raised beds or dig dig dig

ALIBOBSY

Ok as per a previous thread had planned to take up my 2 raised beds from last year (had problems with grass and other lawn bits coming through so wanted to start again and convert the whole lawn to beds).

We had decided the whole back could become a kitchen garden as we are on a corner with a huge front garden (plus a side bit as well) and the kids never play on the back.

Also saving for a greenhouse but thought we would have to wait a bit longer for that as the wood etc for the raised beds will need to be paid for first.

Now OH says he is happy,yes happy to actually lift the lawn and dig the whole area over. In effect creating our own lottie in the back (with a space saved for the greenhouse of course).

Raised beds would be less work but more cost and I assume less growing space.
Digging over gives more growing room and less cost, but obviously end up with more maintenance to do later lol. Don't want OH to over do it either (mind you he is 6 ft 4 and pretty fit lol)

He even said he will move the 2 beds we have to the front where we get full sun all the time (on an open corner not overlooked).
So what does eveyone think big growing area or raised beds, how much growing space do we need to grow for 5 of us?


ali x

Icemaiden

Digging up a whole lawn is serious hard graft, not only have you to remove all the turf but then dig down and remove roots/weeds and you could still get issues with then growing through. Is the soil any good under the lawn? this should be taken into account. I know you'll have to remove the lawn where the raised beds are going to go but personally I'd go for the beds;) better layout, design and managebility

Ice
x

Scubabe

Absolutely, I'd go with raised beds as well, we've found they are much better than planting straight into the ground. Also, all you're going to need to do is a quick fork over of the ground under the bed, then top up with soil, no need to dig the whole thing.

OTOH, if you decide to dig up the whole lawn and plant straight into the ground, it would save weeks of hard graft if you just hire a rotovator for a weekend to dig it all over for you.

popsytops

We have a raised bed system too. Helps to keep things managable and organise crop rotation never mind having easy paths between the various crops. We got old railway sleepers and knocked them together in a 4x10 (I think) rectangles. We drilled holes in the sides too so we can make 'hoops' of stiff pipe to support fleece in the colder weather. But then we are up north;)

Raised beds every time.

nodwah

Raised beds def the way to go - and because of the high nutrient value in the enriched soil you have in there they are more productive and you can squeeze things in closer that in the open ground see the square foot gardening thread - you don't need to do it in sq feet but the same sort of idea

Larumbelle

You also have to be very careful of what is under the lawn, not just in terms of the soil quality, but how deep the soil goes and what's under that. Newer builds in particular often have rubble in the gardens, with just a few inches of soil.

Raised beds are less initial effort, result in less weeding, and are easier (psychologically at least) to manage. As Nodwah points out, the reduced space for growing is countered by the better growing conditions, John Harrison worked out in his book that overall yields are about the same for the area used, even taking paths into account.

rhiwfield

I'm with the raised bed gang for the reasons mentioned.

Besides, they are far easier to manage if you have a bad back

Lotus-eater

Oh def raised beds. If you work out that every year on a large plot you have to dig every little bit, paths included, all those compacted bits you have walked on all year and then grow stuff on it, you can see how huge the work every single year is.
Get him just to dig up the bits you want to use as beds, install the wood and soil, he can de-turf the other areas and pile the topsoil on the beds if it is good enough. Then install weed protection fabric between the beds with bark chippings on top.
Don't be tempted to keep the grass in between the beds as cutting it will be horrible. Unless you really have to have grass there that is.

ALIBOBSY

Had a chat to OH today and decided long term we want to go down the raised beds root.
So we have made a plan for the garden to fit in as many beds as possible (with paths between) and leaving a space for the greenhouse.
Going to use the green house money if needed to make up the costs of the beds and bark for paths etc, and will leave the greenhouse till later if required. Depends really. Oh works full time and has a self employed business in evenings and weekend. Just recently getting more SE work so hopefully can get the greenhouse sooner than later, but we think getting the structure of the garden and the beds in place is more important now.

Thanks guys
Btw any ideas on cheapest place for weed protection matting/fabric?

ali x

PS measured up today and not sure if we would count as a small medium or big garden, not sure what others have really. At the back we have a patio area then growing area 25ft wide and 30 ft long, plus a side "patch" 18ft by 14ft.
The front is bigger, excluding the drive is 35ft wide by 49ft long. Going to use some of the front for food as well but need to leave some grass for the kids. Thinking small fruit trees and one of the raised beds up near the house.

rhiwfield

Alibobsy "Btw any ideas on cheapest place for weed protection matting/fabric?"
Its a while since I bought some but I recall Wickes was the cheapest then.

As to size of garden I would say yours is medium, a bit like mine. In addition to paths, patio, lawn and a small wildlide section, we've about 40 sq metres of raised beds given over to fruit and veg but our site is heavily sloping and rocky so all beds are terraced from stone or wood. To fit in as many fruit trees as possible we've espaliered apples by fences/walls and created narrow raised beds by walls for raspberries, herbs etc.The stone beds are very irregular, being put in wherever the steep slope allows. We've still got a high section of beds to complete (maybe 5 sqm) but we need to repoint retaining walls and create high roped pathways for access before constructing them out of limestone left over from a local house build

Our main group of beds (9 beds, 20 sqm) are all 4 feet wide, total length 50 feet and set out like the letter E. The pathways are also 4 feet wide, more than recommended but it suits us allowing easy access for wheelbarrow and allows plants like courgettes to spread and also lets us have tall plants without overshading others.

Best of luck with yours!!

ALIBOBSY

Thanks for that rhiwfield will have a price around and checkout wicks with the others.

We are lucky in the size of garden really as we only have a 3 bed semi. The land is all flat, but the area is a clay soil. Saying that it is a good soil as my dad grew all our veggies when I was young just around the corner from here on the same soil. However the back defo needs some drainage improvement.

Plan now is to take off the turf anyway (will pile this up to compost for future) and get some decent drainage in before putting the beds on top. Need to weigh up where to put the weed protection layer down though. Would be nice to cover the whole area, but costs may limit us. Oh reckons protect the beds more important if we want to maximise the food we grow. He says with digging up the turf and any weed roots, plus bark mulch on top, the paths should stay pretty clear anyway (and a bit of weeding isn't too bad-gives DD1 a job anyway lol)

ali x