Raised Beds - Review I suppose

mikey_D

Hi everyone I always seem to be asking questions and not offering that much help but thought this may be of interest. I have been looking at building some raised beds for vegtables, looked at lots of sites for kits (very exensive) and buying the materials, (decking joists, sleepers etc) anyway by accident I stumbled across these.

http://www.avsfencing.co.uk/retail/products-by-type/grow-your-own/vegetable-bed/vegetable-beds/premier-vegetable-beds/

Anyway I now have two and am very pleased, although they are a complete kit and you have to build them from scratch (should have read the info more clearly) everything is supplied pre cut and everything is good quality and the timber is straight. They suppply nails to put them together but I purchased screws (another £15.00 on top).

I also brought some raised bed liners from Harrod H to line them with.

Anyway just thought this maybe useful for anyone. Now just need to work out what to plant.

Davesnave

It looks strong enough, but the parts are just half round fencing rails and 50x50mm pointed tanalised stakes, all easily obtainable. The size offered allows people to cart this away, as they don't offer delivery for orders under £150.

The price isn't unreasonable, considering that they've done some basic cutting etc. For comparision, I bought 16 of those rails last week, but 3.65m long, for £65 inc VAT.

I'd suggest people look at 150 x 22mm tanalised board as an easier alternative construction material, though it won't result in a bed as deep or as strong as this one. The question is, does one actually need something 30cm deep? On my soil, that answer is "No." I only use the half round where there is a serious change of level.

wallbash

Knock one up using decking boards , easily obtained . looks good , a big bonus as some of these 'cheap' raised beds ideas should be kept for the allotment and never in a garden .

valk_scot

I've just built a new set of raised beds using decking board from B&Q @ £3 for 2.40m lengths (Was the wrong colour, apparently, thus very cheap) and gravel pegs from the local builders merchant for 40p each. And some really good self tapping outdoor screws, which were about £7 a box iirc. I've got six beds now, all 2.4m x 1.2m (spot the woman who hates sawing things!) for just under £12 each. I did build one of them double height, for deep crops, but otherwise the 25cm wide boards were fine. It's better to dig down rather than go up imho, if only because you might as well use the soil you've got rather than buy it in. And unless you've got contaminated soil why line it?

poodlegal

Some good info and that was a good price valk! Just to add my idea for really cheap though not really attractive raised beds I have successfully used large builders white tonne square sacks folded in down to about a ft deep and filled with soil and compost. Gives you a nice meter (ish) square bed and I have put about 6 with a little walkway between, they look ok when all the plants are grown up and you can easy cover them with netting etc.

valk_scot

poodlegal wrote: »

Some good info and that was a good price valk! Just to add my idea for really cheap though not really attractive raised beds I have successfully used large builders white tonne square sacks folded in down to about a ft deep and filled with soil and compost. Gives you a nice meter (ish) square bed and I have put about 6 with a little walkway between, they look ok when all the plants are grown up and you can easy cover them with netting etc.

These white sacks are very useful, I agree! I've not used them as beds (will keep it in mind though, like all good ideas) but they make great liners for compost bins built from pallets and stop loose material falling out the sides. A folded one makes a good lid too.

Come to think of it I also used one a couple of years ago as an overflow composting bin on the allotment, just perched on the end of a bed to take all the extra stuff in the autumn cleanup. The following year I opened it up and grew a pumpkin on it and after that just tipped the compost out on the bed. So a sort of hybrid between your bed idea and my compost idea.

Davesnave

wallbash wrote: »

Knock one up using decking boards , easily obtained . looks good , a big bonus as some of these 'cheap' raised beds ideas should be kept for the allotment and never in a garden .

Yes they're another good raw material, but I don't see anything cheap & cheerful here. Surely there are many kinds of garden, including ones where there's a hedge between the allotment bit and the fancy bit, and all kinds of permutations in between.

wallbash

The question of raised beds has been 'raised' on this forum many times , some bright spark will say , use second hand pallet wood ........... unsightly looking rubbish.
ps some else will mention plastic !!!!!!!!!!!

matt987106

wallbash wrote: »

The question of raised beds has been 'raised' on this forum many times , some bright spark will say , use second hand pallet wood ........... unsightly looking rubbish.

Yet, they are normally FREE, open they will just get broken up and burnt ( thus you are reusing them and being green )

i can think of worse reasons to use them

Davesnave

matt987106 wrote: »

Yet, they are normally FREE, open they will just get broken up and burnt ( thus you are reusing them and being green )

I wonder how many people who advocate the use of pallet timber have tried to dismantle a pallet!

The damn things are usually designed not to come apart easily, so try as I might, I usually fail to get more than a couple of unbroken low grade boards after much personal effort.

A teach-in by the superior individuals who do this successfully is long overdue here.

aliasojo

wallbash wrote: »

ps some else will mention plastic !!!!!!!!!!!

Don't knock plastic beds, they have their uses.

My house situation is in limbo right now and although we are living as though we will be here for another year, the reality is, we could end up moving sooner.

Plastic modular beds are a Godsend to me right now, easily put up or dismantled, light to move, take up no space when dismantled etc and they mean I can at least grow something in the meantime.