Raised beds - help?

linzibean

Having inspected the back yard further, our previous assumption that we would have at least some soil to work with seems to be unfounded - the ground is mainly shale, old foundations and rubble! Still plenty of weeds managing however :rolleyes: We're going to use the winter months to build some raised beds for our vegetables, and wondered what people would recommend as a good mix to fill them with? We have an excellent garden centre near us but the types of compost is bamboozling for a beginner like me, and do I need to lay in some topsoil too?

Basically, the plan is to have a smallish greenhouse at the top of the garden that gets all the sun, 4 separate raised beds that we can circulate veggies around in, a small pond for wildlife (goodness only knows ow we're going to dig that hole) and maybe a small run for chickens. Does this work sound feasable for the next 2 - 3 months? I am not working at present so have lots of time in the day.

WestonDave

I would see if you can get some well rotted farmyard manure (make sure it is well rotted), and blend that into whatever mix of compost you can afford. Peat based compost is sometimes considered less useful than the stuff the councils produce from green waste collections, but often the peat based stuff is cheaper.

This site http://www.squarefootgardening.com/ has a lot of interesting stuff for someone in your situation - their concept will work with raised beds laid on concrete if necessary, and they have their own recommended filling mix.

It certainly sound feasible for 2-3 months - if you can get it done quicker it may be worth it as some things need sowing (although often indoors) before the end of March.

Don't forget to leave room in your plan for a compost heap/bin (useful for topping up the beds) and also for permanent things like fruit bushes rhubarb etc. That may mean one of your four beds is a permanent one with the others rotating (there are 3 and 4 bed rotation schemes).

linzibean

Thanks WestonDave yes, I forgot to mention my compost beds, I have lots of space for a good sized row so that I can air and turn the compost. Thanks for the website, it looks very helpful!

jtb2412

We've all been busy digging out a section of the garden ready for our veggie patch but we're going to have it so it's a 'raised' section. Does anyone know whether we can (and if we can, where from) get some free wood? I've put an ad on freecycle but I'm not holding out much hope (it's not a very big group here). Just wondering whether anyone had managed to get any free wood from anywhere for their garden ?

Many thanks.

JoeyEmma

How about contacting a pallet yard? They may have broken pallets that they can give you to make your beds. I have done this in the past, although I did have to call up a couple of yards before getting one to agree.

jtb2412

Thanks JoeyEmma, will give them a ring tomorrow.

The funny thing is there's tonnes of it not 2 miles from where I live (worthing!) but they're chipping it all up ! Not only that, they don't think the beach will be open until Easter now - if they'd have let people take the wood then it would all be gone by now ! lol

Thanks for your reply :0)

valk_scot

I have 26 raised beds on my allotment, averaging about 10' x 4' each. I needed a lot of wood....and all but a couple of beds worth came out of skips. There was a new housing estate going up near me and I scavanged their skips a couple of times a week...eventually the crew foreman was so used to me coming around he used to leave the useful stuff by the side for me.

Not tanalised of course, but it lasts for six or eight years. I was lucky and got wood from a couple of old tanalised fences my neighbours were taking down, and the last beds were edged courtesy of my neighbours loft conversion.

Took me four years though to get it all done satisfactorily. But ask around...it's amazing what folk have lying in the back gardens, needing a good home.

jtb2412

Thanks valk - hubby is off up the tip shortly, so i'll get him to ask if they've got any lying about there (although we're inclined to think they will charge for it!)

We're having some roadworks done on the road where we live, and i've noticed that the workmen have some pallets lying about - might have to go and chat one of them up tomorrow ! lol

vansboy

If you have a skip hire firm near you, ring them & ask if they sort their waste, before it gets landfilled.

There is one in Hertfordshire, that has LOADS of wood, that they can't get rid of, without it costing THEM - so it'd be cheecky to be asked to pay for it!

VB

JoeyEmma

valk_scot wrote: »

I have 26 raised beds on my allotment, averaging about 10' x 4' each.

:eek::eek::eek::eek:
How big is your allotment? You must have a very large family to feed with that number of beds (plus half a dozen chest freezers!)

valk_scot

JoeyEmma wrote: »

:eek::eek::eek::eek:
How big is your allotment? You must have a very large family to feed with that number of beds (plus half a dozen chest freezers!)

80' x 40'...pretty standard. Got a family of four and we get through most of it ourselves except for the annual courgette glut! But I don't just grow veg...I've got soft fruit, trees, willow for basket making, flowers, dye plants...and there's a lot of paths if you use raised beds. Plus a shed, wood pile, paved work area and three massive compost bins. The total area under actual cultivation is a lot less, and of course it crops throughout the year. I try not to have everything ready for harvesting at the same time, so I manage with one very small chest freezer for surplus.

Best thing about raised beds is they save so much work! I dislike digging (short middle aged female with dodgy back) and with beds you only have to double dig them when you set them up, then if you never walk on them again (easy if you make them four foot wide or less) you don't have to dig them again. Very easy to maintain.