Raised beds.

[cockneycorrot]

Through the winter I have made 20 raised beds on my 20 pole allotment in Norfolk, it's to make life easier as I am knocking on a bit. The beds are 4ft x 15ft, using scaffold boards, my problem is, I haven't any extra earth to fill them up to the top of the boards. Will this make any difference, I will be putting manure on when I have some. I have been reading your views for months, this is my first thread.

All the best
Cockneycorrot

[TPeers]

My Mum has my old allotment (long story) and we have raised beds there which are not 'full' other than the fact that you have to reach into the frame to get at anything it has made no difference to what we can grow, the quality of that growth or the crop produced. The only thing is, it is quite easy to trip over the edge of a 4" board if you are only looking at the soil level.....

I now have a torn ligament.....

I should know better.....

[shirlthegirl43]

Hi and welcome to the Vine Cockneycorrot.

If you have a decent depth of soil anyway I don't see why the beds need to be level with the top of the boards. I made a raised bed in my garden last year and it isn't full to the top of the boards either. I wouldnt be able to grow prize carrots in there as there is not a good enough depth but it was fine for sweetcorn and stuff last year.

[Mrs Dobby]

With digging and future use of compost and muck you will soon find that the soil gets deeper as time goes on, it doesnt matter that it isnt up to the height of the top of the boards yet, it wont affect your results, and it will be in a year or three!

[dexterdoglancashire]

Hi there and welcome to the vine! agree with Mrs Ds comments - Im in the same positon with my new lottie and sort of, raised beds this year - with digging and the addition of pony poo etc Im sure that the problem will be sorted. DDL

[rustylady]

Don't worry about filling them to the top just now. Juse use them. The boards will provide much needed shelter for your crops and make it much easier to see exactly where they are. If you are making your own compost or have access to manure, just add these to your beds when they are vacant and the level will gradually rise. Be warned, though, a lot of compost disappears into almost nothing when added to poor soil. I've been adding homemade compost and the remains of used potting compost to my borders for 3 years now, and it just seems to disappear. However, the soil is better now. Was very light and sandy and now has a little more "body"

[Snadger]

Just theorising here...the John Smith's helps me concentrate! If you put raised beds on topsoil it means you are walking on good topsoil i.e. the paths!

If you have four foot beds and two foot paths, theoretically, if you take out the topsoil from the paths and dump it in the beds this would fill the beds!

To do this you would need to sink the beds to half there depth then scoop out the topsoil to the full depth from the paths and add to the beds. Quite a bit of work but could be worth it!

Personally I use raised beds without boards. Dig over whole plot, mark out beds,walk on paths only and instantly you have raised beds because the compacted soil is lower than the beds!

[Two_Sheds]

Personally I use raised beds without boards. Dig over whole plot, mark out beds,walk on paths only and instantly you have raised beds because the compacted soil is lower than the beds!

I think Snadger's way gives you extra planting space too...you can utilise the sloping sides of the mound as well as the "top" of the raised bed.

[johnty greentoes]

A subsid. question.

Will the beds fill up over time with the addition of years of organic matter?

[pigletwillie]

Indeed they do Johnty, and the beds get better every year as you add more and more manure, compost or soil.