setting out beds

[joolzabb]

i know in my head and on paper where i want things to go on my plot butnot sure which is the best way to do it. should i put some sort of a border up?
does it need a wooden plank to mark it seperately even if its not raised or how best to seperate from pathway.
have thought about bark for paths as slabs seem non existant on my lotties. very old gardeners (mostly jamaican ) who seem to only grow thyme, sweetcorn, red beans and pumpkins and apparently only appear much later n in season to do anything.
dont want to upset neighbours but do want different layout to others who seem very random.
have been ill wth pneumonia for weeks now and frustrating not to be able to go and dig some. managed to get there yesterday to put netting round fruit cage but that wiped me out with badhead for rest of day and night.
at least if i can paper plan and try and get some stuff for borders off freeecycle i will feel ive done smething constructive.
jool zx

[vicky]

The only way I divide the veggies is to have 'stepping stones' every 4ft or so just so I know where to stand when I sow/pick etc. My plot also has 3 permament divisions so I can rotate.
I use broken slabs, wood and roof tiles for the steps.
It looks better than it sounds...
Don't wear yourself out!

[zazen999]

Hi joolz

Sorry to hear you are not well.

If you get onto the forum section entitled 'growing techniques' and go to the bottom post; Supersprout's allotment - there is the most wonderful advice there for you.

Unfortunately, Supersprout is no longer with us; but her legacy lives on.

My one bit of advice would be not to do anything permanent until you are sure of the layout; but it's all there in the above post.

[esrikandan]

I'm using fence gravel boards to make my beds. Each bed is 3ft x 8ft x 6in high, and I'm leaving 2ft between each bed. The timber is not as cheap as free, but each bed works out at a cost of about £20 which is not awful. Although I have only made up 4 so far...

[Digger-07]

My beds do not have boards at the sides, I think everyone else on the plots use boards but I have no problems with the way I've arranged things.
I put down a strip of membrane about 2 feet wide then laid newspaper, grass clippings and wood chippings on it. The membrane stops the stuff from sinking into the ground and means that you have a bit of a composting thing going on at the same time. After a couple of years scrape off the stuff back down to the membrane and start again.

The beds get higher than the paths because of the amount of compost/manure that builds up on them.

I found that those with board edges seem to notice slug and woodlice attacks more than I do.

My system works for me but there are many others you could try.

[Flummery]

I'm just setting out the beds for my new half lottie plot as we speak - I'm going for 4' beds with paths between which have straw on them. This will allow me to change my mind about the layout if I wish, without having to go to great lengths re-doing boards. The straw nicely delineates the path and will compost down in time. I have a feeling these area called 'lazy beds' - I assume because you don't dig 'em!

[Snadger]

If you have a scale drawing of your plot it's a simple matter to transfer whats on paper to the plot. A stringline and tape measure is all thats needed.
If you have bare soil you can just scratch along the stringline with a pointed implement, remove the stringline and dig along the outline of the beds throwing the soil inwards.
This will delineate your beds and make a start on raising them a bit.
From then on, never walk on the beds, only the paths, and the paths will sink with compaction (also making it hard for weeds to grow) and the beds can be raked into a curve i.e in from the sides and ends and raised in the centres.

If at a later date you wish to raise the beds with whatever you can scrounge,(mine are more like terraces, only edged on one side, as I have a sloping plot) you can do so at your leisure.............or leave them without edges if you like!

[Snadger]

here ya go - courtesy of Wikipedia:
Lazy bed is a method of arable cultivation. Rather like cord rig cultivation, parallel banks of ridge and furrow are dug by spade although lazy beds have banks that are bigger, up to 2.5m in width, with narrow drainage channels between them.

Although it is largely extinct, it is still to be found in parts of the Hebrides where lazybeds are known as feannagan in Scottish Gaelic, and the west of Ireland. In these places, the method used is normally to lift up sods of peat and apply seaweed fertiliser (desalinated) to improve the ground. Potatoes were often grown in this way in these regions, until the potato blight Phytophthora infestans caused the potato famine in the Highlands and Ireland.

It was used in southern parts of Britain from the post-Roman period until the post-medieval period, and across much of Ireland and Scotland until the 19th century.

And most of the old Rigg and Furrow are protected land and can't be levelled..............as Sir John Hall found out when he wanted to build a football academy.........imagine playing football on that!

[Flummery]

We have a field of rigg and furrow just outside the village - it's used for grazing horses. I believe it originated because of the medieval ploughing method.

[Snadger]

We have a field of rigg and furrow just outside the village - it's used for grazing horses. I believe it originated because of the medieval ploughing method.

As a metal detectorist I've learned to look for signs of rigg and furrow as lost medieval villages would have been close to there food source!
Logically, it is a means of increasing crop yield by cultivating a larger surface area over a given acreage!

[Flummery]

Several medieval villages around here - the old part of the village has some hops growing in the hedgerows that are said to have been used by the monks in the medieval monastery which was about 2 miles from here.

[sez]

I plan on doing the same dividing the plot into beds, but I can't afford to edge them at the moment unless I can find something for free. I'm hoping to use weed supressing membrane and bark chips for the paths when I have a few spare pennies!

[chuffa]

Hi Joolz, i have done raised beds on my lottie made out of old scaffolding boards that have 2ft paths in between for easy access with a wheelbarrow.





As for plans check out GrowVeg.com - The Smart Way To Plan Your Garden it helps you draw veg and plans. It also helps with crop rotation and remembers what you grew the previous years. I think its brill.