Raised bed sizes

[Gryfon]

I've just been out with the tape measure and in the front bit of the garden I can fit two 3'x8' beds and one smaller 3'x6' bed which will be the herb one. Is 3' about right? I think it's ok as I'm 5' 8" so should be tall enough to reach into the middle.

At the moment I'm digging with a long handled spade as my back is a bit too sore for the fork. Then I'll go over it all with the fork as the soil will be broken up and remove any roots. Would be nice to get something done in the next week!

[selfraising]

Sounds good to me. Mine are about 1m wide which isn't much short of 3 foot. As long as you can get to them from both sides, shouldn't be a problem!

[Basher]

I've just rearranged my beds from being 6ft wide to a combination of 4ft wide where I have access from both sides and 2ft wide where I have access from only one side. I found I could only reach about 2ft into the bed otherwise I was interfering with the planting. I am 6ft tall.

Raising the bed a bit higher will help with reach too.

[selfraising]

Good point Basher! Don't want to be falling face first into the cabbages!

[miffy]

I have beds which are 3' wide and i am not as tall as you and can reach across o.k, i have put paths around them all though so i can weed sitting down too as i suffer with a bad back at times.

[Gryfon]

Fab thanks! Just wanted to make sure as I couldn't kneel down to try it as I'm not quite sure what I'd be kneeling on at the moment

I've put about 1' of path between them which I thought should be enough to kneel on.

[Alan Farmer]

I filled two raised beds with commercial compost last year and got fabulous results. The bonus however is that its only taken me a few minutes to dig it over this Spring, all ready for anothe planting. A small one was particularly useful for growing brassica seedlings prior to planting them out on the allotment. I grew 8 varieties in a 1m square bed, took the best 15 or so of each for my own planting and made myself very popular by giving the rest away!

[Snadger]

I think the maximum accepted size the beds should be is about 4 foot by 12 foot. 3 foot by 8 foot beds will be fine especially if you have a bad back and struggle to reach across.

I have always gardened on a bed system, even before they became fashionable and started with 5 foot which were too wide. Mine are 4 foot wide but I think would have been better at 3 foot 6 inches.
The higher you raise the bed makes it a bit easier to work on as well!

[TEB]

Rachel I would leave more than a 12 inch gap for your path between the beds, I am 5' 8" also but need about a 2' gap for comfort.

[Gryfon]

Cool thanks. I would have bigger paths but if I did I'd then only be able to fit on 3'x8' bed. Was hoping to give the children one to grow in as well which is why 3 would be ideal for now. Do have room for more but got to think small for now!

[Stacey Steve]

Ideally the gaps between the beds should be the length of your lower leg as a minimum.

If it's smaller than this, then you run the risk of your feet going into the bed behind you as you are kneeling or you end up working sort of sideways in a bed

[daleclarke]

You can see a image of my beds here, as I have MS I struggle getting down and stretching and found the beds perfect and not too demanding.

[miffy]

daleclarke your beds look fab..i've left 2' between my beds for when i need to kneel, i can fit one of those kneeler stools things between then too.