Lining raised beds

[Bill HH]

I've done both, lined and unlined and lined wins hands down I'm afraid.

Make sure you use UV resistant plastic or it will disintegrate around the top after a year or 2.

I've used a variety of different timber before and I prefer to use 6X1 rough sawn, and over lap the plastic on the top and cap the edge with a piece of roofing batten. 5 years in and regular external staining and these have been fine. I took one apart in the spring to move it and the inside of the timber was as good as the day I put it in.

By using smaller boards you can continue to raise it if you want and the ones near the floor which will eventually rot can be replaced without being detrimental to the rest of the timbers.

Raised beds can be a nightmare on an allotment mind as they have such light soil they make wonderful homes for fury creatures who eat your produce from below!!!

Ok but you have gone to a lot of trouble to overlap the plastic and cap it with a baton etc. Most people dont. A one inch board teated will last 5 or 6 years anyway so i dont consider it woth it to line the interior..

[Snadger]

Saw those last year
Any ladders yet?

Not yet, I only wear them for special occasions though, preferring my 'Nora Batty' specials for winter!

[Kristen]

cap the edge with a piece of roofing batten

Does that rot away, and need replacing periodically (or are they treated such as to last even longer)? If that makes the main boards last "indefinitely" it seems a lot easier "maintenance" than replacing the whole lot every half-dozen years