Newbie from Cardiff - what material for raised bed edges?

[jonboy24]

Hi, I am new to the forum. I have had my allotment for nine years this summer and I have decided to makes things a little easier by splitting my plot which is approx 7.5 meters wide by 30 meters long into beds. I am making each bed 1.5 meters wide, with a path in between each bed of 1 meters wide. I am 6 foot 6 and so I can reach comfortably across this bed width.

I am looking for ideas on what to use for the edging to these beds. I am currently looking at untreated and also pressure treated scaffolding boards (150x50mm) and decking boards of the same size, and also plastic fascia board (150x16mm).

I garden organically and so I would like to limit any leaching of chemicals into the soil, so any advice would be welcomed.

Thanks

John

[Jay-ell]

Hi John and Welcome to the vine.

My beds are edged with treated gravel boards. I think that modern treatment doesn't leach the way older treatments used to.

Do you need to edge it - a raised bed is at it's simplest a bud raised higher than the path and surrounding area and not walked on and compressed - they don't have to have edges.

[veggiechicken]

Croeso John - I'm in Cardiff too
Can't advise on the raised bed edging -sorry - but somebody, like Jay-ell who knows everything, will be along soon..............

[Lumpy]

Hello John and welcome to the Vine. I am sure you will find ideas for your future plans on here.

[Jay-ell]

You can always have a read through this thread for any inspiration

http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...ase_84359.html

[Scarlet]

Mine are scaffolding boards....(pic is an old one) they weren't treated and are starting to rot now after 7 years. Some people line the edges with plastic and tack over the top to stop them getting wet.

[happyhumph]

Do you need them raised up, or just divided? I'm just using cardboard with woodchip on top to divide mine.

[mrbadexample]

Mine are scaffolding boards....(pic is an old one) they weren't treated and are starting to rot now after 7 years. Some people line the edges with plastic and tack over the top to stop them getting wet.
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That's decent longevity from scaffold boards - think mine lasted about half that long.

Jonboy, two questions:

1. How long do you want them to last?
2. How much are you prepared to spend?

In my last garden I was prepared to spend no pounds and no pence, so went for scaffold boards. It didn't matter how long they lasted because I could source replacements at the same price.

In my new garden I wanted to do it once, properly, and never touch them again. So I've shelled out for green oak sleepers which, judging by the weight, will outlive me. At about £33 each delivered (2400x200x100mm) they weren't especially cheap, but calculated over a 30+ year lifespan it doesn't seem too bad.

So I've kind of gone from the cheapest possible to the most expensive. It's a bit of a balancing act in that respect.

[Chris11]

Welcome Jon.

Tidy

[MarkPelican]

I have beds on my allotment 7m x 1.7m. The paths between them are weed suppressant fabric and I don't have any edges. The fabric is tucked into the ground and the beds have built up over the years so they mound up a couple of inches high in the middle.