raised beds for back garden

[hawthorns]

i am currently mapping out a new design for my back garden veg plot.
i have approx 20ftx12ft area. 2/3 of it i used last summer for the 1st time the other section is turf. im going to build 4 7ftx4ft raised beds with 9" scaffold planks. is there anything i need to be aware of in planning the construction and filling the beds. the soil is excellent quality but its shaded by a fence. i have a dalek full of nearly ready compost so i was looking to use this on beds.

[Snadger]

The shade could be a problem hawthorns but if you've grown veg in this area successfully up until now, maybe not too much of a problem? Don't be tempted, as I was originally, to make 4'0" the inside measurements, make it the outside measurements as I am reasonably tall and can just about reach 2'0" to the middle of my beds!
2'0" wide paths are also a good idea to allow you to kneel between the beds and plant and weed etc.

I presume the four beds are to accomodate a four year rotation? If so you could lime one of them for brassicas, muck two of them and add sand to the other for carrots and parsnips!

Here's an idea......at the centre of the four beds, if they are aranged in a rectangle, you could make a circular herb wheel. Doesn't need to be very big, 3'0" diameter would suffice, and divide it up into as many segments as you like............shut up Snadge, you're getting carried away.......just a thought anyway!

Good luck and happy gardening!

[hawthorns]

would you use multi purpose compost as base ingredient for all beds.loam based, exsisting top soil or home made compost in dalek. when you say 4 yr rotation by this do you mean growing 1 type of veg in 1 bed for 4 yrs.

i recently collected leaves 3 large wheelie bin bags. would they be good as a base covered with soil for 1 bed

[rustylady]

Hi Hawthorns. I presume you mean to construct your raised beds on the turfed area. Are you going to dig the turf over, or just put extra material on top? (If it was me, I think I would dig over, turning the grass to the bottom, make the frames for the beds and build up the bed gradually with whatever rotted compost was available (probably as a top-dressing). I certainly wouldn't buy in multi-purpose compost. Your leaf mould won't be properly broken down for around a year after starting, but you could put them in the base of a bed if you wish.

4 year rotation means not growing one type of veg in the same place for more than one year. Several threads on the Vine cover this in more detail.

[hawthorns]

yes was going to dig turf over. still none the wiser on what to fill the beds with as i dont have enough rotted compost to fill all beds

[Protea]

HI Hawthorns,

I'm going to be making raised beds in my new garden next year, i was thinking of using a mixture of rotted cow manure (rotted horse manure would also be fine), sharp sand (i have heavy clay soil) and top soil which i will have to buy in (with the sand probably). I won't have any compost to use as its a new house we're moving to and i'm not taking my daleks with me - they weigh a ton and will be filled with weed seeds! I will dig over the bottom of each bed to turn the grass over first.

I don't have any reccomendations of where to get top soil but i'm sure yellow pages would help, no idea on cost either!

[Snadger]

Here's a thought! If the scaffold boards are 9" wide and you sink them 4.5 inches into the soil/lawn they will protrude 4.5". If you then dig out the top 4.5" of the 2' wide paths either side and put the soil on the 4' wide beds the beds will be 9" higher than the paths.............Wallah!

[hawthorns]

sought advice from local garden centre and im going to filling with compost from dalek, top soil from pathways and i will get some other various composts including rotted horse manure. i have done 1 small raised bed and it looks great. thanks for your comments

[hawthorns]

with the raised beds nearly built im now looking for a plan to fill the 3 beds. 1 will be top soil with horse manure. 1 will be garden compost with top soil. the other top soil on its own. any suggestions to which type of veg for each bed.

[Vegmonkey]

Hi Hawthorns, it sounds like you are where we were about a year ago. Ish. We filled the beds with a mixture of compost and sand, and you can see from the blog what happened, this year i have added some manure to the beds to improve the structure of the soil slightly. Be careful with any old topsoil as you may be entering into a fight with weeds if it is full of rogue seeds!

I went through a very long, but enjoyable process of etablishing a planting plan which allowed the splitting up of the garden into 4 main areas (which the mrs. transferred to print), which prevents the build up of disease.

Rather than just putting a mixture of soil in each bed, it might be worth considering what the individual families of veg need, so that you can provide it. Otherwise, you might end up fighting a losing battle.

Would love for you to post a pic when you get it up and running

[hawthorns]

the top soil we have is excellent so no worries there. ill get some pics sorted as i construct beds. just been looking thru your website. ill be looking that for help. cheers

[terrier]

If you are going to fill a bed with a specific mix of growing medium for the type of veg you want to grow in it, what happens when you rotate your crops in successive years, you will be planting your veg in the 'wrong' medium. Anyone care to help me out on this one?

[Snadger]

If you are going to fill a bed with a specific mix of growing medium for the type of veg you want to grow in it, what happens when you rotate your crops in successive years, you will be planting your veg in the 'wrong' medium. Anyone care to help me out on this one?

I think the way it works is that on a four year rotation some beds that weren't mucked this year (Carrots, parsnips etc) will be mucked in the Autumn/Spring and the ones for next years carrot's,parsnips etc won't be mucked in the autumn spring and will have been mucked two seasons ago, if that makes sense?
Get a good book on various crop rotation methods that will suit you best and all will be revealed! Eventually all the beds will be mucked, limed or sanded!