Raised bed help

[catbud]

Hi,

As some of you will be aware, I'm about to have my first garden and I wanted some advice on where to begin. I want to have some raised beds, prob 2 to begin with but how do I start? Was thinking of making them out of wood, any tips? Also, what do I do to the soil underneath the raised beds? I live in a clay-soil area. Then what do I fill the raised beds with? Multi-purpose compost? What about worms? As you can see, I'm a raised beds virgin! Lots of questions but any help gratefully received.

Catbud

[andrewo]

You need to have wooden stakes to drive into the ground to attach any planks to with screws (not nails as the soil will push the boards out). Make sure that wood has been treated with any product that keeps out rot (for a while anyway!). You will need a stake every metre to stop the boards from warping dependent on the length of your beds. (Have 10' long beds and have three stakes holding the sides (I opt to put these on the outside to push against the soil). When the beds are in place, fork over the bottom of the bed as best as you can and add plenty of manure, raising the level, you can add a mixture of manure and compost then to raise the level (do not raise it all the way up as you will be adding manure each year and want some space for the beds to build up (try and not to stand on the bed when all this is finished). You can add worms but more than likely they will find there way up but if your soil is already wormless, it won't harm it to add some more. Remember, to dig over the bottom with a fork and break it up with manure and compost, especially as you're on clay.

[catbud]

Many thanks

[nick the grief]

Don't go much wider than 4' either cat bud as you 'll be able to reach the middle of the bed from either side then. It's easy when its empty, but by the time stuff i growing it won't be!!

[wolf320f]

ive just done it myself

hello catbud,

have just completed the very task, have photos of completed veg plot but to large a file to post here. message me if you would like details and a look see. i used treated gravel boards and treated 2" x 2" cut with a saw into stakes to anchor things. before hand i dug the plot and added several bags of soil improver followed by a ton of a very good quality topsoil once the beds where established.
to then cut back on maintenance i laid plastic bags out between the beds and then covered inbetween with gravel.
the result a low maintenance series of beds that are never trod on and easily turned over with a hoe or three pronged cultivator.
mine was done as cheap as possible and slow time due to having ill health so it isnt hard to complete for the able bodied.
i agree with the other replies keep to the 4ft width and no more, go as long as you want but stick to the 4ft width.
if you have money available for a pre bought solution try searching for link a board on the internet.

hope this helps

[notmilk]

I made my raised beds 3' wide as i don't want to be stretching over to the middle; looking back now I probably should have gone 4'.
I have 6 12' x 3' beds made from salvaged 6"x1.5" boards at the allotment - 4 are in a crop rotation and 2 are permanent crops (asparagus in the one, not sure what i'm going to put in the 2nd one yet).
I've only been at the allotment since October last year so this is my first year of growing.
But from what i've read raised beds is definately the best option for ease of management, not compacting soil etc...
I half filled each bed with well rotted horse manure (left over by previous tenant RIP) and topped up with sieved soil from another part of the plot I was levelling for the shed.

[Peter]

Sleepers.

If you can afford them old railway sleepers make a great side for a raised bed.
Probably get loads of posts now decrying the tar content, but it is no worse than whatever chemical is in the treated boards, plus usually hardly any on the surface, usually some "spots" that weep a bit.

I have only one very small raised bed made this way and I can guarantee you will not get any warping, or need to stake them. Drill through the ends, overlap, like brick-laying, and push a bit or reinforcing rod through the holes.

My daughters primary school has a much larger 2 to 3 foot high raised bed, flowers/shrubs, made this way.

Round my way about 10 to 15 £ per eight foot sleeper.

They will outlast you in all probability and are recycled!

[WiZeR]

I've also just done this. Mine where 3mx1m

[nick the grief]

I love the idea of raised beds & no dig as I suffer in the old back dept. But I wonder how effective they are at growing Spuds. So it will be good to see how you guys get on with them & I may become a convert myself.

[pigletwillie]

We have 17 raised beds made out of scaffolding planks and grow everything but potatoes in them as we have the benefit of another plot that has good soil for them.

We even have modular cold frames and netting that slots over the beds as they are all the same width. This gives us total flexibility in what bed we grow things in.

[Nicos]

Nick - as you are aware , we are new to raised beds this year, and strangely enough my gut instinct is not to grow spuds in them either!! probably due to the depth spuds can grow under the soil.
We have set aside an area of 3 beds 12'x10' to rotate with spuds/brassicas and courgettes.I am really looking forward to doing the no-dig system on these beds - should make life so much easier, and save a few worms in the process too! Ours vary in length but all are 4ft wide.
The water table is finally falling and is now 2 ft below the surface - I'm hoping the raised beds will be useable much earlier next year because of this system. My only concern is they may dry out more readily in the summer and need watering!!...time will tell eh?

[nick the grief]

Hi Nicos, I guess you can get round the earthing up problem by having some Ground cover that is the samy size and the bed & have "holes" cut in them spaced for earlies & maincrop/ You can plant them a bit deeper with a trowel or the like. It's just "not the norm" I guess and thats why I'm hesitant

[pigletwillie]

Nicos,

get as much organic stuff into the beds as you can and you will be suprised at how well they hang onto water. Mine are about 90% manure and 10% home made compost and leaf mould. They crop really well and even during our 10 day heatwave last year only needed watering once. Normal soil just isnt good enough and you will have to water. I dont plant spuds or leeks in them as they are not really deep enough to do them justice although I deed do a few leeks last year and they were ok.

I prefer to use the beds for premium or expensive to buy crops.

[andrewo]

My beds have plenty of organic matter and I add spent hops every year and they never have dried out and I'm south facing - the bonus is, is they warm up faster and retain heat for longer. Also, you can make a hot bed for forcing.

[Green Thumb Annie]

Info on raised beds

I came across this book a year or two ago. I fell in love with it. I sent a copy to my cousin, and she enjoys it too. It has all the basics on raised beds, plant companions, and critters both good and bad.

The book is Great Garden Companions by Cunningham. Maybe your local library might have it? It's focused on organic gardening.

And if you'e a neat-nik with every leaf in its place, this is not the book for you. It's for fun gardening.