Silly questions about raised beds.

Apologies for what I'm about to post, it's probably extremely obvious to you guys that know what your doing.
Anyway, at home I'm in the process of building a raised bed, it stands at 10ft X 5ft (it's not to large, I have arms like Mr Tickle!) and we have managed to get it nailed together, levelled etc. My soil is a rather weird mixture, it is clay but, contains red clay along with "normal" and then patches of turquoise blue/green clay too.
I want to grow the general vegetables, most root veg, along with brassicas.
Moving on, I wanted to ask something you all probably hear alot.

Filling
This is what's really confusing me, what do I fill it with!? :dh:

I was planning on digging up the clay soil we've got now as much as possible, then filling with the small amount of compost we've got at home. Followed by adding compost and good soil (bought in) until full.
I also have unlimited access to free manure so would I be best add this in too or allow it to rot down and add later on? As below, I'm happy to leave the bed over winter.
Then every year re-topping with manure and compost.

Planting
I have know clue (yet!) on what I'm doing but, I thought it'd be best to fill up and then leave the bed until next year to start planting things.
Is this right, or shall I embark on winter veg?

Tree Issues
I have several tree roots going through my raised bed, they are below the bottom of the sleepers, should I dig them out or leave them in?
I don't want them to hinder my vegetables.

If I've left anything too vague, or you need to bash me on the head just post.

 

I am going to build a raised bed for my strawberries.

First port of call was Evilbay! (Ebay). Had a look for scaffold boards. Loads of them on there. One seller is obviously a trader and offers bundles of boards in different lengths. They come in different grades and the price works out to about 80 pence a foot .

Always worth checking your local builders and builders merchants. Once a board has been condemned iot cannot be used on a building site. They are very tough. Usually inch and a half thick and 9 inches wide.

I have just put up a fence along one side of the garden and used gravel boards as part of that. Spoke to the chap I bought the fencing from and he supplied me with some boards that are 2 inches thick, pressure treated. 12 foot long. I am lucky that he is a mate and I service his motorbike, so I got a hell of a deal. I will post pictures when I have done the job.

Chopper

 

Sound advice there chopper.

£2.66 per metre!! I can't beleive that anyone would pay that.

You can get new pressure treated stress graded 200mm x 47mm for approx the same price.

You can also buy 'new' scaffold planks for less than that money.

 

I use two 90L plastic dustbins for strawberries, i put in a 6" diameter "core" of pea gravel for drainage using a bottomless straight (ish) sided bucket and added compost around the bucket to lock it into place before pulling the bucket out and putting the next layer of gravel in.
A dustbin will hold a lot of plants depending how many holes you drill in the sides. The trick to drilling perfectly clean holes in plastic is use a holesaw and run the drill in reverse.

 

WHOOPS!!

That should have read 80 pence a METRE.

Chopper.

 

Hi guys & gals,

HollyU, never be afraid to ask anything, thats what the site is about.

EddieJ, Don't use presure treated timber for veg beds, its full of arsenic & all sorts of toxic stuff. We just have to accept that we're going to have to replace the timber after 5/6 years or so.

Chopper, thanks for the tea mate, you're doing a lovely job there & I wish I had a bit of time this week to help you with the polly tunnel.

Good call with the second hand scaffold planks, they are not treated, should be a good one.

HollyU, if you've got the winter before you plant then you can pile up the manure around a couple of bits of drainpipe, bang them slightly into the ground so they stay upright while you shovel, then pull them out to let air into the heap. It will rot down nice then.

Or, if thats too much, fill the raised beds with it & sow some clover seeds on it. Clover has nitrogen fixing nodules on the roots.Nitrogen helps rot things down. Dig it in in the spring & plant into that.

Clay is good for plants, just very sticky for gardeners:thmb: