Cheapest place to buy a raised veg bed

dllive

Hi all,
Where the cheapest place to buy a raised veg bed (one that doesnt collapse within a year). B&Q? Mole Valley? Ive looked on Facebook Marketplace but theres none available near me.
Thanks

MovingForwards

If you are a bit 'handy' new railway sleepers, built up to what height you want, fixed together.

I've seen them for £20 each, length was 240cm.

silverwhistle

I used gravel boards, in my case picked up from this supplier: https://www.avsfencing.co.uk/    Other similar places will be available in your area, although there may be complications and delays at the moment..

pramsay13

I have 2 that I made from old pallets so pretty cheap (free) and will last a long time as the wood has been treated.

Green_hopeful

We used gravel boards and bought them from a timber merchant. They cut them to size for me and bits of 2 inch wood to make the corners. Gravel board is normally treated. The last ones I made we treated the boards ourselves but that was over rated. Drill the boards and screw them together with decking screws. Then you can have them the size and height you want. I am sure there are instructions on line but it is pretty easy to do. I made a cardboard template for my screw holes so they don’t clash on different sides of the beds. Looks nice too. It is conventional to make them 8 foot by 4 foot but we have some that size and some 4 foot square and some 10 foot by 3 to fit the space. 

Davesnave

A wood yard will be cheapest and will cut stuff for you.

I use treated 150 x 22mm 'gravel boards' as above, but bought as 3.6m or 4.2m lengths and cut to the size preferred. 50mm square & treated for the corners. Screwfix do plenty of outdoor rated screws which will last 10 years of weather.

Pretend railway sleepers are overkill, but OK if you want a 'pretty' veg area. Real ones are full of creosote, so definitely avoid those.

phoebe1989seb

Davesnave said:

A wood yard will be cheapest and will cut stuff for you.

I use treated 150 x 22mm 'gravel boards' as above, but bought as 3.6m or 4.2m lengths and cut to the size preferred. 50mm square & treated for the corners. Screwfix do plenty of outdoor rated screws which will last 10 years of weather.

Pretend railway sleepers are overkill, but OK if you want a 'pretty' veg area. Real ones are full of creosote, so definitely avoid those.

We went for the 'pretty or 'overkill' look, lol, using new oak sleepers  Our reasoning being our cottage/garden had been so neglected by the previous owners that we wanted to pretty it up as much as possible.

The new oak sleepers were for the veg beds in the walled courtyard area of our garden. The sleepers were stupidly expensive but we achieved the look we were going for.

We did get some cheaper new sleepers to use in the main garden, but tbh I'm not happy with those and just hope they age/weather a bit!

It really depends on budget/look you want 

Two pics of our oak sleepers and one of the cheaper type in our garden.....

Davesnave

phoebe1989seb said:

Davesnave said:

A wood yard will be cheapest and will cut stuff for you.

I use treated 150 x 22mm 'gravel boards' as above, but bought as 3.6m or 4.2m lengths and cut to the size preferred. 50mm square & treated for the corners. Screwfix do plenty of outdoor rated screws which will last 10 years of weather.

Pretend railway sleepers are overkill, but OK if you want a 'pretty' veg area. Real ones are full of creosote, so definitely avoid those.

We went for the 'pretty or 'overkill' look, lol, using new oak sleepers 

The question was about cheapness, which ought to include expected lifespan in the calculation, which is why I wouldn't go for pallet wood, most of which isn't treated.

Yours will probably last longer than mine, but youhave introduced aesthetics as well. I'm assuming that as the OP hasn't mentioned those, their veggies are like mine; hidden from the pretty stuff  by a hedge, or similar, and maybe even close to a huge, utilitarian polytunnel!

-taff

I've used 4 x 4 treated wood blocks, made lego style with the each next level overlapping the corners of the other and decking screws. 25 quid for the screws from screwfix. The wood came free, but if you can find similar use that. Any chunky or solid wood will work but if it isn't treated it'll rot eventually anyway, just a bit faster.

I saw some really nice metal raised beds that can be used in a square or a rectangle but they are qute pricey, but won't rot. And come in pretty colours

Like this

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Raised-metal-garden-cream-finish/dp/B00ZWUW57O

phoebe1989seb

Davesnave said:

phoebe1989seb said:

Davesnave said:

A wood yard will be cheapest and will cut stuff for you.

I use treated 150 x 22mm 'gravel boards' as above, but bought as 3.6m or 4.2m lengths and cut to the size preferred. 50mm square & treated for the corners. Screwfix do plenty of outdoor rated screws which will last 10 years of weather.

Pretend railway sleepers are overkill, but OK if you want a 'pretty' veg area. Real ones are full of creosote, so definitely avoid those.

We went for the 'pretty or 'overkill' look, lol, using new oak sleepers 

The question was about cheapness, which ought to include expected lifespan in the calculation, which is why I wouldn't go for pallet wood, most of which isn't treated.

Yours will probably last longer than mine, but youhave introduced aesthetics as well. I'm assuming that as the OP hasn't mentioned those, their veggies are like mine; hidden from the pretty stuff  by a hedge, or similar, and maybe even close to a huge, utilitarian polytunnel!

Indeed    Ours are in full view in an area intended also to sit out in....if they were where our (much smaller  ) polytunnel is - behind a high wall, almost entirely hidden from sight! - I doubt we'd have bothered so much about aesthetics!

I really like those metal ones -taff linked to. Harrod Horticultural have them but DH ruled them out as too modern/trendy for his very traditional tastes.....

twopenny

Beautiful in the photo.

You do have to go for cheap and having to do it all again or biting the bullet and buying a decent one from a garden centre or making one yourself.

I saw someone making them from old furniture drawers. Take the bottom out of 2 the same size as each other and fix them one on top of the other with wood battens at the corners, mid longside too if they are very big. Give them a coat of paint to brighten them up.