Raised Beds

When I first made 4 raised beds about 6 yrs ago we had good success with veg growing. However gradually the beds have become invaded by fibrous tree roots and after lots of ongoing work to clear them I have almost given up. Does anyone know if it is possible to create raised beds completely off the ground and how successful it would be. I propose ti make an edge of a couple of courses of breeze blocks with a floor of something like old floorboards. I would like to make a soil depth of about a foot and just grow surface rooting veg, beetroot, lettuce etc. Anyone with any suggestions. I have to create a gap between the subsoil and the bed soil.

 

We had the problem of the tree roots of a Leylandii growing into the raised beds of our greenhouse from next door. I had words with the householder, tree now gone. Could you trace where the source of the roots and tackle the owner? Cheers, Tony.

 

I built 3 raised beds last year and before filling with soil I lined them with the membrane they use under block paving. We had great results and good moisture retension. However we had the dryest year on record here last year so I cannot say what will happen in a wet year. However I am building 3 more as soon as the weather improves.

 

I'm very much a gardening novice, but I have a fairly high raised bed sitting on my patio... 45 cm deep. Works brilliantly, and easy to keep it tilled and to mix in nutrients.

Had a fair bit of success with a shallower raised bed on the patio too, only about 20cm of soil, but i did 'mound up' around some veg. Not ideal, but certainly doable for shallow root stuff I'd imagine.