Raised Bed Garden Kit(105318)

When I saw that this raised bed was exactly the width and depth I needed for a space beside my front porch, worked into a wraparound flower bed, I jumped on it, not really paying that much attention to how it goes together. When the kit came, I could not have been happier. It WAS shipped just in the box it comes in, without any cushioning packaging, but unless the whole box were to be dropped from a considerable height onto concrete, it seems unlikely that the pieces would be damaged even if jostled around. Mine arrived in fine shape. I've built raised beds before using lumber and angle brackets, and I've tried those corner-mounting hardware pieces that cost so much for just two brackets. It was always an absolute pain to get my beds level and square and, once the thing is put together, you're essentially stuck with whatever you've done, mistakes and all. This bed is different. Any idiot can do it in ten minutes, less if you don't have to work to level your soil. I think the price is reasonable, too, given how much it costs to buy your own lumber and hardware and how much of a pain it is to build a bed. The six side pieces and the cross piece in this kit are all exactly the same, of a composite material with soil-holding ridges on the inside and smooth facing on the outside, so you don't have to worry about putting the wrong pieces together. These pieces just nest down into the "holders": four corners, all the same, and two obviously different ones for the cross piece at the center. The holders seem solid and sturdy, so I don't anticipate any problems with them. The instructions, such as they are, are on the box, but even without any instructions, it would be hard to screw this up. I thought I might need a mallet, but I didn't. The best part for me was that, once the whole thing was put together, I was able to lift up on individual side pieces with one hand and trowel-refine the leveling without any strain at all. Because there is a small amount of play in the joints, once the bed is together, you can nudge it to make sure it's square just using your foot. It says you can stack these beds, but I don't know why anyone setting one on the ground would need to do that. Finally, we've had to move a lot over the years, and I can't tell you how many gardens and garden structures I've had to walk off and leave. Knock on wood, I hope we're never moving again, but if we do have to move, I can easily break down this raised bed and take it with me. I like it so much, I may have to get a matching square version of this bed to go across from my water faucet. It would look very nice, and I can tuck herbs around the sides, too, integrating the beds into my flower bed. I'm a happy camper.

I purchased these boxes for my parents who have really compact clay soil. They liked the raised boxes because now they can garden without having to deal with the clay below. The boxes arrived really fast, almost 5 days before expected.

I thought I would be getting 2 beds of 42" x 84" each - not 2 beds together totalling 42" x 84". If I had known that, I would not have ordered. Also, you cannot make two separate beds - there are only 7 boards - thus one bed divided in two. Unclear advertising - will not order from them again. Also - the item was shipped directly from SamsClub - shipped to me, and billed to an individual - not connect buy at all. Is this good business practice? Guess I should have saved myself the hassle and just gone to my local Sam's club and saved myself the "free" shipping. Total rip off from the seller.

I purchased 2 of these raised bed kits at Sam's club for around $40 each. They worked very well for the first summer, but the sides started to bow out significantly at the end of the season. I tried to move them this year (after 1 year of use) and carefully emptied all the soil I placed in them and tried to take them apart. The ends quickly snapped off all the boards and the corner posts cracked and split all the way down. I would not recommend this if you ever plan on moving it or live in an area with high UV (high altitude for example). The plastic has faded a little and appears dry and has little shreds of plastic popping up off the top and sides of the planks. Buy at your own risk.

The price on these is good compared to some of the other raised beds I have seen. I bought 7. They go together pretty easily although I did need a mallet for some of the corners that were just a bit tight. Once together, they looked really nice at first and I stacked a couple of them to sheild my new plants from wind and small animals which worked pretty good. They can also be moved if necessary. What I did not like is that many of the boards warped pretty bad over one year, and are not nearly as neat looking as they were when I first put them together. They are still functional, but not only did many of the boards bow out in the middle, but they also curved (cupped) the length of the board. I took them apart this year to pull out the really bad ones which was quite difficult due to the warping. Out of seven beds, I removed enough of the boards to total two full beds. I will try to put these together if possible and use them in a temporary garden area but dont know if I will be able to since some of these boards are warped pretty bad. These should have some type of middle support stake or plates to help prevent the warping. You get what you pay for, and these are fairly inexpensive.

THIS IS OUR FIRST TIME AT TRYING THIS WAY OF HAVING A GARDEN. WE PUT POLE BEANS IN IT AND STAKES AROUND THE EDGES AND ARE HANGING NETTING AROUND FOR THE BEANS TO CLIMB. I PUT RADISHES IN THE MIDDLE AS THEY NEED TO BE IN A COOL AREA TO GROW. WAS FAST AND EASY TO PUT TOGETHER. WILL WITH DIRT AND PLANT. DONE IN TWO HOURS. FROM START TO END. SHIPPING WAS FAST. PRICE WAS REASONABLE AND WE WERE THRILLED TO HAVE A PLACE TO HAVE SOME VEGETABLES GROWING. THANKS SO MUCH. WILL ORDER AGAIN NEXT YEAR. SMALL ENOUGH FOR OUR AREA AND THATS WHAT WE LIKED ABOUT THEM. YOU WON'T GO WRONG BY ORDERING FROM THIS COMPANY. MAKE SURE YOU CHECK THE SIZE YOU NEED. SIMPLE EASY AND INEXPENSIVE

A little dfferent design from other raised boxes I have purchased but much easier to put together. Boards are thinner than the other boxes so I will have to use them a full season before I can rate them a 5.

They are very easy to install but I wish there was a way to lock the pieces together. (I might have missed something). I have them as displayed in the picture, side by side and there isn't a way to keep them in place. Perhaps that is not an issue for most because I am using them for something other than a garden bed and when I move them they come apart very easily. But if using them as a stationary garden bed than I'm sure they are perfect.