Raised Beds

Afternoon All,

We've recently bought a new house and want to create a vegetable patch (i.e The Good Life ) from some sleepers we will purchase in the coming weeks. The question I have is what should I fill them with. I've read that a mix of rotten manure and top soil will be good to grow vegetables and salad. The beds are only going to be 2.5 x 1.5 so nothing to large.. Was also think of building some mesh covers to protect them from the birds and also my dogs... Last thing I want is for the crop to be destroyed by unwanted visitors..

If anyone has any good tips or suggestions I would be very grateful.

Thanks
Adrian - newbie Veg Gardener !!!!

 

Hello Adrian, welcome to GC
First thing to do is put a barrier between the wood of the sleepers and whatever you fill the beds with. Sleepers are treated with all sorts of nasty substances which would seep out into the soil and harm the plants, so even a bottomless lining of old compost bags or fairly thick plastic sheeting would prevent that happening.
Depending what your garden soil is like, a mix of soil, really well-rotted manure and sharp sand would be ideal. If your soil is clay, use about a third of each, if it's sandy or loamy you don't need as much sharp sand. A sprinkle of Gromore or Blood, Fish and Bonemeal would be helpful too.
I believe that some folks just use multi-purpose compost in raised beds, but it needs a lot more water and feed than a soil-based mix.

 

Welcome to GC

1) Only grow what you like to eat
2) Stagger your sowing so that you have a succession of the same crop.
3) You do not have to sow *all* of the seeds in the packet (learned that from experience )
4) Do not grow edible peas in the same area as sweet peas (yup, did that too )
5) Don't place your raised beds too far from a water source! (yup, guilty of that too )
6) Keep a record of what you have planted and *where*
7) Do not think that all of your edibles have to be grown in your raised bed: plenty of stuff can be grown in pots, grow-bags (and even old tyres or even old compost bags!). So, give that some serious thought so you can utilise the raised bed space to the max.
8) When I began with raised beds, I limited myself to just a few thing - less than half a dozen. Mainly because I hadn't done it before and didn't want to fall at the first hurdle, but also to get some speedy results which I knew would act as encouragement.

Best of British, Adrian - no doubt you will soon have some crops growing and ready for the plate

 

Get a board to put over the beds, so that you can walk on the board when sowing seeds, weeding etc. this way you o not compact the soil.

Rusty

 

Welcome Adrian

If you are not wedded to having sleepers (considering the leeching possibilities outlined above) have you considered gravel boards? Cheap, sturdy, easy to transport and assemble especially for smaller beds. If you want to throw those in the pot there are plenty of How To articles online. Decent timber merchants should stock them.

Good luck
GG

 

I made my beds out of gravel boards. £3:50 for a 10ft length.

Rusty