Raised Bed on Patio

Hi all. New here and just building a raised bed with a wicking system. Bed is about 45" x 22" x 18" deep. The wicking plan is to put plastic land drainage pipes in the pond lined bed.
Main question is what do I fill the bed with? Have a good bit of container compost, could I add some cow manure to make a better mix for growing veg and herbs!!
Any advice, thank you. Not too many big gardening words for a newbe.

 

Hi and Welcome to the Forum,

Have to say that sounds very complex for a raised bed thats about the size of some typical planters.
Wonder why you nned to go to such lenghts, are you considering long times away and want it to be self watering ?

Agree with lining the bottom few inches as that will retain a little bit of water and help avoid staining the patio flags, but with it being just 18" deep, lining it deeper and using wicks and pipes, really cannot see why you need to go to such lenghts, plus it sounds like it could very easily waterlog things if you water it too much or it rains heavily.

As for compost, any good peat or non peat should be fine aS they contain all the nutrientS you need to get growing.
Once the plants are growing well use a granular or liquid feed, but adding cow manure etc will be too strong and more likey to cause harm than good, it really needs to be well rotted down before.

 

Thanks for the reply. Tried a raised bed before. We have a boat on the Shannon in Ireland where we live and sometimes go away for 2 weeks or so. Was just thinking I would not have to think about watering while we are away.
Someone told me at sometime that there were not much nutrition in compost bags, so was just thinking of adding something to help things along.

 

Hi,

As far as we are aware, normal compost is treated with enough fertiizer to last up to 6 weeks.
Nothing to stop you adding some Osmacote slow release ferilizer like you typically use in hanging baskets.

If you want to enrich it more suggest you use the ready prepared Farmyard manures like Gro-Sures, as 'raw' manure will be way too strong and you risk 'burning' any young plants.

You could also add the recommended amout of water retaining crystals, or use a 50/50 mix of garden soil and compost as that will also help retain the water better.

Are you talking flowers of veg ?

If you need something to last for 2 weeks or so, then fair enough give your wicking system a try and let us know how it works, might be a useful method for others.

However, just our take on things, each to their own , not sure we would go to such lengths for such a small raised bed, particulalry if you are placing it a patio.
Think we would buy one or two ready made tubs or planters that can be readily moved and put in a shady spot while you are away, perhaps using a water reservoir /bottle and wick at the side of them.