Starting from Scratch,help needed...

Hi all,

Ive recently bought and moved into my first house and want to make as much use of the garden as possible. Im starting on the front garden as it gets more sun, ive just finished clearing the jungle i was left and have put up new fencing. Despite not being the best at DIY ive managed to build some raised beds (mainly for aesthetics as its the front of the house).The beds are 4ft x 4ft and about 12 inches deep. i have a couple of questions about filling them:

What do i fill them with? And wheres best to get it?

I realise i've missed the boat to a certain extent this year but what should i be doing between now and the start of the planting/sowing season to get the soil ready?

I also have to dig up some grass to fit the boxes in should i just upturn the grass and leave it in the boxes?

Thanks in advance

ER.

 

Hi and welcome , to fill your raised beds you need top soil, look around, local papers, if possible get a look at it you don`t want it if its full of roots and stones, and yes you could put the upturned grass in the bottom .

 

Hi guys,

Thanks for the replys, i have a picture on my phone which if i can figure out how i will upload!

On top soil i think ive solved the where bit, i live close to the new Forth Bridge so will be getting it from there for free.A few more questions if thats ok?!?!

What should i be doing to get the soil ready for planting?

And should i use weed membrane?

 

Personally I would dig / break up the soil under the raised beds, and then the plants in the raised beds can also grow down into the soil below. I would not put membrane over old soil / below raised beds (unless there is a significant chance of tree roots filling the raised beds - I don't think nest door's conifer will present a big problem.)

You could put weed membrane over the top of the soil that you add to the raised beds - to keep the weeds down,a dn the moisture in, and reduce maintenance ... but if you have half an hour a week you'll be able to look after them without the membrane. (Get the woven type if you are going to put it on top, and you might want to put some bark over the top of it so you can't see the plastic)

 

When it settles, start to add some nutrition in readiness for planting? I'm a bit of a Blood, Fish and Bone oldie personally.
Any idea what you want to grow in them?
A la Francais? They grow their veg in the front!
But if it's flowers, Roses are such good value and earn their keep.
And, are you going to treat/stain the sides of those raised beds. They do look great,
Jenny

 

Thanks for that, especially the bit about next doors conifer.I hit a few of its roots when i was digging. I have membrane over it just now(i work long hours so i only get to the garden once a week)because the weeds grow back pretty fast! but im happy to remove it, the only thing is the grounds pretty tough underneath!

Im a chef so the blood,fish and bones are easy to come by so will defo do that.Im also considering chickens when i attack the back garden, am i right in saying their poo is good for the garden?

Im not a flower man so its defo gonna be veg, i never knew that about le french! Thats a fact that will be getting past on, my old boy thinks im weird for growing veg out front! And thanks im pretty chuffed with the beds , they're made of decking so im assuming they are ready for outdoor life.Do you recommend treating them?

 

I wouldn't if you are going to grow veg in them. I put some Damp Proof Course on the insides of mine, so the boards are not in contact with the soil, which will hopefully extend their life.

 

You've made a great start

End of May/beginning of June, I created some raised beds in my rear garden (think compacted, lawn/weedy).

First the turf was lifted. Then the ground was given a dose of weedkiller. Then it was tilled (I have a small tiller, but they can be hired).

Next, I laid thick cardboard over the whole exposed area. (Reason: to exclude light to any recalcitrant weeds which may have held on for grim death and add a barrier; plus, over time, it will compost down)
I thoroughly soaked that before adding my home grown compost (but, to be fair, that was 3 yrs in the making) and mixed in a bit of shop bought compost. (Reason: I didn't want pure garden compost and I thought adding a bit of purchased might help with the drainage)

Then, I planted the raised beds and topped them off with a couple of inches of bark chippings. (Reason: the bark chips should help in moisture retention by lessening water evaporation from the actual soil/compost).

To put that into context of where you are at now: lay some thick cardboard on top of the soil you have there currently. If you don't have any cardboard, several layers of newspaper also works. Then add your topsoil/compost and plant.

Now, if you are planting fruit and veg, I wouldn't add bark chips on top. I'd be more inclined, if anything at all is used as a topper, to use straw and thoroughly soak that. However, when I made some vegetable raised beds a couple of years ago I didn't top them with bark, straw or anything else.

Chickens: I have chickens (and ducks) and when I clean out their run/nest boxes, it all goes into the compost heap. Actually, it's a great compost activator But, you really need to make sure that it has a summer (or two!) of heat in a compost bin before using it on the soil. The urine content is concentrated and can burn plants. Having said that, when they used to free range all day, they would pooh as and when and nothing was killed by it: but then, it was a concentrated heap of pooh

There is another side to that too. Chickens will eat most of your plants unless you section them (or specific plants) off. What goes *in* a chicken comes out the other end: I have had some wonderful surprise *volunteer* tomatoes grow in my garden ... somehow the seed has survived the beak to pooh route and found solace in a number of places around my garden!

Top tip: don't try to achieve too much at once. Concentrate on one thing (your raised beds) so you can focus on success. Tackling too many things at once and you may find yourself overwhelmed

Right now, you can begin at least one of your beds with some speedy summer crops. Immediately springs to mind are salad leaves, radishes - I'm sure more experienced GC'ers will have other suggestions too.

Best of British and remember: one step at a time

 

Thanks Kristen, ill look into damp proofing.

M thanks for the info, im defo doing one thing at a time.I said id give myself two years to complete both front and back gardens and i intend on doing alot of research into the chooks before getting them.

ER