3' or 4' wide beds.

[chris]

Missed this yesterday. I have 3' raised beds (from 5' -> 12' in length) in my garden, BM.. they're fine. On the plot though, I've 4' x 12' beds.. MUCH better. I don't have a central path as my plot is only 12' wide. It's not too bad to walk around to the borders and get to the next bed up.

But yes, the extra foot of growing room is great - especially for spuds - I can get two 'rows' better in my beds now

[oldie]

I started off with 3ft but changed to 4ft. The extra foot makes a big difference. I manage very well with 20" paths but then I'm a foot shorter than BM.

[planetologist]

I have level beds that are 4' with 1' between most of them, and ~1.5' for the main axes. I can see that that wouldn't work for raised beds, but it does maximise the cultivable soil.

[TallGirl]

Go for the wider ones cos you'll end up with fewer edges to maintain. (Wish I'd done that... the paths are all compacted now and I don't quite think it's worth the work of digging them up and redoing them.)

[Bigmallly]

Firstly, I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who has contributed to this thread. It has given me much food for thought & think I have finally (that's jinxed it) agreed a plan with myself. I didn't take enough kneeling room into consideration so have made 3' paths which is better as the membrane is 1 metre wide. Secondly, I've not heard of the comb plan so have taken that into consideration as well. The plan below takes up less wood, less number of cuts but obviously have had to compromise on growing area which is no big shakes as I can't eat it all anyway. 1 possible downside is that 2 of the beds are 5' wide & the other 2 are 4' wide. The south & west sides are fenced hence the paths but the north & east sides I can easily access. Comments again are very welcome at this stage.

[Alison]

I'd probably do all the beds teh same width ie 4 No 4.5' which means that you've got the same amount of space for each type of crop and a 5' bed can be difficult to reach to the centre when the crops are in full throttle - even with long arms

[Bigmallly]

I'd probably do all the beds teh same width ie 4 No 4.5' which means that you've got the same amount of space for each type of crop and a 5' bed can be difficult to reach to the centre when the crops are in full throttle - even with long arms

I thought about that Alison but with the boards measuring 13' there would be more cutting & more wastage but thanks for the idea. It would be perfect if the boards were 13.5'. Then again I could make each bed 4.3' wide. Cheers Alison, that may just do it.

[endymion]

... I could make each bed 4.3' wide.

If you cut each end piece to 4ft 4ins wide (3 per 13ft length) and place them to the inside of the ends of the longer lengths it'll make the beds a little bit wider and you'll get a few more inches growing room along the whole length of each bed (double the thickness of the boards) than if you put them across the ends of the longer pieces.

Sorry, can't draw it so I hope you can work out what I mean.

We also put flat, wide battens to the outside along the length of our boards. It helps stop the weight of soil pushing the board outwards and away from the posts, also gives a clearer run for planting or putting canes etc into the soil. It doesn't look quite as smart though, so you might not want to try it.

[Minamoo]

My beds are 4' wide and the paths in between are 2' wide and I'm 5'7". Some of the paths are even slightly narrower than that at just over 1.5'. You need less space in between beds if you're boarding up the edges and invest in some knee pads. Some of those big thick squishy things. They mean that you can kneel on the edges of the beds. It's actually quite a bit more comfortable, gives you more room to reach, and doens't hurt your knees as much. My legs completely seize up if I kneel for any long period of time but the knee pads help soooo much. (Ps: I am waaaaay too young to be having these issues given that I'm not even 30 yet! lol! )

[Bigmallly]

If you cut each end piece to 4ft 4ins wide (3 per 13ft length) and place them to the inside of the ends of the longer lengths it'll make the beds a little bit wider and you'll get a few more inches growing room along the whole length of each bed (double the thickness of the boards) than if you put them across the ends of the longer pieces.

Sorry, can't draw it so I hope you can work out what I mean.

We also put flat, wide battens to the outside along the length of our boards. It helps stop the weight of soil pushing the board outwards and away from the posts, also gives a clearer run for planting or putting canes etc into the soil. It doesn't look quite as smart though, so you might not want to try it.

You read my mind of every aspect but thanks anyway.

[Bigmallly]

My beds are 4' wide and the paths in between are 2' wide and I'm 5'7". Some of the paths are even slightly narrower than that at just over 1.5'. You need less space in between beds if you're boarding up the edges and invest in some knee pads. Some of those big thick squishy things. They mean that you can kneel on the edges of the beds. It's actually quite a bit more comfortable, gives you more room to reach, and doens't hurt your knees as much. My legs completely seize up if I kneel for any long period of time but the knee pads help soooo much. (Ps: I am waaaaay too young to be having these issues given that I'm not even 30 yet! lol! )

Thanks minamoo, I already have 2 kneeling pads plus strap on knee pads (which in my opinion are better) but thanks for your advice.

[Florence Fennel]

I could do with new knees. Glad to hear you're taking care of yours BM.

[Snadger]

I made the mistake of making some of my earlier beds four foot wide INSIDE measurement. The beds were made with breeze block and the extra width made them a bugger to use. Stick with the four foot as an EXTERNAL measurement as its more manageable and doesn't cut down your two foot path width.

[Bigmallly]

I made the mistake of making some of my earlier beds four foot wide INSIDE measurement. The beds were made with breeze block and the extra width made them a bugger to use. Stick with the four foot as an EXTERNAL measurement as its more manageable and doesn't cut down your two foot path width.

Cheers Snadge, I'll bear that in mind......it turns out that the boards are 12' 6" so can make the external measurement exactly 4'.

[planetologist]

Can't eat it all off ~500 square feet? Now that's what I call efficient. I estimate that I have roughly 2500 square feet excluding paths, and that only gives me fruit, vegetables, some carbohydrates and barely any protein for a single person.