My raised bed collapsed under 200 pounds of wet soil last spring

I was in my backyard in Portland checking on my tomato plants when the whole front edge of the bed gave way with a loud crack. Turned out I used untreated pine boards that rotted after just 2 winters, which everyone on this forum seems to recommend against cedar due to cost. I ended up rebuilding with cedar planks from a local lumber yard for $78, and now I swear by it. Has anyone else had cheap lumber fail on them like this?

2 comments

2 Comments

anna56720d agoMost Upvoted

Blame the untreated pine all you want but 200 pounds of wet soil is ALOT of weight for ANY raised bed to handle. Cedar might last a bit longer but it still rots eventually and costs way more than it's worth. Your real problem was probably soil drainage or support posts, not the type of wood.

dylan_thompson20d ago

Ugh yes thank you! Ive been saying this to people for years now. The wood choice is barely even the main issue when you're piling on that much wet soil. People get so caught up in the material they forget about the actual physics of the thing holding it all up. Honestly, I think a lot of folks just underestimate how heavy dirt gets when it rains. You could have the most expensive cedar on the market and it'll still bow out or crack if the support system is weak. Have you done any raised beds yourself? Im curious what you ended up using for the frame and posts.