It's looking good - all that hard work converting the barren slope you inherited has paid off!
Thanks! It looked a lot better mid summer but I’m still very pleased with it.
The shrubs should have filled out by this time next year (they’re all going through a growth spurt right now) and I need to move a few things but otherwise pretty chuffed.
I would say, GM, that you should judge it over the years on its functionality - does it dry out much faster than a regular bed? Would you need to add nutrition more than a regular bed? Would you say it has the same kind of microbial and invertebrate life going on it (dying and pooing etc) as a regular bed (which raised beds don't)?
I put in a much smaller bed of sleepers to be able to work on a plot that slopes north to south as well as west to east, and to retain soil so it doesn't wash away down the hill(s). It has clay underneath. It behaves differently and I do find it easier to manage than before, but has its own set of limitations. I add as much manure and compost as I can to keep it lively and stop it desiccating.
I believe yours is south facing. The walls will be changing moisture levels, if nothing else, I should imagine. What are the winds/exposure like?
I guess I’ll need to spend a bit longer than five months with it to answer some of those questions.
I didn’t find a lot of worms at all when I was de-compacting it in spring after lifting the membrane and gravel from it. I don’t know if they bugger off if the soil is compacted and there isn’t much in the way of plants there.
It does seem to dry out quickly. It’s south facing but even after heavy rain it is quite dry a couple of days later as far down as my index finger (this is with a good two inches of bark over it).
Once you get some manure etc into it @TheGreenMan , you'll see a difference, but the more plants you have, the drier it will become. Leaf mould is worth creating if you can manage it. That's a great addition. My raised beds behave just the same as the borders on the ground, but I plant accordingly - the ground borders have more shrubs, and they get less attention and nothing much added to them in the way of compost etc. A compost bin is definitely worth doing if you haven't done one yet. The raised ones get 'stuff' added each year, but the bottoms have turf in them. That came from the compacted grass that formed most of the plot, and I lifted a lot of it during the first year I was here. There's solid, manky compacted clay below that, and although we get loads of rain, especially from October until April, the planting soaks up a lot. On the whole, I generally have plants in there which like better drainage, because they're also in a sunnier part of the garden. There were hardly any worms anywhere, but there wasn't really any garden, so it wasn't surprising. Plenty now, and plenty of other wildlife and insects etc. It just takes a bit of time.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Once you get some manure etc into it @TheGreenMan , you'll see a difference, but the more plants you have, the drier it will become. Leaf mould is worth creating if you can manage it. That's a great addition. My raised beds behave just the same as the borders on the ground, but I plant accordingly - the ground borders have more shrubs, and they get less attention and nothing much added to them in the way of compost etc. A compost bin is definitely worth doing if you haven't done one yet. The raised ones get 'stuff' added each year, but the bottoms have turf in them. That came from the compacted grass that formed most of the plot, and I lifted a lot of it during the first year I was here. There's solid, manky compacted clay below that, and although we get loads of rain, especially from October until April, the planting soaks up a lot. On the whole, I generally have plants in there which like better drainage, because they're also in a sunnier part of the garden. There were hardly any worms anywhere, but there wasn't really any garden, so it wasn't surprising. Plenty now, and plenty of other wildlife and insects etc. It just takes a bit of time.
Thank you. That's really helpful. We're only thinking of being here for a few years but I want to leave it in a better state than I found it and enjoy it and let it thrive in the meantime.
I shall chuck more organic matter in there. I haven't yet got a composter going but it's on my list.
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To go from pots in a yard to this has been a tad daunting at times but so far, touch wood, I’ve not had any disasters.
I guess I’ll need to spend a bit longer than five months with it to answer some of those questions.
My raised beds behave just the same as the borders on the ground, but I plant accordingly - the ground borders have more shrubs, and they get less attention and nothing much added to them in the way of compost etc. A compost bin is definitely worth doing if you haven't done one yet.
The raised ones get 'stuff' added each year, but the bottoms have turf in them. That came from the compacted grass that formed most of the plot, and I lifted a lot of it during the first year I was here. There's solid, manky compacted clay below that, and although we get loads of rain, especially from October until April, the planting soaks up a lot. On the whole, I generally have plants in there which like better drainage, because they're also in a sunnier part of the garden.
There were hardly any worms anywhere, but there wasn't really any garden, so it wasn't surprising. Plenty now, and plenty of other wildlife and insects etc. It just takes a bit of time.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Thank you. That's really helpful. We're only thinking of being here for a few years but I want to leave it in a better state than I found it and enjoy it and let it thrive in the meantime.