raised beds?

[BrideXIII]

We are going to do raised beds too, and I was thinking sort of 60cm deep. Is that too deep? I have no idea

never too deep if you have the room, that's just about 2ft so i would say perfect, again it depends on the depth of soil underneath, but 2 foot is good enough for most things including potatoes and carrots and parsnips which i would think are the things that need the most depth.

[KayleighM]

Ok thankyou.

[Snadger]

Oh thats just what I needed a step by step idiots guide, believe me I can be a prize idiot

Snadger I read on an old post that you have raised beds without wooden walls. How does that work?

If like me, you garden on a shoestring but want raised beds you can have them without any sides. For me this was purely a question of economics.......I wanted lots of raised beds but didn't have the cash to build them.
Firstly, mark out your plot for 4 foot wide raised beds with 2 foot wide paths. Just use a stringline, tape measure and a spade to do this. Dig over the raised beds and from then on NEVER walk on them, allways on the paths. What happens is, initially you have added air to the soil you've dug making it take up more space and henceforth just add a heavy mulch each year.........by walking on the paths only, you squeeze out the air making them compacted and lower than the beds.
After initially laying out my whole plot I've been able to scrounge various temporary edging materials.
Ultimately I intend edging with a single or double layer of cemented brickwork just to make it neater. I have now covered all paths with teram type material and covered this with woodchippings.

Don't want to steal the thunder from allaboutliverpool as his plot and enthusiasm is pretty impressive. Well done that man!

[FionaH]

Shoestring is the byword round here. It sounds as if I have accidently done just as you suggest Snadger on my potato bed! Eventually I would like to put some weed proof membrane round the edges but that will have to wait a while.
Mr H has promised me some smaller raised bed next to the fence which he will prob make up as allaboutliverpool suggests. Veg patch is slowly creeping down the garden
Not holding my breath though, lovely as he is Mr H never finished a DIY job yet!

[Snadger]

.................Eventually I would like to put some weed proof membrane round the edges but that will have to wait a while.

I was given some offcuts of teram off a builder but the majority of stuff I've put under the woodchippings is large grass seed bags split down each side. they are of a woven consistancy similar to the big bags that sand or gravel are delivered in.........these would also be ok if cut up, I reckon!

Recycling is the name of the game!

[Storming Norman]

Kayleigh,

Personally I think 60cm of soil in raised beds may be too high. This is the size a a big pot that you would use to grow mature Blueberries in.

I grew stuff [squashes, cucumbers, courgettes] in a wooden compost bin last year - soil depth was around 2 foot, but sank a bit as time went on [it was mostly compost bin compost, not soil and it carried on compacting].

I thought it would be wonderful but it wasn't - possible because it was too free draining and the wooden sides added to this. It just never seemed to have enough water - what I put on drained away very quickly. This was the year it rained and rained! Also the wood seems to have been affected by so much soil and was rotting faster than it should.

Next to this bin I tried growing potatoes in a similar sized pile of soil/compost without a restraining edging [literally just a heap]. This had odd results - great foliage, no flowers, a crop but small and later than expected. It was also affected by over draining issues caused by the height of the soil heap.

Never say never again though - I emptied out the soil in the bin in November and refilled it with a different mix involving a clay soil layer, and lots of manure. Before it was refilled I lined it with old plastic compost bags nailed to the sides and partially layered these loosely underneath the new soil to help slow the drainage, and protect the wood better. It has a heavy mulch of manure presently and I want to create a clear lid to use it as a cold frame before it get permanently planted.

The soil heap has gone - both were experiments, this one was not worth repeating.

When you are planning this type of bed in winter excess free drainage does not really pop up as an issue but should be considered as a drawback of very deep bed systems. Lots of plants are quite shallow rooting and need moisture close to the surface. It's not that easy to water effectively. I only did this because the soil below was such rubbish. Of course this idea might work better in a less sunny spot.

Ann