Kelso Kira

I've actually been doing my own compost bin I'm just not 100% certain it will be ready within the next week or two as far as using it in my bed

So I would pretty much follow the same ideas as container gardening in relation to what id use

Curious as to what kind of soil I would need in an elevated container box. Its 5 feet by 3 feet and 12 inches in height. I will be drilling some holes in the bottom for drainage. Any info would be great as to what type of soil to use. I also live in so cal if that matters.

I live in southern california I forgot to mention that.

So I'm about to build my "portable" raised garden bed. My question is now im planning out the spacing between plants and I'm getting the impression some plants like zuccinni and cucumber need more space than I have.
The dimensions are roughly 12" in hight from the base of the bed, 36" wide and 5 feet in length.

The main plants I intend on growing are

bell peppers
kale
carrors
quinoa
beets
broccoli
cucumber
zuccini

I'm assuming the cucumber and zucchini might need their own containers. I would like to be more reliable on growing my own food so as far as having a continuous amount of of these throughout the year would it be best to plant these each a week apart so I have a constant supply. I'm also uninformed on how long these plants last. I read briefly that most vegetables will produce food once then you have to replant the entire plant.

any information would be great

I went to Lowes today and found that all the wood was treated in some way. All the wood had ACQ which after reading was a replacement to the arsenic treated wood of older years.

Is my only bet going to a lumber yard and getting expensive cedar? I wanted to do this portable bed so it would last a while and I could try to grow the plants together rather than in many many bins.

btw it was just an 8x4 sheet I was looking for not the dimensions of the box I was going to make. That would have been something to the effect of 63x33x24.

Any MORE info on non treated wood would be great.

Hi. So I'm a beginning gardener. Theres a great website with lots of social activism videos,articles and presentations called Films for action.com which I found out about permaculture. I decided to join this board since part of this community is sharing information right?
So to to the point. I do have soil in my backyard although in this urban setting there is a refinery down the street. I'm nor sure what element that plays in the health of the soil but none the less my grandmother is planting her own things in the garden and weeds it herself. So I decided without putting my stuff in her space I decided to make a project out of it and by this week hopefully I will be building a portable raised garden bed. I think doing it this way may help me learn more how I could contribute what I learned back to the other areas of Los Angeles sprawl plus we have concrete in the backyard so it works out. I figured It would look something similar to this picture below but with the dimensions of about something 8x4.



My questions are now

1.What type of wood is safe to use for the garden and growing of vegetables and should it be painted?

2. As far as soil would it be best if I bought some first to experiment with growing while trying to restore the original soil in the back yard if its needed?

Are these for sale at all anywhere?

Wondering if Heirloom seeds are the best route to avoiding Monstanto GMO seed. As well do any of you have any sites from which I can order and any things to look out for to make sure the seed is legitimate?

It would essentially look something like this just deeper so the roots have room to grow. My question if this picture helps is that I was wondering if a solid wood bed would be sufficient or would holes in the bottom be better? I feel just a mesh bottom would run the risk of loosing soil or breaking. I also dont want to waste water by having it just leak out back to the ground.