Topic: raised beds?

[Melbourne12]

BLUis, I don’t know whether this helps, but we’re gradually replacing our inherited and rotting raised beds with ones that can be removed for ease of digging.  They can also be given a lick of wood preservative each season.

The (rather crude) diagram shows how they’re made.  The sides are decking planks, which are cheaply available secondhand, or free if you’re lucky.  Each corner gets a reasonably stout length of fencepost timber for a leg.  Joins are simply a couple of pieces of floorboard or similar glued and screwed to one length of decking, with the adjoining one simply slotted in.

On our plot most beds are made with just one join half way down the bed, but a few require two joins.  Same principle.

During the season we leave grass paths between the beds, and strim them to keep them neat.
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[Deb P]

I also use a mix of raised beds and 'long rows', and used raised beds on one side primarily as a method of contolling the horrendous couch grass problem I inherited and poor acidic clay soil that had not be grown on for years. We also used pallet wood to build them, so cost in time only. I grow potatoes and brassicas successfully in the raised bed side, as last years photo shows (potatoes in the furthest 4 beds, brassicas netted in the middle, roots on the left and sweetcorn nearest).



Long rows side.....



I planted earlies under fleece in late February until the frosts had given up, and got good crops in early June, so I could follow on with squashes etc.
I haven't found any crops so far that don't like raised beds! I particularly like the way you can change the soil to suit your crops in each individual bed: last year I used old growbags to top up the soil in the roots bed, and got some really good carrots and parsnips.

This year the potatoes and brassicas are going on the 'long row' side, just how the rotation worked out. I found the potatoes very easy to harvest in raised beds, and there was also the advantage of the brassicas being easy to net; I use old mini greenhouse frames to give me a higher net frame for PSB and broccoli.

I like the look of them....but don't expect everyone to want to garden like me though! It would be a bit boring if we all did the same eh ... ;)

[Busy Bee]

I'd really like to put in some raised beds. Trouble is i'm on quite a slope and don't really know how to start getting  them level.
On this subject i'm thinking that variety makes the world go round. I agree with DebP in saying what a boring world it would be if we all did the same thing.
I do wonder though is it easy t o rotavate with the beds in place.

[Sparkly]

Like Deb we have 1/2 the plot in raised beds and half the plot standard row style. I like the raised bed look and the fact I can potter around tending the plants in the summer with sandals and not worry about walking on the soil. It is also easy to net or fleece around the beds. Last year we only had a small(ish) number of raised beds, but as they worked well we have increased the number.

 

[Deb P]

I do wonder though is it easy t o rotavate with the beds in place.

You could just about manage it with a Mantis or similar, but I find it easy to fork over and incorporate manure etc, plus use a lot of mulches overwinter and let the worms do the work, then fork over in Spring. As you can see, I am very lazy....... ;)

You can do raised beds on a slope, you can just about see that mine are sloped a bit, the plot is about a third of a way up a hill. If you were on a massive slope I guess you would have to terrace them, but with relatively low sides we just followed the slope! ;D

[Justy]

Trouble is i'm on quite a slope and don't really know how to start getting  them level.
 
I do wonder though is it easy t o rotavate with the beds in place.

I think that generally the idea is that rotavation is not needed as there is no compaction of the soil.

My site gently slopes and I have just gone with the slope too and although it does drive me a bit mad when I look at the beds from a certain angle it was easier than trying to get everything completely level.

[Mr Smith]

I've just constructed another raised bed this morning, I lined it with weed suppressant and then emptied the contents of one of my compost bins in the bottom with chicken pellets and growmore, would a cheapo compost and a topsoil mixture be suitable to finish the raised bed off, :)