New Raised Beds - what do I do next?

[Oleander]

So, I have built three raised beds where there used to be lawn, and cut out then turned over the turf that was there before. I probably won't be able to put in topsoil until the Spring now, so what should I do? Is this when I am supposed to put down old carpet or cardboard to stop the weeds from establishing themselves, and to encourage to turf to rot down/break up?

thanks!


Oleander

[Two_Sheds]

If you just had lawn, and not perennial weeds like you find on allotments, I wouldn't bother with carpet or anything.

Actually I would put wet newspaper or cardboard on them, and then some lovely compost on top of that. Keep layering, over the years, until the beds are as deep as you want them.

[LittleBear]

Whats the newspaper for? i'm in the process of building a polytunnel, should i do something similar to discourage weeds ect?

[rustylady]

Newspaper and cardboard exclude light, so prevent weeds germinating. They also eventually rot down and get incorporated into the soil. Both soak up moisture so providing a reservoir for your plants. Newspaper rots down quicker than cardboard, obviously. I use shredded newspaper as bedding for the guinea pigs, and this gets added to the compost heap or bean trench when the bedding is changed.