raised beds?

[Tin Shed]

I have raised beds on one plot that was very heavy soil and would have been very difficult to dig over.
I found a friendly builder and have used scaffold boards.
They have been great for the salad crops,spinach, carrots and beetroot etc. Also grow my sweetcorn, courgettes, onions and shallots in them, but don't use them for potatoes or brassicas.
They are much easier to weed, but do take a bit more watering.

[Tin Shed]

[manicscousers]

I joined this forum today to get some advice about raised beds, but i cant believe the negative attitudes of some people! 

i have a bad back since having my son, i was also in a car accident just before Xmas so a raised bed would definitely help me out.

If anyone can give some positive advice for me, what to make them with, how to make them, I would be really grateful.  I dont want to plant a lot this year, just salad, tomatoes, strawberries (in a 3 tier planter) and perhaps carrots and onions, so the area wont be a large one. 
ps i am NOT lazy!!!!

Hiya, BLUis, welcome to the site  ;D
we use raised beds all over our plot, due to mobility probs for us both, as we've got worse, so our beds go up  ;D
what sort of soil and have you got nasty weeds where you're going to put the bed in?
we used old pallets, stripped down and treated, trouble is, my oh made them so he will know better, if he can help, let me know  :)

[Norfolk n Proud]

Lazy ! ! ! What a crock of poop. I am out working 45 hours a week. I have been down every morning, every day I have off and ALL weekend most weeks (allowing for hols etc) since last February. What an incredibly narrow minded point to make.

Mine arent really raised more boxed in areas. I just like them the way they are.

P.s I use both a rotivator and a spade and would quite happily use round up.
[/quote]

Evening Flunky,   Whereabouts in Naaarfolk are you from? I'm in sunny Faknum, and i use all raised beds as it's what suits me, and i find it easy to rotate crops in a numbered bed system, but hey, each to their own!!  Get orrrrrff my land!!  ;D

[Eristic]

Well you lot may not be lazy but I am and that is one very good reason for not using raised beds. The other good reason for not using raised beds is the incredibly poor yields generally obtained.  But then, I reckon I eat a hell of a lot more than many folks here.  8)

[Vortex]

Well you lot may not be lazy but I am and that is one very good reason for not using raised beds. The other good reason for not using raised beds is the incredibly poor yields generally obtained. 

I don't think either argument stacks up. Yes they take a little more effort to build but once built are a lot easier to manage.
More often than not, when managed correctly a raised bed will produce more than an open row system, and you can plant much closer than with open rows.
I use both and they both have their pro's and con's. It's all a matter of applying a little common sense and using each to maximize its advantages and minimize its disadvantages.

[Eristic]

you can plant much closer than with open rows.

How's that then? A plant needs an optimum spacing for maximum growth regardless of whether it is in a box or not. As for the bit about raised bed growers being able to replant after harvest, that's cool but what do you think I do? My land is rarely idle for long.

[elvis2003]

i for one dont like the uniform look of raised beds,although this year we have *boxes*for carrots,dahlia and gladiolis,which will prob stay the same year in year out,cept for the carrot bed which we will pick up and move as per crop rotation.its surely an individual choice,taking into account personal preference etc,we all have different needs and stuff,so should garden accordingly,as to what suits each individual.we have a couple of plot holders with only a quarter plot,most of which is taken up with raised beds,and huge paths,but hey,if thats what they can manage than im not prepared to judge.each to their own
rach
x

[BAK]

I use raised beds ... but without wooden surrounds ... I dig ... I dont work 45 hours per week ... I am probably very lazy.

Looks like I will be first against the wall whichever of your revolutions comes along first :(

[Robert_Brenchley]

What's the evidence of lower yields? Plants are normally closer together on a bed system, raised or otherwise, as you don't need to leave space to get between the rows.

[Froglegs]

Works for me.

[1066]

I joined this forum today to get some advice about raised beds, but i cant believe the negative attitudes of some people! 

i have a bad back since having my son, i was also in a car accident just before Xmas so a raised bed would definitely help me out.

If anyone can give some positive advice for me, what to make them with, how to make them, I would be really grateful.  I dont want to plant a lot this year, just salad, tomatoes, strawberries (in a 3 tier planter) and perhaps carrots and onions, so the area wont be a large one. 

ps i am NOT lazy!!!!

Welcome to A4A Bluis - looks like youv'e wandered into 1 of those hot topics that everyone basically needs to agree to disagree  ;D For info on raised beds, I don't have them (but haven't ruled them out  8) ) try the search function at the top of the page - loads of useful info on here
1066

[70fingers]

Hi,

We use a mix of wooden raised beds, earthed up raised beds and the conventional rows..

I like the idea of raised beds they are easier to manage, you dont walk on them and you can sit and weed. For us it was easier to break the plot down into manageable beds.

We dont have the money to buy them so we have used old recycled timber, ie pallets, builders off cuts.

For us as novices it was always about experimenting, making use of old practices and exploring some new ones for example permaculture. I really don't believe there is a right or wrong way, its all about giving it a go  to see if it works for you.

http://www.allaboutliverpool.com/allaboutallotments1_homepage.html has some lovely pictures of what you can do with raised beds and some tips on how to build them from deckingboards.

Maybe in ten years time I will have a different view on raised beds I dont know, but at the moment I am having a jolly good time experimenting - fun this growing lark aint it!!? ;D

[Psi (Pronounced 'Si'!)]

All

It depends on site, climate, soil, lifestyle, what you grow, how much time you have spare, cost, motivation, taste as to which style of bed you use.  As long as you have the perception that it works for you and you enjoy it then you are doing the best thing for you.  There isn't a right or wrong.

However, I do wish people would drop the 'lazy' or 'following the trend' view of those using beds though - personally I find it a bore and I can not believe how much of a talking point it is!!

It's the growing and enjoying it that counts huh?  :D

Psi
x

[asbean]

Welcome to A4A BLUis.  Why not try a combination of raised beds and traditional open plot and see how you do. I started off six years ago with the intention of putting in one raised bed, we ended up with 17 and the three beds I dislike the most are the ones not boarded in.  They are wonderful to sit on the side and weed or water, and it is easy to strim between the beds.  The only problem is that they are a bit too close together for my sons' large feet.  ::) ::) ::) ::) ::)

[Barnowl]

What's the evidence of lower yields? Plants are normally closer together on a bed system, raised or otherwise, as you don't need to leave space to get between the rows.

The only figures I can find on the effect of spacing on yields is based on open field systems. As Eristic says there is an optimum spacing for maximum yield in open fields but as Robert says I doubt whether this same spacing applies to raised bed systems. Furthermore the optimum yield is often stated per weight of seed (the cost of which together with fertiliser cost largely determine his potential profit) whereas the allotmenteer is presumably more interested in yield per area.

Raised/heaped beds benefits include: more precision in fertiliser application, weed suppression is easier so less nourishment is 'stolen', the soil warms up sooner (is this a good thing?), fertiliser can be applied more heavily than would be practical/economic in an open field. Against that the soil is prone to drying out.

From a purely empirical viewpoint, historically raised beds have always been more densely planted and if that affected yields adversely I think the practice would have been abandoned long ago.

[Psi (Pronounced 'Si'!)]

an empirical examination of the 2 methods on my site suggest the following:

Raised beds: walk ways between beds - perhaps 15% of the plot is walk way/paths

Non-raised/Traditional/open bed: a walk way between each row of veg - therefore up to 50% of the plot walk way/paths.

Conclusion:

Non-raised/Traditional/open bed system gives the perception of one large plot with no walk ways.  In reality between each row is a walk way.

Psi

[70fingers]

Nerds! ;D

[saddad]

Welcome to the site BLUis... don't be put off... sometimes we go spiralling off on our own personal rants...  ::)

[Robert_Brenchley]

Another negative of the traditional row method is the amount of walking between rows that goes on. I don't know how much the compaction affects crops, but I'd have thought it would have some impact.

[tim]

Without harping back - just one more opinion:

When I was young, no need to think about raised beds. And digging always better in the long run than rotovating.  But being away from home 5/7 for 14 years, I majored on a rotovator.

Now I just LOVE the orderliness of raised beds. The ease of cultivation - all hand done. No lifting. Each is a single task tackled & done. And small scale crop rotation is a doddle. BUT yes - they do dry out & need watching.
But again - I would not attempt Potatoes or Brassica, or other space-consuming plants. Great for eg Brassica seedbed.
We have 8 at the moment & I have divided the rest of the plot into 15'x15' sections. Same principle.