Do you need drainage holes in a plastic garden bed on legs?

[helen63]

Hi I’ve just brought a plastic garden bed on legs from u & I’m wondering if I have to put drainage holes in or r they already in it & all I have to do is put the potting mix in

[MitchellMc]

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @helen63. It's brilliant to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about raised garden beds.

If you can identify the product you've purchased, that would assist our helpful members in answering your question. Are there any visible holes in the bottom of the garden bed? You'll often find raised garden beds don't have drainage holes as people like to place them on surfaces like decks or paving that can stain easily. When planting in containers that don't have drainage holes, I add a 5-10cm layer of gravel in the bottom so any excess water can freely drain out of the soil. This also creates a self-watering function where the plant's roots can seek out the additional moisture in the gravel if needed.

I'll be looking forward to hearing what raised garden bed you've purchased. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell

[helen63]

 this is inside 

 name

 bottom of it I’m just not sure if I need to do anything with these holes

[EricL]

Hello @helen63

I see that you've got the Fountain Products 700 x 375 x 655mm Charcoal Raised Garden Bed. If you look inside the tub you'll notice the area where the legs clip onto are actually hollow. Those hollow portions of the tub are actually the overflow holes of the garden bed. the legs themselves are hollow and should allow water to pass through them. I've placed an image below to give you an idea of their location.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric

[helen63]

Thanku so much for ur help

[suzanz]

Hi. I have just purchased this raised garden bed - how do you stop potting mix from going down the overflow?

[smokey1507]

cut some of this and cover the holes. https://www.bunnings.com.au/cyclone-910mm-x-1m-fibreglass-flyscreen_p0335574 

[EricL]

Hi @suzanz 

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's marvellous to have you join us and thanks for sharing your question about the plastic garden bed.

It's great that you've received excellent advice from @smokey1507. Just to add to the suggestions made, I recommend having a look at Saxon 0.915 X 5m Prepacked Weed Control Mat. I propose cutting strips and taping them into the corners to prevent soil from going down the hole.

If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.

Eric

[01BK]

There is a barrier to the drainage legs and water would accumulate on the bottom of the tub - how can it overflow? The bottom of the tub is lower than the overflow legs?

[JacobZ]

Hi @01BK,

Thank you for your question and welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community, it is fantastic to have you with us.

The idea is that the lip on the edge of the legs allows water to sit at the bottom of the tub, but if too much water is added it will flow over these lips, down the legs.

Having water at the bottom of the tub encourages the roots to seek out the water. If the water is too high, the roots will sit sodden and potentially rot, so allowing a small amount of water to sit at the bottom of the tub is fine, but the lip on the legs sets a point where the water will overflow into the legs so the roots do not sit sodden.

Let me know if you require further clarification.

Jacob