Raised bed construction

[AnglianVeg]

Building raised beds at a new house in Norfolk, and would appreciate knowing if my plans seem naive. I previously had two approx 18" 12’x6’ raised beds directly on grass, no corner posts, no lining. Worked well for a decade before I moved. The new ground soil is good.

The plan: 6-8 beds, 9” high, 3'-4’ x 8'-10’. 38mm boards, for many types of veg/fruit/some flowers. Raised partly for drainage, also for dogs/keep grass outside the bed/lower additional soil requirements/aesthetics. No corner posts. Corner posts look popular, but with this low height, the side stress looks low. No lining.

Possibly these beds:

https://www.scaffolding-direct.co.uk...1-8m-6ft-.aspx

Mark out the area for each bed. Hire a turf cutter (never used one), remove turf. Hire mid-powered rotovator (never used one), do a couple of passes. (The turfcutter and rotovator will do similar work in other parts of the garden on the same hires).
Beds on the left half of the photo, short end on the left. Maybe a polytunnel on the right half.

Put raised beds into position.Buy bulk bags of topsoil/peat free compost mix to fill them. Probably 1000l of rotted horse manure to mix in.

Thoughts?

[nickdub]

The boards will rot through eventually obviously, how soon will I guess mostly depend on the type of wood. Whether this would bother you or not only you can say.

I used some old scaffold boards to make raised beds about 10 years ago, and they are now on their last gasp. In retrospect, I wish I'd used liners to give them a chance of lasting longer.

[Mr Bones]

Would it be easier to miss out the turf cutting and rotovating part and instead build inside the boards Charles Dowding style, i.e cover the grass with cardboard and fill the same as you intended.

[Snadger]

^^^^^^ Great minds Mr bones.

I was just going to suggest this. It would save the cost of hiring turf cutter and rotovator and be a lot quicker and easier. Also raised corner posts can be a boon in keeping hosepipe off beds if its being dragged around plot. Some corner posts have decorative finials which are a smart addition.

[Nicos]

When we had raised beds OH put some tall corner posts on some of them ( about 2ft or so ) so we could use it for fixing netting or fleece.

[Compostman2]

Made raised beds size 4ft x 15ft using scaffold boards here in North Norfolk 6 years ago using Charles Dowding way and not looked back.

Plenty of life left in them.

[peanut]

Another vote for Charles Dowding no dig beds. Best thing I ever did. So many more worms and much less/easier weeding!!!

[Peteyd]

I've tried a couple of different methods in various different houses I've lived. first up, I turfed the beds, then dug in a load of manure then added 1x9 boards round the outside with 2x2 corner posts. then we moved and tried the no-dig method (again with 1x9 boards and 2x2 corner posts), I have to say, personally the no-dig method seems to have worked better - less digging (obviously!), less weeding and what seems to be generally better quality soil.

We're off again soon to what will hopefully be our "forever" home (if we ever find a place that meets "our" exact requirements...) and when we get round to getting a veg garden established, I'm going to edge the raised beds with brick, something nice a permanent and aesthetically pleasing.

On the subject of raised corner posts, again, previously I've always cut them off level with the top of the edge boards, next time though I will raise them - mainly so I an use them for netting etc if required. I'm fed up with cobbling together a cane version which inevitably falls down in the first strong gust, or when a bird fly's past or ant walks on top...

[AnglianVeg]

Thanks everyone.
I initially ruled out no dig because I thought that needed more depth for some crops than the 9" of my likely beds - I don't want to pile above the bed height. The soil underneath being good, I might still go no dig on the expectation that roots will push their way down. By the time the beds are built, it will be August anyway, giving plenty of time for cardboard/topsoil to kill off the grasses underneath by next Spring.
I only looked at (inside) corner posts as a reinforcement issue for the bed, but they sound useful for netting. I've read others complain about hoses getting tangled in them.

[Mr Bones]

I initially ruled out no dig because I thought that needed more depth for some crops than the 9" of my likely beds - I don't want to pile above the bed height. The soil underneath being good, I might still go no dig on the expectation that roots will push their way down.

With no-dig the soil beneath the beds should soon condition and become as good as the tops AV. The 20 inch parsnip below is from one of our beds that had only been no-dig for just over two years. Before that we'd never dug them that deep.

[Peteyd]

agree. the soil will soon be good to grow some root crops. i remember watching something about a gardener who grows extra root veg, doesn't harvest them just cuts them off at soil leel. that way, when the roots rot, it leaves behind open, fertilised and open textured soil. i can't remember what programme it was on, possible a river cottage?

[AnglianVeg]

Follow-up. Bed construction, and then 9x1000l bags of raised bed mix later. Electric screwdrivers are no match for big corded drills. I used Quickcrop raised beds, but will change to a different maker for more beds later this year.

[Mr Bones]

Looking good there AV thanks for keeping us posted