What would be your dream 'forever' raised bed?

I'm thinking ahead to ageing-in-place. Also, one of the things I know about myself is that I'm much better at putting a lot of effort into a project all at once than I am at regular, constant work.

With that in mind: if you were constructing beds in a 'forever' kitchen garden, how would you do it?

My rules are:

--It has to look beautiful. No corrugated metal beds, no visible (or ideally, invisible) plastic.
--It has to be basically zero-maintenance for the rest of a natural lifetime. No wood that will rot, no strings, etc.
--It has to minimise work/energy expenditure as much as possible - for weeding, planting, watering, harvesting.

My initial thoughts:

--Brick, stone or urbanite beds can look beautiful and last basically forever.
--Raised beds seem ideal for a number of reasons, but I'd probably have some at different heights to accommodate for different-height crops (a waist-high root-veggie bed would be lovely, whereas climbing beans should start close to the ground).
--Nice wide edges to the beds for sitting on.
--In deeper beds, fill the bottoms with punky wood to save on soil costs
--Ideally I'd like to grow everything possible trellised/vertically. Not quite sure how to best do this - metal would presumably have the longest lifespan. (Does metal get too hot in summer and burn climbing plants?)
--Beds should probably be no wider than four feet for easy access.
--Some kind of internal irrigation system? Sunken clay pots? Weeper hoses?
--Beds spaced far enough apart to get a wheelbarrow (or possibly a wheelchair!) through. I'm torn between deep mulch for the pathways (nice underfoot, could be inoculated with mushrooms, prevents bogginess in winter, but also has to be replenished periodically and can get overrun with weeds) and a hardscape like more brick/stone/urbanite (nice and smooth for a wheelbarrow, looks good, but you can't chuck weeds down on it to compost).

I'm just thinking ahead - our current house has its garden all set up - but I figured you permies would have some good ideas! Even in a more conventional kitchen garden, it seems permaculture-relevant to build once and garden forever!

My ideal raised beds would be:
At least three foot high.
Self-watering, being connected to household greywater.
Some kind of hoop framing for greenhouse film or frost cloth usage.
Easily moveable trellis component.
I use hog wire on some of my current beds. I set them up at least 18-24 inches forming a table over the bed. I let my vining crops squash/melons crawl up to the table and as they grow they provide shade for crops that I continually harvest chard, mustards, lettuce or rotationally plant radishes market turnips. It also creates that frame work for cold/early weather frost cloth, greenhouse film.
Wide unobstructed paths

I'm 5'4'' and a 30" high bed is ideal for managing tomatoes, leafy veg, low fruits like strawberries, and last year one of them even grew a bunch of squash for me with some bush beans for company (the beans got out competed, but added some nitrogen in the sort term). These new beds are 4 feet wide by about 6 1/2 feet long, have punky wood in the bottom to help hold moisture as well as build soil, and I keep adding biochar as I have it also. I just use a small sprinkler to water them every week or so depending on the weather.

Yes, I'd love to use rock to build these, but our rocks are about as irregular in shape as can be imagined. I know of someone who built cob edging on some raised beds, but unless the cob was stabilized somehow, it would need regular care with all the rain we get. Mine are being built out of wood, and at least when the wood biodegrades, it turns into soil.

So far as the foot paths, it's really hard to predict the future. So long as one is still walking, wood chips are much more forgiving if you have a fall. Having things close together, gives more places to hang on for balance. However, if you happen to end up in a wheelchair, solid paths would be easier to manage, although electric wheelchairs/scooters are fast becoming an affordable option and they might cope with wood chips just fine. Sorry - my crystal ball is cracked!

I have used wood chips on my trails. I've now begun to grow chamomile in the paths. That wasted chip covered trail has now become a green triple purpose area. I can harvest the chamomile, the chamomile is a nitrogen fixer and it's a bare foot friemdly path. There are some areas that still have the chips on them either too sunny or shady but the combination chips and chamomile are my choice of path construction now. I could use thyme as well and maybe iIll try that in some areas this year.

Robert, can you explain how your beds are self-watering? Your system sounds great!

Jay, that's a good point about woodchips being softer in a fall! I hadn't considered that. (Counterpoint, though: I bet grandkids would love to zoom around brick paths on their balance bikes!)

How often do you have to replenish your woodchips? Do you have problems with weeds, maybe in the areas the chamomile hasn't taken over?

I currently don't have a raised bed connected to my greywater. But my "ideal bed" would be connected to my grey water. My wood chips are currently so deep that weeding is very easy. The chickens and ducks have no interest in the chamomile. I've mentioned in other posts that I source my seeds from Amazon by buying bulk organic chamomile tea. The tea is mostly seed heads and it is so much cheaper than buying  packets of chamomile seed.

Hmmmm,

I would probably use plain old cinder blocks, stained brown or green so as to blend in, and raised up one to two layers high.

These would be permanent, They would sit on a footing of sorts so the top would stay level.  I would not let them get too high as I like to use wood chips and I have found that wood chips like to have some contact with the soil so one-two layers would be sufficient.  But it would be nice to get the garden bed off the ground level to make harvesting easier.  And the spaces in the centers would be a great place to plant flowers, herbs, etc. just as a way to enhance the overall garden appearance.  

If I did not use cinder block, I would pour concrete forms, that were made decorative with some creative form design.  A downside is I am afraid that these would crack over time.  I think I would surround the blocks with a thick enough layer of wood chips that I had weed-free walkways.

Maybe I can add more to this as I think about it.

Eric

I don't know how hot it gets where you are, but if you're using stone, brick, etc. for the edges, keep in mind it can get very hot. I have raised hugel beds surrounded by local rock. On the south edge of my least shaded garden I've had to start a border of oregano and thyme (the only things I have that can handle the heat) to protect the rest of the plants from the heat radiating off the rocks. I stopped growing vining plants like squash in that bed cause the vines would die from the heat where ever they grew over the rock edges.

Having paved pathways in between beds would add to the heat. If heat might be a problem for you, but you're owrried about a pathway being too soft for wheelchair, walker, etc. a combination pathway might work. Well tamped gravel with chamomile, thyme, or whatever grows well for you growing through it might be level and stable enough, but not so hot. Or maybe well spaced small pavers or bricks with stuff growing in between.

My ideal raised bad is gopherless. That's it. 🌠

Jan White wrote:I don't know how hot it gets where you are, but if you're using stone, brick, etc. for the edges, keep in mind it can get very hot.

My ideal raised bad is gopherless. That's it. 🌠

Excellent point. Probably a plus in the area we'll be moving to, though: it could use more heat. The good news: no gophers in New Zealand!

My raised beds.
4 layers of cinderblocks.
The bottom cinderblock is below the surface. You end up with a stable 24" high 8" wide place to sit.
The inside was filled with logs, hay, and lots compost.
I have not had heat issues from the light gray block.
Path ways are set up to be able to drive a golf cart and a sub compact tractor between them.
Hydrant from the well is located in the center.  Less than 50' of hose to reach everything.

If I had an unlimited supply of money and time my dream garden would be hugel beets lined with hardwire cloth. Above ground would be old brick about 18 to 20 inches high.  The beds would be different sizes and shapes, but put together that pleasing to the eye, and functional. The paths would be two wheelbarrows wide covered with cobblestone. The trellis, obelisk, and fence would be wrought iron.  
It's fun to picture my fantasy garden. I'm very happy with the real one I have. It's done on a very tight budget.  I'm always trying to improve it.  A few years ago my son gave me a pallet of concrete blocks for Christmas. I have been converting my raised beds into hugel beets.  I had to remove everything from the ground up and lay down hardwire cloth to keep the gophers out.  The newest ones are two cinder blocks high and have cattle panel trellis. I love them. I've also built several raised beds from corrugated steel and reclaimed redwood fence boards. They won't last forever, but are very functional, didn't cost me anything except the screws and time. I actually like the look of them.  My paths are covered with weed cloth ( I know most permi people hate weed cloth, but I get good quality and it last many years) covered with wood chips I get for free. I have to add new every year. The paths is a little wider than my wheelbarrow between most of the beds .
It's not beautiful like my dream garden, but it has a beauty of it's own.