Raised bed construction advice please.

[veggiechicken]

Thanks TS! I suppose my key question was how high to make the raised bed - whether to make it higher than I can hope to fill it in the near future or keep it down to 6".
This house is built on an old sea cliff and there are very few level bits for growing anything -its a challenging plot!! Photos at http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...27s+album.html

[chris]

Next time I'm over there VC, I don't mind lugging some trugs up and down the stairs. However, I will require plenty of biccies and cups of tea.

edit: dunno when I'm down there though!

[veggiechicken]

Give me plenty of warning Chris as I cant even store the filling materials anywhere until they're carried up - not much anyway. Its more or less, deliver and move it, or I block the access! - as you know

[chris]

Where are you putting the raised beds then?

[SarzWix]

Local schools are a good place to look for shredded paper and cardboard. Ours was filling a couple of paper bins a week til I started taking a lot of it And shredded paper is pretty light to carry up your steps too

I think I'd be inclined to start shallow-ish, but leave your corner posts tall enough to add more planks later - then you won't be casting a shadow on whatever you grow first, and won't be in danger of depressing yourself with how much filling still needs to be done

[chris]

VC, I haven't seen up there personally, but looking on google maps - wouldn't it be a shorter 'carry' from the field down? It looks as if there is a small track to the fence that borders your land?

[veggiechicken]

No Chris - that track my builders created when they did all the work a couple of years back - I rented the field for a year to give them access and all the materials came in from the back - there were 7 lifts of scaffolding (whatever that means) to the top of the garden. The track isn't there any more and the field is very uneven and overgrown - not driveable or wheelbarrowable. The big white square is the scaffolding cover over the house.
The raised beds are to go in front of the house.

[veggiechicken]

I think I'd be inclined to start shallow-ish, but leave your corner posts tall enough to add more planks later - then you won't be casting a shadow on whatever you grow first, and won't be in danger of depressing yourself with how much filling still needs to be done

........and I could use the corner posts to support debris netting..... I really want to make these beds as versatile as possible from the outset so any other design ideas welcome

[Kristen]

I raised my beds by digging out the paths and put the spoil on the beds. Together with compost / manure added over the years they are now raised perhaps 6", but I found the improvement in drainage, just by lowering the paths. and never walking on them, gave me pretty much all the benefit I was hoping for. Different matter if you need them higher of course.

[taff]

can you organise some helpers? or know some people who use a lot of animal bedding? scouts? I dunno, time to think outside of what you can do on your own...you might have to section off the bed for root veg, or grow them in pots elsewhere. Seems like a lot fo trouble to fill a bed 50 steps up to grow some root veg....out of interest, what root veg particularly?

[veggiechicken]

You've seen the photos of the garden - a 45 degree or worse slope on rock with no depth of soil. In front of the house is a flat area but its full of rubble with a thin layer of top soil. I also have a pile of timber left from a recent rebuild. So, put it all together and the solution is to be build raised beds - where I'd like to try squarefoot gardening - just because......!! I want to put as much of the garden into production as possible but everything is compromise! I'll do it - eventually

[chris]

Also, what about some straw in there to pad up the contents?

That's quite light..

[sammy_roser]

Can't offer any further advice but I really like the photos VC

[Bigmallly]

Sarz beat me to it with the posts idea making them taller than the beds so you can increase their height if need be, Can you get hold of a shredder, could have swore blind you had a wood.........

[veggiechicken]

To shred what? I don't what to fill them with woodchip - do I?