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Raised garden bed advice
QXT
Posts: 2
Hi all,
Inexperienced beginner gardener here.
I've constructed some raised sleeper beds (6x1m, 2 stacked sleepers high at 40cm) in my garden that I want to use for veg growing (at least initially, as may just settle for a garden border of shrubs etc within it if I don't succeed at veg growing. That area was infested with bindweed when I tiled it over for a new lawn a few years ago which thankfully haven't come through to the top of the lawn (I know the rhizones and roots are still down there and impossible to remove). As such I thought to go 2 sleepers high and put cardboard down on the bottom of the bed to try and suppress as much of the weeds as possible.
Question I have now is trying to fill the beds without too much cost. I have a lot of old soil from where I was originally going to put a larger area of beds on the other side of the garden, but if I use this soil, I know it will have weeds in it. Is there a way I can 'sterilise' the soil before using it at the base of the new bed? I was also thinking to line the bottom with logs and twigs from the cherry tree that needs pruning (unless anyone knows if it doesn't decay well?), cover the middle with the old soil and then top up the remainder with top soil/compost mix?
Any advice would be appreciated? Would I regret it in years to come if I didn't fill the bed with new soil, and had lots of weeds sprout?
Inexperienced beginner gardener here.
I've constructed some raised sleeper beds (6x1m, 2 stacked sleepers high at 40cm) in my garden that I want to use for veg growing (at least initially, as may just settle for a garden border of shrubs etc within it if I don't succeed at veg growing. That area was infested with bindweed when I tiled it over for a new lawn a few years ago which thankfully haven't come through to the top of the lawn (I know the rhizones and roots are still down there and impossible to remove). As such I thought to go 2 sleepers high and put cardboard down on the bottom of the bed to try and suppress as much of the weeds as possible.
Question I have now is trying to fill the beds without too much cost. I have a lot of old soil from where I was originally going to put a larger area of beds on the other side of the garden, but if I use this soil, I know it will have weeds in it. Is there a way I can 'sterilise' the soil before using it at the base of the new bed? I was also thinking to line the bottom with logs and twigs from the cherry tree that needs pruning (unless anyone knows if it doesn't decay well?), cover the middle with the old soil and then top up the remainder with top soil/compost mix?
Any advice would be appreciated? Would I regret it in years to come if I didn't fill the bed with new soil, and had lots of weeds sprout?
0
Posts
Seeing that you have a deep bed, think I'd not bother with the cardboard, put in any untreated wood and sticks you have lying around, top that with with manure, top soil and garden compost. Anything that's rough going in first so you're left with a fine layer of compost at the top. Let the worms do their bit to mix and condition the soil.
There're always going to be weeds, the trick is to stay right on top of them and yank them out as soon as they show.
Cambridgeshire/Norfolk border.
Cambridgeshire/Norfolk border.