bulk soil.

[Kristen]

Had my plot four years almost and the first boards I had are starting to rot.
I'm not convinced they don't harbour more slugs than just earth edges.

I've only boarded half the raised beds in my plot, the others are "lazy raised beds" with sloping edges. Can't say I have noticed any difference in slug populations - last year was terrible, but we had far more in the ornamental gardens than the veg patch.

[NatalieCooke]

Natalie, if you want to see beds made from scaffold boards, here are some I made a couple of years ago: I personally think they are great.

http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...++40+days.html

I must say you a very nice allotment plots there!! Thanks for the pictures

[NatalieCooke]

Scaffolding boards make great raise beds. Built first ones 2 yrs ago and still going strong. Tbh only wood thicker would be railway sleeps and they are very expensive and cost £30+ each. Think i have attached pick of raised beds 2yrs ago i made. Ones making now are only 1 high.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]52165[/ATTACH]

I would be more then happy to use scaffolding boards. I had a look on eBay they would have cost more then carpeting my bedroom!

Not sure if I made that clear. I was talking about the cost of the sleepers costing more then my bedroom carpet.

[emzgogo]

I would be more then happy to use scaffolding boards. I had a look on eBay they would have cost more then carpeting my bedroom!

Contacts scaffolding companys they sell boards they legally cant use anymore. X

[rary]

My raised bed is three scaffold boards high resting on concrete when I built them I lined them with polythene as I thought the boards could be contaminated. I have started to replace them, and today when removing them I found the top boards rotten they just started to break up, part of the middle boards breaking up and the base quite sound, unfortunately I did not record their condition when I constructed the beds but I do think that I put the best of them at the base and the worst at the top, this was just in case I needed to replace some. I don`t know if the poly. is any good for protecting the wood but it helped to hold the soil in place when I removed the wood, also there were very few snails found,

[NatalieCooke]

I was thinking about having them 2 high.
How long do you think they have lasted before you needed to replace them?

[emzgogo]

2 high is plenty. A good 5 yrs if not more depending on the board u start with. X

[Kristen]

I was thinking about having them 2 high.

Do you need them that high? Its a heck of a lot of soil to have to add!

I don't know how wide a scaffolding board is, I'll assume 9" and that the raised beds will be 4' wide (max that can easily be reached from either side without walking on them)

Google tells me that:

2 metres x 18 inches x 4 feet =

(substitute your own measurements in Google ) is 1,114 Litres - 1,000 Litres is a builder's bag and give-or-take about a tonne. So that's a tonne of soil / compost etc. to add for each 2 metre run of the bed.

Unless you have trouble bending (in which case you might need them ever taller?) I would recommend aiming for raised beds that are 6" to 9" deep. IME that will give you a huge improvement in drainage

How long do you think they have lasted before you needed to replace them?

I've lined the inside of my board with plastic (I used dramp proof membrane, but a strong plastic with some UV protection would be fine), which I hope will increase the life of my boards as the board itself is not in contact with the damp soil.

[Mikey]

I'll be making some shortly for my back garden, I've made numerous ones over the years and personally I prefer a good 2 feet of built up earth/manure sand mixture. The deeper the bed the more root crops you can grow. Parsnips and carrots need a fair depth to grow properly.

The advantage of building up is you can create the ideal growing conditions, having done this I find it best to also create the best living frame.

I've never had a good supply of scaffolding boards so have used 8 x 1 treated timber in the past with vertical supports every 600mm or so. I totally understand Bigmally's reason for putting the timber on the outside as it will make any digging easier when you turn it over internally.

I have beds which are 8 years old and almost as good as the day they went in. I think its important to line your beds with uv protected polythene as this will not crack and disintergrate after a couple of years where it is exposed to the elements like standard polythene. I let my plastic go up the inside and lip it over the top, and on the inside down and under the bottom of the base board and back up the outside upto ground level and staple it into place. This stops the soil from rotting your timber, if you don't do this within 2-3 years the timber exposed to excessive moisture will require replacing. I cap my boards with roofing batten which covers the insightly plastic and further protects the top edge from knocks and bumps with the fork, spade, hoe etc.

I personally like 2 x 2 internal corners as you can leave these higher and cap them with
a decorative ball. This also gives you a higher edge to drape netting over to protect freshly turned and seeded ground from birds and cats. The high corner also ensure the hose doesn't get pulled over your beds crushing your veg when watering in high summer.

Its by no means the cheapest way of building beds but, it does ensure that in 5 years time you don't have to go to the effort of doing it all again.

Pathways, to minimise weeds make sure you line with weed membrane. I personally prefer slabs as any soil you accidently knock over the side of your bed can be swept up and put back in, plus any weeds that start to grow can be treated accordingly. I've had wood chip on the allotment before but, it doesn't take long before you create a new bed out of your paths!!