buying ready made raised beds

[francesbean]

I'm redesigning my veg patch and having a bit of landscaping done - and so have been researching buying ready made raised beds. To give a bit of background my previous raised beds were four years old and made up of bits and pieces of wood left over from who knows what, all shapes and sizes and not very practical. After extensive internet research I have bought some of these. Raised Beds - Deep  - Wooden Raised Beds - Raised Wooden Beds - The Recycle Works Ltd

They arrived yesterday and even though the area is not ready I couldn't wait to see what they looked like - and to make sure my measurements were correct!. I had given myself an hour to put them toghether - all four took 10 minutes no screws or nails they all slot together - and they are really great quality. I have also bought hoops to attach so that I can use fleece and netting later in the season - which is a great idea. I was thinking I should have bought one of the extra tall hoops to grow some beans up - very versatile.

Haven't filled them with my soil/compost/manure mix yet (as per square foot gardening experiment this year) but can't wait.
I'm really pleased with them - they are my birthday present to me for this year.

I'm now thinking what shall I use for pathways I've got 1metre runs between and around the beds - grass not really practical, stone chips seem to migrate all over the garden, so I might try to get some old/recycled paving slabs.'

I can't wait to get started this season - just need the landscaping bloke to finish asap - he's doing it in bits and bobs which is cheaper for me but also frustrating.

francesbean

[miffy]

I used newspaper spread thickly and then put wood chip on top which really kept the weeds down and was nice to walk on, it also encouraged worms and other insects and attracted birds who visited to eat the critters in it and ate some of the pests in my beds too.