If you’ve ever forgotten an unused bag of premixed concrete outdoors for several days or even weeks, you may already know how quickly it can soak up moisture and harden. What if you could put that tendency to use in a few clever and easy-to-create garden projects? Turns out, you can. Here’s how.
1 A raised bed wall is as easy as stacking bags on top of each other and wetting them down. To make one like the one at left, start by choosing which product you’d like to use—bags of pre-mixed, ready-to-use cement/sand blend, such as QUIKRETESand Mix #1103, come in different sizes and weights. Once you know the bag size, measure the outline of the bed and calculate the number of bags you’ll need. Lay out the first row, water it thoroughly, then lay out the second row, staggering each bag over the seams of the previous row and patting them flat (in case the material inside the bag has shifted to one side or another) to fit together more snugly. For a raised bed less than 2 feet tall, you can simply stack the bags, with no need for reinforcement, though that will make the wall more secure.
