Need help with my raised beds

[Millzi87]

Hello,

I am planing to build some raised beds. The problem is that we had a lot of building work done recently and now there is builders bricks and ruble throughout the garden ground ( as far down as 2ft)!

My question is do I need to dig all the way down to remove it or can I just raise the bed even more? Any ideas and tips would be much appreciated.

Thank you

[KevinM67]

I would certainly try and remove the larger pieces of rubble as much as possible.

Then it really depends on how high are the intended raised beds and what are you planning on growing.

I could imagine veg like carrots, parsnips and possibly spuds might struggle, however there are certainly alternative ways of growing these (bags, pots,etc.)

[Bigmallly]

As Kevin said really:
How high are you planning on making your beds?
What are you planning on growing as a lot of veg only have shallow roots .
The rubble should be good for drainage, at least you won't be flooded.

[johnjohn]

My beds are only 5" high, some would call them edged beds rather than raised beds. This is my first year of growing in beds as I previously grew directly into the the ground. If I was in your position, assuming you can clear a depth of only 3" and you were to use a 5" raised bed like mine you would get a fine parsnip of around 8" or so.

As Kevin and BM said, how deep were you going to make yours?, you don't have to go very deep to be productive, parsnips are probably the deepest root that you would grow.

Spuds aren't a problem, if you can make a hole they will grow. You can compensate for a shallow bed by covering with mulch.

[Kristen]

Get the builders back and tell them to sort it out.

[Millzi87]

I am able to go about 1ft above ground and yes carrots and parsnips would be among the veg I would want.

[Bigmallly]

If you are wanting to grow Parsnips & Carrots, you are best leaving the manure out...................unless of course you want to enter the funny veg class at the end of the season..........

[Two_Sheds]

I am able to go about 1ft above ground and yes carrots and parsnips would be among the veg I would want.

but ... they are cheap to buy in the shops. With limited space I would grow more expensive crops, eg fruit, salads

[Kristen]

Get the builders back and tell them to sort it out.

You can't make a garden on top of builders rubble. Plus they will probably have compacted all the soil terribly, and may well have washed out their cement mixer and just let the contents set hard on the ground. It all has to come out, and the soil need roughly digging (although getting the rubbish out will probably achieve that) so that it drains and has some air in it. Whilst you are doing that then also incorporating some organic matter would give you a flying start.

What are you doing with the bit that the builders made a mess of which is not under the raised beds? Flower beds / lawn? Those are going to need the soil sorting out in the same way.

Got a fit (as in "strong" ) teenager nearby who could use some cash?

Only time I would not prepare the soil under raised beds is if they are on concrete (i..e that's the reason for the raised beds) in which case they need to be built with drainage at the bottom and at least 18" deep and that would need a tonne of topsoil (£80-£100) for every 1.5 metres square.

[Millzi87]

Thank you,

Yes the rest of the garden will be lawn.
I guess I have a lot of work ahead of me!

[Kristen]

Lawn needs to be dug over and prepared - same whether you put down turf or sow seed - sadly you can't just chuck some turf on any old ground

[Martin H]

It's not so bad, I've done it a few times before, most recently 2 years ago. Get a nice strong digging fork and go over it a forkful at a time: push the fork all the way in, lever out a forkful, pick out any bricks, give the lump of soil a bash with the back of the fork then move on to the next bit.

The process lets in air, water and subsequently roots, while letting the natural character of the ground start to re-assert itself.

If a full-size fork is too heavy, a border fork will work fine, it just takes a bit longer because the forksful are smaller.

If you're building raised beds on top that's all you need to do; for a lawn I'd spread any organic matter I can find over the top and then go over it again a bit more thoroughly before getting on with the standard lawn preparation activity.

Good luck, take pics as you go and post them here so we can encourage you!