
Regular tilling by people may deplete the soil structure. Over time, doing nothing increases your soil’s organic content.
Appropriate Plants for the Garden Bed
In the garden bed, the water will drain faster than the rest of the garden due to its height. Ensure the plants grown in the raised garden bed tolerate drier soil.
If you want to give plants the best life, include fresh compost. The extra nutrients and microbial activity will aid the plant’s growth.
FAQs
- Can one use treated pine sleepers in a vegetable garden?
Yes, the treated pine sleepers are generally used as the perimeter of a vegetable garden. You can grow any vegetable; however, make sure to consult an expert in case of any doubt.
- Is treated wood safe for vegetable gardens?
Treating wood is used a lot in vegetable gardens, while wood is used in treating chemicals—treated wood aids in reducing fungus growth and insect incursions.
- Is it normal to use treated pine sleepers for raised garden beds?
Yes, generally, people use pine sleepers for raised garden beds, and the sleepers are rigid & sturdy. You can buy treated pine sleepers to build good garden beds.
- Does painting treated pine make it safer?
Painting treated pine may help keep the wood from degrading even further. The paint and the treatment candidate both contain chemicals, so it is unclear whether painting-treated pine makes it safer. Painting treated pine does not, in our opinion, make it safer.
Final Thoughts
At last, garden beds are a fantastic way to grow plants as they offer various benefits. It is also the best choice for beginners who want to start gardening.
People can arrange dressed treated pine sleepers for designing the garden beds. You can follow the process mentioned in the blog for making the garden bed.
