Edging beds?

[katkatkat]

My apologies as I know there will be posts about this but I don't know what to call what I'm going to ask about to search for it.

When I took on my plot last month, all the beds had wood along the sides of them giving them definition. Most of this wood was actually rotted and falling apart. Having taken up the paths which were full of couch grass, I'm now left with a blank slate to lay out my own beds.

Thanks to fortuitous timing I'm getting a car full of old decking planks delivered on Thursday to replace them.

The problem is, I have no idea how to go about building these bed edges and I've none to copy due to them being rotted. Do I get wee metal plates to join the boards together? Do I screw them to stakes and just shove them in the ground? What do I do to keep them sitting nicely on their sides and not falling over in to the paths?

Also is there a wood preservative that I can use that's safe for near veggies?

[bario1]

How deep do you want your beds? If they're only 1 plank deep you might get away with 'L' shaped metal corner braces, if they're two or more planks deep you'll need to drill them to corner posts (2be4s ideally). Mine are sunk into the ground a bit, but the weight of soil inside would probably keep them put anyway.

[Cadalot]

My beds are 2.4m x 1.2m and are decking boards, I drill 3 pilot holes in the 1.2m and screw into the 2.4m them place on the ground and fill them up, gradually over time.





Forgot to say I only treat the cut ends of the timber.

[Martin H]

I would hammer a post into the ground in each corner and screw the decking planks to the posts on the outside of the posts. If you get me.

[Bigmallly]

This is how I make my raised beds:

[Jay-ell]

Mine are 8x4ft with a post in the corners to help secure them. I'm also building 14x4 ft beds which have an additional post in the middle of the 14ft length to stop them bowing.

The posts are sunk into the ground which stops them moving about especially when filling them.

I have a couple of smaller 3x3ft beds with the end having slots which slot together and no stakes in the corners. I've noticed that the edges can sometimes rise up a little when I've been digging. They're new in so I'm sure that they'll settle down and friction with the soil will stop this.

[katkatkat]

Thanks for the suggestions, the wood is arriving on Thursday so we'll see how it goes. I'm only planning on making them one plank deep (more to keep the soil in and the path out than to create a raised bed).