Topic: I DO like raised beds -

[tim]

This is, literally, one handful of un-thinned carrots. I'm not a carrot grower. = Tim

[Roy Bham UK]

I could just chew on one of those they look delicious. ;D But pardon my ignorance,  :P what is the advantage of a raised bed and how high should one be? ::) I can only assume drainage or poor soil below. ???

Roy ;D ;D

[ina]

I think you are now a carrot grower Tim.

[tim]

Roy - I'll try anything once. Folk have been going on so much about raised beds that I thought we'd give it a go. It is 4' square & a plank deep - 9 or 10"? On a bit of ground with nothing but a 54' conifer's roots in it. So? So I shall do it again! = Tim

[Hugh_Jones]

Now that you`ve got this far, tim, why not go the whole hog.  Don`t bother digging over your nice new raised bed - just dump your compost on top and rake it in in the spring - in other words try the "no dig" method in it and see how it works for you.

[tim]

Nice thought, Hugh. May well try.
But I was just going to say, this morning, that there are 2 other advantages :
1. Less bending!!
2. Weed free - because I started with clean soil & it's permanently covered with fleece. Adding compost would negate that? = Tim

[Mimi]

That is just the thing that I am aiming for at my allotment Hugh. The ground is rock hard and full of stones of every size from pea gravel to boulders.  I am slowly riddling each bed as it is constructed and getting rid of all the builders rubble and rubbish(brand new allotment site, ground never even broken before) Once each bed is completed and over the winter I plan to cover each one with compost/manure/seaweed/leafmould what ever I can get my hands on and let the worms do the work for me.  I appreciate that at some time the level of soil will have built up and some will need removing but I think that the 'no dig' thing could be for me. ;)

[ALAN HOWELL]

I have been using no dig deep beds now for 4 seasons,we pile home made compost on in the spring,sprinkle chicken pellets on and away we go, so far we have had excellent results with very little physical labour,other than the usual hoeing of course.I a disabled ,re-cycled teenager  ::) so it is an ideal system for me,however I would recommend it heartily to anyone....Alan

[Hugh_Jones]

Mimi, while you`re going to all the trouble of riddling out the rubbish, put a thick layer of old newspapers, leaves, or whatever right at the bottom of the bed before you back fill.  This will take years to rot down and will provide a permanent moisture reservoir in hot weather to draw the plant roots downwards.

And tim, however good your nice clean soil is, it won`t be long before your 54ft conifer roots exhaust it, and you`ll have to start putting something back into it if you want to maintain fertility levels.

[tim]

Oh, alright!! = Tim

[Roy Bham UK]

You A4A guys/gals are parting with some excellent tips not just on this thread and I and no doubt other newbie’s on here do appreciate what you freely offer, just thought I’d let you all know as it doesn’t go unnoticed. :)

Many thanks.

Roy ;)

[Mimi]

 :-*  Thanks for the tip Hugh.  Where where you when I started on bed number one ???  Have finished number 4 now and will line with paper/leaves when I start on number 5.  Just one question .... do the leaves have to be rotten or will fresh do... just thinking  :-\ autumn just around the corner.. might be worth waiting a few weeks if freshly fallen will be ok.

[Hugh_Jones]

Last year`s would be better, Mimi, but if you decide to wait for this year`s make sure that you get them good and wet before you cover them up.

[tim]

Roy - speaking as the oldest (must be!) one here, for expert & non-expert alike, I'm sure your comment will be widely appreciated. = Tim

[Hugh_Jones]

And as (probably) the second oldest I second that.

[Garden Manager]

After growing veg in raised beds for nearly 5 years I have to say i am hooked and do not want to go back to the 'old' method i used before.

It has been a fairly steep learning curve. To begin with i filled the beds right up with soil and dug them annualy. Now i realise you dont have to dig, and if they arent full up with soil you can add plenty of compost to improve the soil.

I havent just stuck to veg in them either, I have found strawberries do well in one too, and have this year built a purpose made rased bed in the fruit plot, so that i could reclaim the bed in the veg patch i have been growing the strawberries in for the past 3 years.

I have also found sweet peas like being grown in a raised bed. i tried this for the first time this year and have had the best 'crop' of flowers yet. ( i always try to grow some flowers in the veg plot for cutting).

The only thing i've not been that happy growing in RBs is potatoes. You cant really earthe them up properly, and the 'no dig method i use, employing a mulching sheet (plantex) does not produce as good a crop as earthing up does.

No I am definetly a RB convert!  ;D

[mitzzy]

I am plannning to do RB on my allotment as after I have cleared it ,I want to do very little digging again  :D


mags