Raised bed shape ?

[Sanke]

Hi all
Moved into our current house in Feb & have been starting to sort the garden out for next year. We already had a shed but I have now added a greenhouse Part of the lawn next to the greenhouse is gong to be used for growing veg As we have two dogs & clay soil I will be making some raised beds
The beds can be made in either an L shape ( against a corner fence ) or a U or two straight beds just wondered if anyone had any preferences e.g. More productive / easier to work ?

[Littlefox2000]

Hi there...I'm sure lots of more knowledgeable people will be along in a min.

But I'll give you a bit of my experience. I set up my plot this year with 4m x 1.5m raised beds, and 10 of them. I can get to each side of them all the way around. But I find them a bit too wide at 1.5m, if I'm honest.

I have a new plot now and am setting all my beds up with access on all side and only 1m in width. This seems more accessible for me, but I'm pretty short at 5ft3. I just really struggled to harvest and plant things in the middle of the beds when they are 1.5m wide. I would say that for me it's important to be able to get all around the bed if they are over 1m in width. I'm doing an L-shaped design, but I will still be able to access all sides of the beds..

Hope this helps a bit with your planning. 😊

LF


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[Bren In Pots]

If you're making beds make sure you can reach the middle from both sides that way you won't have to tread on your soil.

Just noticed that was your first post so hello and welcome to the vine.

[Littlefox2000]

If you're making beds make sure you can reach the middle from both sides that way you won't have to tread on your soil.

Just noticed that was your first post so hello and welcome to the vine.

Ooh hello properly from me too. Welcome! 😊


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[kathyd]

I'd say it's a matter of personal preference on the shape, provided, as everyone else says you can access from both sides, OR the beds are narrow enough for you to reach right to the back. Our outdoor raised beds are 1.2m wide, which is only just manageable for me without straining too much - I'm 5'7". In the polytunnel, where they're obviously running along a 'wall', they're half a metre wide along the length of the tunnel, with 1m square beds sticking out from these into the centre of the tunnel, leaving a metre in between each square - this way I can (just) reach all parts of all beds.

[PyreneesPlot]

Another hello and grumble about bed widths. Mine are 1,5m and too wide, so I have a board for standing on to stretch to the middle. Which is of course useless when it is full of plants.

[zazen999]

My recommendation is to make the beds without sides for a year until you are certain it's the right width. Just mound the soil up with 45 degree sides.

Like this /''''''''\

[Bill HH]

Apparently the man who invented square foot gardening which uses raised beds, says 4ft (I.22m) is the ideal size to get access from both sides, also allow room between beds so you can kneel in the space between.If you have a dog like mine who pees on everything that is more than 3inches high, including other peoples fishing tackle bags,climbers hard hats, and womens hand bags (yes he's done all those) then you might want to make your beds a little higher than usual so he cant pee into the actual beds,

[Mikey]

I have two different sized bed widths 1 at 900mm and the other at 1200mm both are about 450mm high, I find the latter a little wide. Reasons being that when you are dutch hoeing its very easy to reach the other side of the bed on the 900mm but its a bit of a stretch at 1200 and its not as easy dutch hoeing the edge of the bed nearest to you as it is the other side.

So I'm in the camp of upto a metre but not less than 600mm as thats just too narrow.

[Snadger]

Suggestions in terms of height & width of a raised bed:
Width: Of course you can construct a raised bed in any size, length or height you fancy. However if you want a raised bed which you can comfortably access from both sides without standing on the soil, you need it to be a maximum of about 1.2m wide. At this 1.2m width you should be able to easily reach all areas of the raised bed. If you can only access the raised bed from one side, the maximum width is going to be about 0.6m.
Height: The height of a raised bed will be determined by what’s best for you and how you want to use it. Think about whether you want to do your gardening standing up, sitting down, or kneeling, and whether you’d like to be able to sit on the edge of the raised bed. Generally speaking, an approximate height of around 900-1000mm is good for standing, 650-750mm is good for sitting, and 600-620mm is good for wheelchair use.

It depends on how tall you are and what reach you have methinks.There is no 'one size fits all'. And remember that edged beds are EXTERNAL sizes so you won't have the full width to grow in, where on an un-edged bed you will!

[zazen999]

It depends on how tall you are and what reach you have methinks.There is no 'one size fits all'. And remember that edged beds are EXTERNAL sizes so you won't have the full width to grow in, where on an un-edged bed you will!

He was spamming that link! Now removed by the heavies.

[Snadger]

He was spamming that link! Now removed by the heavies.

Sleepers 'r' us ?

[Alison]

Mine at the lottie are all 4' wide and either 10' or 6' long depending on location. Don't go too long or you'll be tempted to walk across rather than round.

[MartinRSharpe]

Nearly all mine are 1.2m x 2.4m.

Width works well for me and it means they can be cheaply made with 3x 2.4m deck boards. 1 long one for each side and the 3rd cut in half for each end.

[Sanke]

Thanks for all your replies Looks like I will be settling for 2 8 x 4 beds running in line with the greenhouse Would this be big enough to feed a family of 4 or will I need to find room for some more ?