Cheapest way to create retaining wall

Martin_the_Unjust

For a retaining wall only a foot high I would be tempted to use sandbags or similar filled with earth and pebble mix and a good dollop of grass or wildflower seed.

stuart45

You can use a stone and soil mix and grow plants in them.

FreeBear

Elmroad82 said:

Can gabions be filled with soil and vegetation added? I’m keen to try and avoid anything looking too industrial. Where’s the best place to get gabions from?

If you were to fill gabions with soil, they would need to be lined with something first. Otherwise the soil would just come out between the (quite large) gaps between the wires.

As for suppliers, Travis Perkins, Wickes, even Screwfix. But you may be better off finding an online supplier (just watch the shipping charges).

Elmroad82

stuart45 said:

You can use a stone and soil mix and grow plants in them.

So you’d lay the sandbags flat. Would you then cut them open and fill with soil, seeds etc?
Would you be able to see the sandbags? Presumably there’s no issue with drainage as it’s only holding back a foot in height of soil?

stuart45

Elmroad82 said:

stuart45 said:

You can use a stone and soil mix and grow plants in them.

So you’d lay the sandbags flat. Would you then cut them open and fill with soil, seeds etc?
Would you be able to see the sandbags? Presumably there’s no issue with drainage as it’s only holding back a foot in height of soil?

I meant the gabion baskets. Sorry about the confusion.

Elmroad82

Martin_the_Unjust said:

For a retaining wall only a foot high I would be tempted to use sandbags or similar filled with earth and pebble mix and a good dollop of grass or wildflower seed.

Sorry I initially replied to the wrong person..
  So you’d lay the sandbags flat. Would you then cut them open and fill with soil, seeds etc?
Would you be able to see the sandbags? Presumably there’s no issue with drainage as it’s only holding back a foot in height of soil?

FreeBear

Elmroad82 said:   So you’d lay the sandbags flat. Would you then cut them open and fill with soil, seeds etc?
Would you be able to see the sandbags? Presumably there’s no issue with drainage as it’s only holding back a foot in height of soil?

Sandbags filled with soil would work - Fill the bags and tie them up with a bit of string. Lay flat on the ground and jump up & down a few times to flatten & compact each one. You'd need to lay several rows a bit like building a brick wall. Small plants could be put between the gaps of each bag. If you are very careful in making small holes in each bag (no more than 3-4mm diameter), seeds could be poked in to the holes. Watered well, once the seeds & plants have established, it should look quite good. Eventually, moss & other small plants will cover the exposed sacking, so You'd never know they were there.

Cheslea2010

Eldi_Dos said:

Elmroad82 said:

Can gabions be filled with soil and vegetation added? I’m keen to try and avoid anything looking too industrial. Where’s the best place to get gabions from?

I wonder if you could face them with turf and fill with stone and soil mix.

The baskets wouldn't have any structural ability in this situation and thus I wouldn't recommend them for retaining. If they were to be used as a free standing structure you could line the baskets with membrane and fill with soil. You could then cut holes in the membrane and plant plugs all over to create a kind of flower wall. Alternatively, you could add a layer of soil in the top of the basket and plant something that will trail down or creep to try and disguise the front of the basket. Another alternative would be to affix trellis to the front of the wall and plant some climbers?

Martin_the_Unjust

Elmroad82 said:

Martin_the_Unjust said:

For a retaining wall only a foot high I would be tempted to use sandbags or similar filled with earth and pebble mix and a good dollop of grass or wildflower seed.

Sorry I initially replied to the wrong person..
  So you’d lay the sandbags flat. Would you then cut them open and fill with soil, seeds etc?
Would you be able to see the sandbags? Presumably there’s no issue with drainage as it’s only holding back a foot in height of soil?

I think Freebear has answered for me.

Eldi_Dos

Cheslea2010 said:

Eldi_Dos said:

Elmroad82 said:

Can gabions be filled with soil and vegetation added? I’m keen to try and avoid anything looking too industrial. Where’s the best place to get gabions from?

I wonder if you could face them with turf and fill with stone and soil mix.

The baskets wouldn't have any structural ability in this situation and thus I wouldn't recommend them for retaining. If they were to be used as a free standing structure you could line the baskets with membrane and fill with soil. You could then cut holes in the membrane and plant plugs all over to create a kind of flower wall. Alternatively, you could add a layer of soil in the top of the basket and plant something that will trail down or creep to try and disguise the front of the basket. Another alternative would be to affix trellis to the front of the wall and plant some climbers?

Cannot see how facing a gambion with turf and then filling with stones then infilling with a soil mix would effect their retaining ability but having said that the sandbag wall seems a good solution to me.

Construct a retaining layer of hessian sacks filled with a dry mix to set and bind together then a outer lay of hessian sacks filled with a suitable soil mix, pre seeded with a wildflower mix.I imagine it would soon weather in and become part of the landscape.