Raised Beds

[PercyThrowback]

I'm sorry this has probably been aired before, but according to "she who must be obeyed" I need to do it right otherwise I'll end up regreting it.

I've just got my lottie cleared and rotavated and I'm about to lay weed surpressing material on the soil to kill off the areas I'm not using until next year. I'm also going to build and plant up 2 rasied beds (13ft x 41/2ft) this weekend.

My question is "does the area within the bed need any matting on or should I just let it be, and plant it up".

I would appreciate any advice or comments even if it means that the wife is right (as usual).

[mandyballantyne]

Hi PT,

I built raised beds earlier this year on a previously overgrown area. I did not put down any membrane but I wish I had as I do have some brambles trying to grow through.

There has been a lot of raised beds built this year so someone maybe able to advise better.

Good luck and happy building, Mandy

[lainey lou]

Not sure if membrane would have stopped brambles anyway Mandy. Our neighbours bamboo has pushed right through our membrane.

[Alice]

Hello Percythrowback. I put a membrane in the bottom of my raised beds and it worked well. Can I suggest you only make your beds 4 feet wide as otherwise it is hard to reach into the centre once plants are growing there. I think that extra 6" you are planning would make a difference.

[PercyThrowback]

Thanks everyone for taking the time to respond.

I think I will put a membrane down as over time it should rot down and by that time any hardy weeds will have been killed off.

Thanks Alice for the advice on reducing the width of the beds, I'm goin to run them North South, it makes sense especially as veg starts growing in the middle, and as the wife is quick to point out, I'm not getting any younger.

[Daddy Pig]

If it's not too late I'd add my support for putting something down under the raised beds to suppress weed & other growth... I didn't and regret it. I have even had spuds coming up from who knows where or when, and erupting in the middle of the beds - I wouldn't have minded if they'd yielded anything worth eating: you'd be amazed what damage a vigorous young potato haulm can do to a neat row of carrots!
My beds are also quite narrow 3'6" - which makes them really easy to work from both sides - really useful. And keep the paths between a decent width, as you're going to spend a lot of time kneeling there while you tend to the beds, to say nothing of getting the barrow up and down.
Hope it goes well. What timber are you using?

[The Doctor]

It might be worth considering two beds of 6' or 7' length for each one at 13' your planning.

You will be much less tempted to try and step over it rather than walk round if it's not too far.

[Phreddy]

I aree with alice and the Dr. my beds are 15m long by 90cm. Had wider this year, couldn't reach! Gonig down to 7m for next year.
Save your money on membrane: use cardboard boxes and compost on top; plant through holes.
Saw this on a web site & tried it with much success.

Phreddy

[jojo]

sorry to sound a bit stupid but do you mean that a layer of membrane should be put at the bottom and then the bed built on top of it as it were? Just putting beds into my new allotment and have covered them over to reduce weeds (but just over the top like a mulch). should i put in some extra work now do you all think? sorry to sound a bit silly but when your just starting out all advice is useful!

[Snadger]

Thanks everyone for taking the time to respond.

I think I will put a membrane down as over time it should rot down and by that time any hardy weeds will have been killed off.

Thanks Alice for the advice on reducing the width of the beds, I'm goin to run them North South, it makes sense especially as veg starts growing in the middle, and as the wife is quick to point out, I'm not getting any younger.

The membrane or Teram will only rot if exposed to daylight, which it won't be, at the bottom of the beds.
Alice's idea of reducing the bed width is an excellent one! Risking the wrath of Alice though, I personally would only contemplate putting membrane at the bottom of a very deep bed. Even at 6 inches it will restrict what you can grow!
To my mind, a thick organic mulch or even a membrane on top, will be better at weed suppression, and allow you to grow anything through it!

[Sue]

Hi
I wouldn't want to put membrane under the raised bed, prefer a bit of worm activity in there. My first raised beds were meticulously dug out, earth sieved etc, results very little weed problem other than airborn seed, the last ones done in a rush went straight down on weedy ground, laid cardboard down, made sure it was nice and damp and then filled the raised beds, had some weeds, some really nuisance ones like dock but not as many as I thought we'd get. Every time the beds are empty they get a good hand-forking over and gradually the weeds are lessening so as Phreddy says, cardboard does the job very well. Also if you use a heavy mulch on top it will also help keep weeds down. I've put a lot of damp newspaper down covered with compost and this has also worked well.
Sue

[PercyThrowback]

Hi all,

in the end I compromised. I put the membrane down over the whole patch, just before the gales we've just had. I built the beds and slashed the membrane a few times to encourage the worms through and to have some drainage. One is completely finished and I'm hoping to plant on some cabbage this week, while the other is about half full (Had to give up yesterday afternoon, rugby and her ladyship wanted to go shopping) which I want to finish this weekend.
After the trials of the first two beds I will follow the Doctor's advice and have two beds 6' long with a path between. I knew I should have listened to the advice of a time traveller from the planet Swindon!