Raised Garden Bed Wall Thickness

I have kind of a half-baked idea and wanted to check in with people with more experience than I am if it makes sense.

I have got my hands on quite a bit of local rough cut lumber with plans to build a little farmstand to sell off my excess. I tend to order more than I need for a project in case something were to go wrong but I kind of went overboard.

I am considering making a raised bed with pine sides. My original beds I have made were 2" thick and they are holding up reasonably well. The beds I'm thinking of making will only be 1" thick. I'm planning on utilizing 4x4 post scraps on the corners to affix against to hold the walls together rather than try to screw a board into a board.

Does anybody think I'm going to regret making the bed and should opt for a thicker wall? Does it really matter? I figure if I have the inside corner posts, I could hypothetically swap out wall sections if they end up rotting/busting quickly.

Thanks for your consideration.

I use nominal 2x stock (so 1.5") and it rots after 5-10 years in my environment. I'd use 1x if that's what I had a bunch of extra! I've also used felled trees, just rolled into place after limbing them and then filled with compost and soil.

I think they should be great.
I use pallets and it lasts for years,maybe because it can dry to the outside and there are gaps between the boards as well.
The pallets deck boards are only about 1/2" thick.
The one bed I built of 2x4 are in worse shape than older pallet beds.

Recently I've built a pallet bed and lined it with tile, which might make the pallets last longer, or maybe not.
A water impervious surface pressed against the wood could accelerater decay more than soil does.

In your situation, I would build with the 4x 4 posts outside of the soil holding section and I would leave an inch between each 1x board.
If a boatd rots, add another board over it, with some aluminum flashing in between the two.

William Bronson wrote: In your situation, I would build with the 4x 4 posts outside of the soil holding section and I would leave an inch between each 1x board.
If a boatd rots, add another board over it, with some aluminum flashing in between the two.

I really appreciate this suggestion. I think it is a brilliant solution to ease my worries. Thank you.

I have built several raised beds from old redwood fence boards I was given, and from pallets. The wood is about 1/2" to 3/4" thick. The beds are a few years old and doing very well.  For me I enjoy making them, and the wood is free if you don't count the time to disassemble them, so I enjoy them as long as they last.

I've been collecting old refrigerators and freezers. Take the doors off and lay on back. Drill drain holes about 2 inches from the bottom around the sides. Fill half way with small limbs, leaves and other matter. Then add my dirt. Their free, durable, and you keep them out of the land Fill. They are also just the right height so I don't have to bend

good day
My name is Doug I live in yuma AZ I use horse troughs. the cost of wood is to high I found out going to Home depot I was going to make bed out of wood 2" thick but the time I did the math for all i need to bulid the bed it was around $200.00 So i found at home Depot in the garden section horse troughs for around $100.00 Now I have 3 of them . They  are going on now for 3 years old.

I have no idea how long these will last, but I needed to get away from my recycled nursery pots. I had a lot of pallets lying around, so for the cost of a box of screws, some landscaping fabric, some disposable cooking pans and some chicken wire, I made three two-tiered planters, with drain pans to divert some run off water from the upper box to the lower box.

Using 1-inch with 4x4 corner posts for raised beds is a great plan. The thinner boards may not last as long, but your design allows easy replacement if needed, making it a practical and flexible option.