Paths versus beds on allotments

[janeyo]

We have one chap in our bit who does it the "rows and lines" way. My goodness his plot is horrible-looking.

Lots of bare soil between his long rows of this-and-that. (wasted space, imo)

Bare soil that quickly becomes infested with weeds, btw.

this week he has plunked in some lonely courgette plants, each with a moat of blue pellets. I must take a picture.

I'd be tempted to go and sweep them all up when he's not there.

[janeyo]

I have raised beds at home, with a gravel path in between. Mainly for aesthetics.

An nannas I have rows and use earth paths, but I have much more space there so don't need to cram it all in. The weeds haven't come on the paths as I am always walking on them.
If I was at nannas all the time I would make raised beds there too as I like the look of them better.

I also think it's easier to repel slugs and cover the beds if you have something to attach it too, like the wood of the raised bed

[pigletwillie]

Our main plot is all raised beds except for there soft fruit is planted, a second plot is a no dig system but still arranged in 4" wide beds.

I find that with the raised beds

1) I can plant earlier as they warm up quicker and are better draining.
2) I can plant closer together and thus get much better yields.
3) The paths between give all the plus points as mentioned by Zazen99
4) Only the beds are fed / manured / watered saving waste.
5) Crop quality is AAA+

With the no dig bed system

1) It is better for brussels sprouts, main crop potatoes and my main crop beans and peas
2) Pumpkins do better as the ground is not so free draining and holds moisture better.
3) I can plant permanent crops in odd areas (such as globe artichokes etc).
4) As the paths are constantly walked on, very few weeds grow, the soil is compacted so easy to walk on too.
5) Hoeing is sooooo much easier than digging.

Why not traditional beds

1) Well I did when I started but now I find that I always have something in the ground all year round so the "big dig" was staggered.
2) Traditional digging constantly destroys the structures in the soil that allow roots to take up nutrients and minerals.
3) As I gained experience, I found that the gardening world is not flat, and progressing to modern techniques and methods has been a complete boon.

[Couperman]

I have ten large raised beds on one side of my plot and I am currently building another ten on the other side.

I decided to go down the raised bed route to lift my veg out of the flood water we seem to get every summer. I built wooden frames, lowered the paths around them and used the soil to fill the beds a bit.

It makes life easier with precision manuring in the autumn too.

Everything seems to grow much better in my opinion, but that could be because I have learnt a little bit from last year and I know I have been lucky by planting out too early and getting away with it.

The biggest downside to the raised beds is cost, about £200 quid in total.

Eventually I will finish the paths of with chipped bark or something.

Of course now I have done this we are guaranteed a red hot summer

[Emmylou]

I've done the same as you Couperman, used soil from between beds to start them off. Then the level will raise as you add more muck etc.
Worth finding a tree surgeon for a load of shreddings. I put a black permeable membrane down, then got a load of shreddings. There are little oak trees popping up all over! Its worth the effort.

[chrissie the chippy]

"Use a plank to walk on" they say - fine if you have a plank I say.

I also find that broken up into beds the plot doesn't look half as daunting as it does when it's one big block of land.

I never got used to plank walking, felt very awkward doing it!


I'd like to have raised beds, but they will have to be small beds with no side for now

I've got a big plot, which I've just had rotovated, I'm covering half with plastic, there is no way I can do it all this year, and I will plant spuds through it, then dig it over when they have cropped.

The other half we're digging 1m x 3/4m beds with paths inbetween. Dig and plant, dig and plant..... doesn't seem as daunting or impossible that way

No idea if that is a good way to do it or not, but the only way it will work for me this year.

My neighbours have rows and they look amazing, pristine! I'd love mine to look like that! But they are retiered and have all day evry day to tend to their plots.

One q about the raised beds though..... is it good for potatoes? can you get a decent crop? And what about weeds? Sorry that makes 2 Bindweed is in every plot at our site, even after 10 or more years digging, everyone still gets it! I'm worried they will take over and beds very quickly!

[zazen999]

I've not found any issue with potatoes and raised beds. I am trying some under card this year, and earth up a bit over the hole [made with a bulb planter] and just left.

My Kestrel second earlies have been furtled twice and produced some lovely warm salads already.

I find you can furtle down at the side of the raised bed, take the spuds out, and just cover the roots back up again really easily from the side of the bed.

[Two_Sheds]

The biggest downside to the raised beds is cost, about £200 quid in total.

ouch.
We had a lorry load of condemned scaffolding boards delivered to our site: £80 to the driver.
Folks were able to make a raised bed for about a quid each.

[Two_Sheds]

Bindweed is in every plot at our site, even after 10 or more years digging, everyone still gets it! I'm worried they will take over and beds very quickly!

It will take over if you turn your back.
Keep on pulling it, digging it, hoeing it. The best thing I discovered was putting an old fence panel down as a mulch (it was all I had at the time). After 6 months, there were only a couple of bindweed roots left and they were so weak they were easy to dig out. Dock and thistles too.

Of course, you can't use that bed for 6 months, but if the infestation is really bad it's worth doing.

* the other pluses were that the soil was really moist and loamy when the fence came up, and we found 26 frogs had set up home under there too.

Cardboard and thick newspapers do a great job too, better than plastic which doesn't let the rain through & imo just encourages slugs. I've used plastic myself, and the results just aren't as good as using a permeable mulch.

[Hazel at the Hill]

The biggest downside to the raised beds is cost, about £200 quid in total.

I reackon that mine cost about £170 - so about the cost of a shed (which I had free from another allotment holder).

Also I picked up the bark chippings for the paths free from the council (shedded christmas trees), whereas my neighbour bought bags of chippings from Wilko, so that salved my conscience somewhat!

[greengas]

I am hoping to get my first allotment this week and have been debating whether or not to go for raised beds or rows! I do have access to plenty of wooden pallets in work so cost would be minimal.Fingers crossed I get good news from the council this week.

[zazen999]

Greengas - try going for beds with no raised bits first, then you can change your mind with no additional work.

[Snadger]

I reackon that mine cost about £170 - so about the cost of a shed (which I had free from another allotment holder).

Also I picked up the bark chippings for the paths free from the council (shedded christmas trees), whereas my neighbour bought bags of chippings from Wilko, so that salved my conscience somewhat!

Mine cost me nowt!

In fact nothing at my allotment cost anything! I see people come and go.......spend a fortune on stuff then find the allotment scene isn't for them.

Anybody can make a haven if you chuck money at it!

My allotments have evolved, been modified with pre-used material when available and are still constantly evolving as new outlets for material become available!
I have a look in a skip and say to myself "Now what can I use that for?" I have one half built greenhouse which has been waiting for about 1/3 of its glass for two years.............it's still full of tomatoes though! I've been salvaging old windows that were thrown out and using the glass from those or any bits of perspex I find. I'll get there eventually.......patience is a virtue!

[Hazel at the Hill]

Greengas - try going for beds with no raised bits first, then you can change your mind with no additional work.

I quite agree - it was two years before I was happy enough to make things more permanent. Although now I realise that I have run out of room for an asparagus bed.

Mine cost me nowt!

In fact nothing at my allotment cost anything! I see people come and go.......spend a fortune on stuff then find the allotment scene isn't for them.

Alright, Steptoe I'm as mean as the next, hence being pleased with the free chippings (and a trailer load of free compost too), but the 'free' scaffold boards that I wanted to make the first couple of beds would cost £60 delivery, so rather than mix and match and wait till /i could find the bits I wanted, I bit the bullet and flexed the plastic.

Looks good though, I reackon.

[rana]

Hazel - at 60 quid for a couple of those beds I'd consider that a bargain. Lovely plot but for an allotment it all looks a bit too organised to me.