New raised bed advice

[EnthusiasticNovice]

Hello!

I've done bits of gardening and even successfully grown some veg in the past, but this is my first time doing it properly on my own. My aim for this year is to grow a few of my favourites but mostly get the ground prep/structure etc right so that it serves me well for coming years.

I had planned a veg patch in my (new) back garden, based on where gets plenty of sun. But when I went to dig it today I found that it has 4-6 inches (the middle being deeper) of really lovely soil (or what I think is lovely anyway...) and then its very stony underneath. Like so stony that even through all my enthusiasm I can see that it's never going to dig out. Yes, I'm kicking myself for not sticking a fork in before today!!

So I'm thinking, if I put a raised bed on top will it work? I'm thinking a foot on top.

I'm not interested in growing root veg, the main things I want in this area are peas, broad beans and runner beans (all being provided as seedlings by my grandad, bless him), plus maybe some leeks.

Therefore I have two big questions:

1) Will these things grow in what will become 16-18 inches of soil plus the stony stuff underneath?? If not, how high would I need to go?

2) Do I need to fill my new bed with topsoil, or can I do something else??

On the second question - everything I've read online suggests I need topsoil, but then when I look at ways to get it to/near me, it looks pretty expensive. Now I understand compost alone will not do the job. BUT I have some horse manure. I know it's rotted down because my friend got it this time last year but didn't use it and is giving it to me. It has just been sat in his garden for that time.

Could I perhaps mix the manure with compost (or layer it?)? If so, would it be a 50/50 mix? Do I need to add anything else? Otherwise, how do I get topsoil without killing my bank account!?

Thanks in advance!!!

[Small pumpkin]

Hi welcome to the vine.
You really don't need to go to a foot high for your raised bed. Especially as you already have 4 - 6 inches of good stuff. And if you're not worrying about root veg it doesn't need to be that deep. They are the only ones that are going to get upset about stones.
How stoney is it ? Is it this stoney (My garden if I dig more than 4 inches. My raised beds are about 6" high.)



Have a look here for some ideas.

http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...2-a_95042.html

You can fill your raised beds with topsoil, compost, homemade compost, well rotted manure, mix of all the above.

Someone else will be along soon to advise you on all the important stuff I've forgotten.

[bikermike]

deeper is generally better, but it's not necessary.

you don't have to fill a raised bed in it's first year of use (unless you are keeping things that grow for more than one season in it).

Have you been accumulating a compost heap? (if not, it's good to get one going)

I would probably aim to fill the bed to about halfway with whatever compost/topsoil/rotted manure you can get. You can increase the effectiveness of it by putting it in higher where the plants are going to go and leaving it lower between the beds. You can even put in sand for bulk (but not so the soil is obviously sandy-coloured)

The main thing with peas etc is that deep roots aren't necessary for support as they will climb up (and be supported by) your canes.

then, you can add more material next year as you accumulate. (even in the meantime - if you have pots with things that have finished, dump the contents in the bed - NB - not if it is diseased/pest-infested, and break the plant up a bit)

[burnie]

Welcome to the vine, first question is what would you like to grow? My raised beds are made from railway sleepers and I am slowly filling them a bit more manure or compost each year. If you want to grow long carrots or parsnips, then you will need a foot deep beds, if you are happy with shorter root veg, then it's not so important.

[muck lover]

The muck sounds good

[nickdub]

I'd advise you to ignore the stony subsoil to start with - for the crops you want to grow just forking over the surface layer to clear it of any weeds should be fine.

As for the raised beds, these can work brilliantly if done well, but I'd say go steady there too to start with. The reason is that god growing soil is not just a pile of earth, it has a definite structure which you can't really see but which affects the health of your plants. So creating a healthy soil for veg growing is a long term job and relates to building up the the soil by adding manure etc over time.

In other words this is not a quick fix type activity, and the start of the growing season is almost here.

If I were in your shoes I'd concentrate on adding manure or similar to the area where you will be growing your beans - if its compost well-rotted stuff it can be forked in. The peas will benefit from moisture holding humus rich material such as leafmould, if available.

Then if you want to make some beds later in the year get some materials such as old sleepers up together and plan on doing some of the work late summer/autumn - this will give you time to get things ready for next year. Bare in mind that wood in contact with earth will rot, so using stuff like sawn boards is only a temporary arrangement.

There should be no lack of other jobs if you are feeling enthusiastic - sorting out a compost arrangement which suits you and may be getting some fruit going would be good places to start.

Happy gardening.

PS topsoil if you can get it cheap is a handy thing to use when building up beds, but be wary as if it has been stored in a heap for more then a few weeks it will have lost a lot of its value - ideally you want to move it from one spot to another within a few days.