Need some raised beds help please!

[Gryfon]

I've decided to get rid of a herb bed (well more like an overgrown mess now) that sits against a south facing wall in our garden. I was thinking of putting a couple of raised beds in, one for herbs and one for some veg but I can't work out how to do it. Making them is fine but it's working out what to put in them. I also have some thick cloth stuff to help keep the weeds down but I'm not sure whether to put that down first, then soil on top, or to put soil in the raised bed, then cover with this cloth and cut holes to grow the veg through. Or should I just do away with the cloth altogether?

Thanks

[Eyren]

TBH I haven't really needed any ground cover for my raised beds (except as underlay for the paths). Mine are filled with a mixture of soil and garden centre compost, and it hasn't been too onerous a task to keep them weeded

OTOH if you are planting perennial herbs, you could do that through your fabric and leave an area of clear ground for sowing annuals like parsley and coriander; likewise if you are mainly growing big plants like toms or courgettes.

[Gryfon]

Thanks for that. May go for part covered and part not then. Every bit of not having to weed much helps! Got the fun job of clearing the ground of weeds first...oh joy!

[Eyren]

Got the fun job of clearing the ground of weeds first...oh joy!

I feel your pain!

Just read your blog - your garden sounds a bit like my allotment, all weeds and good intentions *lol* Maybe this year will be the one when we both get our plots under control. Well, we can but dream...

[Gryfon]

Well I've taken some photos (will put up in a bit). At the moment I've cleared about a foot square and filled about a quarter of a huge bag full of couch grass! Got some dock weed and bronze fennel to get up as well but I think I need to dig about 6' to find the bottom of the roots *lol*

Sorry went off topic there!

[miffy]

I marked out my beds first, plonked the bed on, covered with black plastic which killed alot of the weeds and then dug up the roots, seemed to work. Know what you mean about the dock roots though, and dandelions seem to go on for ever...

[taff]

I de-turfed, dug and de-weeded mine, and then left them as they were, then added compost/manure as I had it, so in actual fact, the earth isn't raised by much, but it will be as time and compost and manure permit.
I also have the turfs/turves? rotting away to add in a few weeks so that'll raise them up a bit more too.

I'm going to try an experiment too on one bed I'll be making this year. I'll de-turf it, then put cardboard down, then add some of the rotted turf form last year and some manure and see how that goes.