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Seems wildly expensive. Sunset's web site gives instructions for a very deluxe raised bed. Its $187 price tag includes everything you'd need to buy -- even the planting soil:

http://www.sunset.com/garden/perfect-raised-bed-00400000039550/

I assume this is for inspiration only. The trouble I am having is figuring out what kind of wood to use, as I don't want wood treated with chemicals in my garden.
Thanks so much for that link, LisaG, now hopefully I can afford cedar or redwood. Maybe I can use bricks.

Cedar is an affordable option that is resistant to rot even while untreated. If you are in NY, you can also get locally harvested and milled white oak, which is pricier, but sustainable.

$120 is just ridiculous!

i wonder when AT will get a clue that normal people can't afford $150 on a something so trivial as a wooden box. where are the articles on DIY or affordable options for creating container gardens? that kind of material is hard to find on this site. it's getting tiresome.

duckumu - i wonder when people will read the entire post BEFORE they make comments that make them look silly. it's getting tiresome.

Previously painted and salvaged boards should be fairly durable, and would be sustainable.
I like the kit, as the corner brackets look well designed and would save me measuring, and give me a sturdier end result.

I wouldn't pay $120, but i would pay $40. Having worked in manufacturing the computerized machining and powder coating once mass produced could be REALLY inexpensively done, especially once the job has been planned out and tooling is already created. I know a non-profit in seattle that could pop these out like mad.

there is a non profit in pittsburgh who will be selling kits like this, called garden in a box, and they include the wood, the soil, the seeds, and the instruction.

Rather than messing around with all of those brackets and screws (which will eventually pull apart), I suggest going with a raised bed that makes use of mortise-and-tenon construction. No hardware of any kind of necessary.

For a much more reasonable price, you can buy pre-cut white cedar beds ready to assemble:
http://gardenraisedbeds.com/

Or, of course, you can make your own -- cedar is the recommended wood of choice if you want to avoid rotting, however. Never use pressure-treated lumber to build a bed for edible greens!

I made a bed the same size with 3 planks of wood and a few L brackets for under $40. Duh.

Burpee has one that seems a little cheaper - 4x4 single level for $79 - or u can just buy the corner brackets and use your own lumber - good reviews too -

http://www.burpee.com/product/id/104961.do?KickerID=100449&KICKER#reviews

yeah, i have been looking at these. seem a bit more reasonable cost wise:

http://www.gardeners.com/Raised-Bed-Corners/11892,default,pd.html

I'm trying container gardening this year on my wee little patio. Since I have no extra cash to speak of, I'm doing it in three big plastic storage bins I bought for $4 each. The major expense is probably going to be the soil, since most stuff I've read says not to use regular dirt in containers. (I may still try mixing store-bought and a bit of free dirt to keep cost down.)

I grew up with organic gardening as a major part of summer life, but this will be my first attempt at container gardening. Should be a fun experiment, anyway.

You know, normally I'd be all, "What's with the negativity?," but kmswann is right on the money.

This is easy as pie. And, big box lumber stores cut your wood to size for you - sometimes, while you wait. This is a no-brainer.

Hope that guy makes some money on what really is a nice idea for non-DIYers, but it won't be any of my money.

It seems to me that people are being quite unreasonable about their expectations with price. This is obviously a high end product produced in small boutique quantities. $40 is unreasonable. $40 would get you some piece of crap made in a sweat shop in China or by slaves in Bangladesh. The designers sourced local labor people!! No wonder our economy is in shambles; you idiots all want something for nothing and are willing to ship our dollars overseas for poorly produced shoddy craftsmanship.

I'm actually a (young) blacksmith, jtejchman. With access to a normal shop, I could whip this out for far, far less than $120, including man hours and materials.

Like you said, with this product you are paying for a *designer* product. It's not so much the craftsmanship, though I'm sure theirs is very high quality. In this case you're paying for the name and the training of of the artist/designer.

Being an artist, of course I want to encourage people to buy from local artists. But if you don't have enough money to pay for high-end designers, that doesn't mean you're stuck with Chinese products. If you want to support American labor without paying huge design prices, then you can head down to your local machine shop with a similar design on paper and ask them to make it for you. Depending on the area and how busy the shop is, you may find yourself pleasantly surprised by the price.

We made waist-high raised beds, for my late mother, and she made removable rabbit wire covers to fit (to keep birds & cats out). Each bed cost under $75 to make but they're also 4' wide by 8' long so quite large (anything over 5' requires some sort of reinforcement, for beds that height, we used wood posts at the four corners and midpoint). This was a DIY project, with materials from the local lumberyard, and there are 4 beds total. If I were to rebuild, I'd do the same, waist-high was a great benefit with her back troubles and also I'd encourage you to put down some sort of wire mesh at the bottom to inhibit gophers (they seem to adore the soft ground and 'easy pickings' that raised beds offer).

I'm an architect in Southern California Kaete, and I'm consistently surprised and amazed at how little people are willing to pay for the design of things, yet how much they expect in terms of a steady stream of unique and original designs and solutions. Design costs money. Its a basic fact that for too long we've tried to avoid the price of the things we want by going overseas and importing cheap knock offs from China (and elsewhere, you're not off the hook Malaysia). Unless you're willing to be inundated by a tidal wave of cheap knock offs from questionable sources, or buried under a pile of mass produced Phillipe Stark by TARGET® we need to value the time and efforts of our fellow designers.

Taking on a project such as this and going down to a local craftsman with your own design is a great alternative Kaete I agree. But you're gonna have to spend some of your own time designing it if you want the same results. I don't know what your time is worth, but some of us are willing to pay for the details that's all.

Dear Apartment Therapy readers

Thanks so much for all of your comments. In these anxious economic times, we certainly understand that the cost of goods is of particular concern.

We work with local fabricators in producing this kit, which is manufactured from a heavy gauge steel, powdercoated (not spray painted) and assembled/bent by hand. Additionally, we are providing the stainless steel hardware in the kit and 8 reusable Garden ID tags, which have been punched from the remnant of the larger pieces. We are dedicated to supporting our local industries, and realize that this process will be more costly than if we were to send the production off to people we’ve never met, with employee work conditions that we do not support.

We are glad that this has spurred debate as to the value of production and goods. Hopefully, you will all be motivated to produce your own food in whatever space is available to you! We just wanted to clarify our stance on this matter and hope that you better understand our product.

Sincerely,
Ben and Makoto
Scout Regalia

Its a great post despite the cost issues, because there are several more affordable resources and ideas that popped up in the discussion that I hadn't found despite researching this very topic only a few weeks ago.

jtejchman, I absolutely understand the reason for the price attached to the product in this post, but I am also having a very hard time understanding why it would be necessary to buy such an item in the first place. As I mentioned in my previous comment, a longer-lasting bed can be built by using boards and a simple mortise-and-tenon construction. There is no need to buy inferior parts from China (et al.). (By the way, the similar kit linked to at Gardeners.com is made in Vermont -- as are the wood-only beds I linked to -- so let's not make too many assumptions about the origins of all lower-priced goods!)

Really, if we're talking about the most cost-effective and environmentally-friendly way to embark on growing your own food, then the solution is not to not buy anything.

Yes, good design costs money (and I am more than willing to pay for it -- it's also how I make my living), but I would prefer to support design that is innovative in some way. I don't see how this kit improves upon anything already existing.

1 on going to Home Depot and using pre cut lumber.

We did that last year too. I basically took the lumber sized how we wanted it, screwed them to some 2x4's in each corner, and filled them with dirt mix. I would be shocked if we spent more than $40 per box including the plastic liner in the bottom (we have lead in our soil) and the dirt/compost.

Really, both sides of the issues here ($/product) make sense. It's a nice kit/There are cheaper ways.

I've made raised garden beds for years without much thinking about it. Withies, wattles, lumber, bricks, rocks,even one from cement blocks parged with Quikrete. Varying degrees of beauteousness. Varying degrees of permanence.

Lighten up, everybody, for crying out loud. This kit might be just the ticket for someone--or many.

If there are any sort of canneries or orchards nearby you can sometimes get the large semi damaged palates for free, they look exactly like this.

I am just here to call bullshit on Kaete saying she can produce this for far less and she is a "blacksmith". What "blacksmith" is doing laser or waterjet cutting of sheet steel? Does that fall under the scope of necessary skills necessary to shoe a horse or mend a cotter pin for my carriage axle?

Please, these things cost what they cost. Sure, you can buy materials and kits cheaper at Wal Mart or do it yourself in the basement.

This argument is missing the mark, wildly. Apartment Therapy and other websites are not here merely for the service of penny-pinchers, diy wannabees, knowitalls and unqualified design critics.

This website, as well as others, serve to showcase prototypical design ideas, for better or worse, to those interested in seeing such things. That would suggest design ENTHUSIASTS (purchasers, fanboys, collectors and, yes, designers themselves).

Personally, I am sick of hearing from so many that they have no idea how much the prototyping process costs. This is true not only of the general public but, inexcusably, also for designers, whom I feel have an obligation to know better.

If this piece is picked up, becomes wildly popular, it could certainly come down in price. That is a great big "if" for now, though.

Meh.

I build boxes out of 1x8x8 untreated pine yesterday, just screwed the boards together. I'm now wishing I'd used a corner kit of some kind, or ideally the mortar and tenon style, because I'm definitely no carpenter. But hopefully they'll hold together for a couple of years. I'm thinking of putting copper flashing over the top edges of the boxes to repel water and slugs.