Filling a raised bed (Merged)

HampshireSeagulls

thenanny2die4 wrote: »

Hi everyone. My first post on the gardens board.

We're just planning raised beds for veggies. We have grown some veg before over the past 5 years or so, but it's been a bit haphazard and with varying success.

So.... We're planning to make the beds from wooden gravel boards attached to wooden frames and they'll probably be about 1m x 2m. Think we'll probably end up with four beds and we also plan to make a cold frame.

I'm a bit confused as to whether there's an optimum height? The area they're going onto is the old veg patch but we didn't do a great deal last year. We have access to horse manure. Is it a good idea to use this as part of the mix when we fill them? And what are your best tips for buying compost? Are there cheap bulk suppliers? I'm nervous about working out the volume we'll need and, surely, if we fill them up, the level will be much lower when it settles in a few weeks?

We'll be growing a selection of pretty bog standard veg; nothing too exotic, probably spuds, caulis, broccoli, courgettes, onions, spinach, garlic, maybe carrots and parsnips (we've had problems with forking in the past).

Any pointers, please?

Edited to add: Ooh, I forgot. What's the form regarding adding some flowers - either annuals or something sacrificial? Can we bung in some marigolds, have some trailing lobelia over the edges, stuff like that or won't the veggies get on with them???

No real optimum height, but like you said, you need to fill them. I have a selection of beds that are between 6" and 18", depending on how I felt when I built them! The whole point of raised beds is that you don't touch the soil inside, but you add soil to the top as, as you said, it will slowly erode inside the bed. The best option is to treat them like a microcosm of an allotment - towards the end of the year, top them up with manure and let the worms do their work. I don't think that there are too many cheap bulk suppliers - have a look around for topsoil and rotted (well rotted) horse manure in your area, this is probably the best way to get them started. If you can't afford to fill them all, fill some, and perhaps do the spuds in bags this year, put garlic in pots, and aim to fill the rest of the beds as you can afford it or find the material required.

I would say that if you are going for root vegetables, then put them in the tallest beds - make sure that you have almost seived the contents though! The whole point of raised beds is that you control the contents completely - weeding is by hand, and absolutely minimal because you should have made sure there were no roots when you loaded them, and you can access the tiny weeds as soon as they show themselves.

The level will settle, but not too much, and certainly not enough to stop you from working them. As for horse manure, make sure it is well rotted otherwise it will be too acidic for the plants and kill them.

Hanging plants over the edge - I would say no, purely because it gives the pests a free ladder up to the main course. You can plant flowers in amongst the veg, google complementary planting to see which flowers are used to deter/distract pests.