They provide a nice, wide platform that you can sit on to plant, weed and … Gee,… Agregate was sometimes slag or other industrial waste. Because of their porosity, blocks may absorb dusts or liquids. Fly ash is also often included. Plus Mike speaks with author Lynn Steiner about native plants that will add beauty and attract pollinators to your landscape. Although reusing old cinder blocks for a vegetable garden is typically a cost-effective and environmentally friendly practice, for safety's sake, only use blocks from a known source. Hidden Dangers of Raised Garden Beds Growing your own food gives you access to fresh, safe, chemical-free, fruits and vegetables year-round. But not only is it the organic care you give your plants that ensures they are safe to eat: how you house them can ensure a healthy food source or a chemically laden one. Step 2: Make a Garden Plan. Cement block, cinder block and concrete block, all are made with cement and fine aggregates such as sand or small stones. A cheaper alternative is cement block, which has also grown in popularity thanks to YouTube. Fly ash is a byproduct of burning coal and so contains heavy metals and other hazardous waste. I prefer concrete blocks! Like rock, brick garden beds will stand for many generations of gardens once built. However, the cinder block form of concrete blocks, especially older ones, can fall under the do not use category if they contain fly ash mixed in with the concrete. Master Gardener, MS Biology (and Pesticide Applicator Certified) Gardeners love raised beds. Decide how big to make your concrete block raised garden bed. A Warning About Cinder Block or Concrete Masonry Gardens Cinder block gardens have recently become very popular, however a risk of heavy metal poisons from Fly Ash within the concrete may pose a serious threat to the health of an organic garden, leeching toxins … In the 1930s there were several makers of cinder blocks in the eastern U.S. who used fly ash,from coal burning, also called clinker to produce blocks. Today, I received a comment warning us for the danger of using these blocks in which "fly ash" is incorporated : "Rita Sager Iverson I just found this online - JWR: I have read plenty of entries on your site about people using concrete block ("cinder block") for square foot gardening and raised bed gardening. Why concrete block raised bed gardening? Mike McGrath, host of You Bet Your Garden, will investigate whether the big blocks are safe to use around people and plants. Then, figure out how many blocks you’ll need; it can help to sketch this out on a piece of graph paper. Is it safe to use cement blocks to build a raised garden to grow vegetables? I have been planning and spearheading a school garden at my children's elementary school in Golden Co for the last year and a half. It’s best to limit the width of the bed to 4 feet, so you can easily reach the middle from either side for planting, weeding, and harvesting. As a Learning Garden committee we decided that using concrete blocks as a raised bed material would be more sustainable than using any treated wood which would possibly expose our soil to chemicals. I have drilled through these blocks. They were cheap but lacked uniformity that is obtained from todays concrete blocks. And, raised beds are so easily built with concrete blocks which are thought of as the most inert and safest product on the market for gardening. Concrete blocks are easy to salvage from random places: vacant lots, behind barns, and wherever else. Gardening Note: Toxins in Concrete Blocks and Concrete By George Giltner, Adv. 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