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raised beds
janetlawrence
Posts: 3
I would like advice on whether or not to use raised beds for growing veg - what is the life span of a wooden bed?
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Posts
Hi Janet. I think its all up to personal taste and available space. I've no idea how long a wooden bed would last. My raised beds are black plastic of some description.
I have raised beds made of pressure treated soft wood sleepers. They come in 2.4m lengths and have an approx 20cm square profile.
Some of mine have been in situ for 4 years now and are as strong as the day they were made.
I would recommend using new sleepers rather than the old railway sleepers traditionally used. These can ooze bitumen (?) which will get into the soil and also on your clothes. The new sleepers ooze nothing other than the odd bit of resin.
Advantages of using raised beds for veg are: less far to bend down, easy to fill with the compost / soil mix of your choice, the soil is usually very workable (unlike my heavy clay) and the soil in them tends to warm up quicker in spring (again important if you garden on clay). Easy to use 'no dig' methods.
Disadvantages (for me): - the soil dries out much quicker so more watering if there is no rain and the voles decided to set up home in the base of two of them and devoured the root crops from the base upwards!
Last edited: 28 May 2016 19:39:24
I built mine from railway sleeper sized timber and laid two layers of weed control membrane under them, wouldn't stop rodents, but seems to be stopping perennial weeds coming in. Watering is a bit like other containers, you may have to do more as the drainage seems to be improved. So far everything is growing strongly
I can't manage sleepers, as they would be too heavy for me, but I might try plastic. Thank you to everyone who replied.
Janet, the beauty of a raised bed is its versatility you can make them as high wide as you wish and you do not need sleepers. When my wife took ill we built some raised boxes around the seating area with scented flowers in them, They were tannalised board on stout corner timbers lined with old compost bags they lasted ten years until I took them out still looking good for another ten years.
The idea of raising beds for vegetable is to make no dig areas so six inches high will do, I did not line the bottom just dug it over first then added good compost. Plants can be closer together and as one crop is over rake the soil add more compost and sow another crop. Raised beds as with all gardening is a mix of experience and common sense, sow enough to cover any failures and sow little and often, no waste or over abundance.
Frank.