Raised bed questions

[kath7]

Hi everyone

I've grown a few veg before mostly in containers but I'm still a complete novice and I'm trying to grow on a bigger scale this year so need lots (and lots and lots) of advice . I was given some old wooden pallets yesterday and want to make a raised bed out of them in my garden on a patch of lawn.

Should I treat the wood with something to stop it rotting - can anyone recommend anything safe to use? I've heard of danish oil but this looks a bit expensive for a rather small bottle.
Should I take the grass out completely or can I just dig it up and turn it over?

This is probably just the start of a very long line of questions .
Thanks in advance.

[chucks]

Hi

A lot of various views on treating wood on here.

Personally, when I made mine, I used damp proof course around the inside of mine to help stop rot. It obviously stops the soil coming into contact with the wood as well, which has been tanalised, so acts as a barrier stopping any chemicals leeching into the soil.

If you take the top layer off the lawn and pile it upside down in a corner, you should have a nice pile of loam next year. Then just dig over and add your compost or the like.

[taff]

you can dig up the grass and turn it over, some grass will grow through but not much. I did a both of both, turning it over and taking off the top layer and leaving to compost down for a year. Either method works, it's up to you.
I've got what I recently realised [doh!] are called edged beds. They're not raIsed to a great extent, but do sit a few inches above the lawn due to digging up, it aerates everything, mcuh like a whisk, and adding compost etc over the years they've been there [three] has increased the height. I had quite chunky wood [half logs] from a building extension, and I haven't treated them at all.
Pallets are much thinner, there are various ways of using them, try google image searching for pallet raised beds for some ideas

[FionaH]

Take a look here for advice on lasagne beds http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...tml#post340162

[kath7]

Thanks for all the advice, interesting link too . I don't know why I hadn't thought of googling pallet raised beds, but now I've found some ideas on how to go about putting them together as well

[Kristen]

Apart from the Faff of replacing the wood you may find that the cost of replacement wood is less than the cost of preservatives? and less worry about leached chemicals in your veg patch