Raised Beds

Hey Everyone.

I moved house last December into a small roadside cottage with no garden, I never thought I was much of a fan of gardening until I moved here.
My horticulture knowledge is limited but I have successfully planted out a few strawberry and flower hanging baskets around the house and wanted more..

Last week a had a word with a local elderly man who's greenhouse was going to waste and he's letting me use it! I have already cleaned it out and planted out some tomatoes that I started to grow from seed, The tomatoes are loving it down their and are doing really well! and I have just planted some Carrot seeds and some Cabbage, I think it might be a bit lite to sow these seeds but the packets said it was still ok to do it this month?

Anyways the main focus of this post was next to the greenhouse their is a raised bit off grass land and I have got permission to set up some raised beds on this bit of land. I would really like to try this but i'm stuck with where to get the wood. I have already priced up a few places and the wood is expensive for what I am wanting to do, So do any of you fine gardeners know of any decent/cheap wood that can be used for raised beds? I have tried looking for old scaffold boards but these are still quite costly! Also I seen a photo of a raised bed with a top set on it like a mini poly tunnel, Would this improve the growth of the plants?

Thanks in advance :D Chris.

 

Hi Chris,

You could try Freecycle for the wood, although you'll need something quite substantial for raised beds.

Or have a drive around local building sites, if you ask the site manager you might get lucky, builders have to pay to send stuff to landfill and are often happy to let you take stuff away.

Mini poly tunnel is good, again that could be made with offcuts of Alkathene pipe from skips (The blue water pipe)

 

Outside? or in modules / pots? Carrots don't transplant well, they are better off down direct where they will grow (you can, however, grow them in a decent sized pot (9" dia minimum, larger would be better) using compost that has lots of sand in it - I mix Multipurpose Compost 50:50 with horticultural sand)

Do the beds need to be raised? Raised beds are handy on really heavy soil as they help drainage to almost a miraculous degree, and tall raised beds are handy for people who cannot bend, but other than that they are a bit of a luxury.

I have "lazy raised beds" where I just dug the soil from the paths and heaped it onto the beds [to raise them a bit, natch!, but in conjunction with lowering the paths that has had the desired effect of improving the drainage on my clay soil]

Don't make raised beds any wider than 4' (maximum "reach" from either side), but try to get them that wide if possible - otherwise crop spacing becomes a problem if they are too narrow.

 

My major downfall is transport, I do not drive so getting round to places is a problem. I will try have a look through Freecycle and if I get lucky I should hopefully be able to get a lift to pick up anything.

Also what advantages/disadvantages does the mini poly tunnel system provide to a raised bed, I presume that they will help the plants grow? or do some plants not grow as well within a poly tunnel. (I will only be planting fruit/veg).

I put the carrots into a seed tray thinking that once a little growth has come on I could put them into deep containers, I only used a standard multipurpose compost as well. Should I try and move these straight into bigger pots now? or should I wait for a little growth.

The beds do not have to be raised but this is something I would really like to try out and I think they look really nice, The guy who's land I am working on used to love doing his garden but is now well into his 80's and cannot keep up with it. He hasn't been happy with the job his gardeners are doing as well so stays housebound, However he said if I kept up with the greenhouse he would like to go out and sit there on nice days and this is why I also want to set up the raised beds next to it so that he can get some enjoyment from his garden again.

P.s If anybody knows of a decent gardening website which sells everything (compost, tools,seeds, pots etc.) and isn't too expensive then please could you let me know!

 

Dunno about mini poly tunnels specifically, but on Beechgrove (Scottish TV gardening program, available on BBC2 on Sunday Morning if you can;t get Scottish TV on, e.g., Sky) they covered some beds with clear plastic for a week and then stuck a thermometer in the soil and it was several degrees warmer (at a depth of about 6") than the adjacent, uncovered, bed.

I think this sort of thing is a boon for early crops, less so once we get into nice weather - a poly tunnel may cook plants at that time! but it will keep drying wind off them of course ...

Local auction? The best tools are often the ones that have given a lifetime of service and are now looking for a new home. They won't snap or bend at the first stubborn object they are pointed at, like many of the new cheaply-made-to-a-budget things that are to be found in garden centres ...

 

Bootsales are where you find the best tools at the cheapest prices.

 

Chris - I was reading a blog I found just now and immediately thought of your thread. If you are feeling adventurous (and thirsty ) check out their bed borders made of wine bottles!

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