Raised Beds - Soft or hard wood?

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Cider Boys
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Interesting, Monica, from what I have read recently an opinion regarding raised beds on agricultural land was that if the structure was less than 1 metre high then no planning permission was needed, However this, as far as I know, has never been tested. Regarding the use of land, horticulture is regarded as agricultural use.

I can see the advantage of raised beds in that you can garden without having to walk on the soil also bending and back ache might be reduced but I have never considered building one. I did have a garden that ended with a 3' 6'' high wall and I grew gooseberry cordons along the length of it and always enjoyed picking them from the path that ran below the wall with no bending or back ache.

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Ricard with an H
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Cider Boys wrote:Regarding raised beds but slightly off topic, does anyone know what the Planning Authorities attitude is to constructing raised beds on a paddock?

Barney

Thanks for reminding me. It appears I'm not even allowed to take a six pack and a deck chair onto my paddock on a sunny day, that also requires a change of use. The raised bed in the photo is not on my paddock but on the terrace above which has a change of use to domestic though I do have three raised beds on the paddock and I do all sorts of things on that paddock without planning permission if I'm to believe the jobs worth who first advised me.
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Cider Boys
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I realise that this may be going off the topic however a few points to consider. Generally, the Planners do not travel around the countryside seeking out where people have breached change of use. The problem arises when a neighbour reports someone, then the Planners have to respond. As long as you do not put such items as trampolines, garden swings, etc. and keep the paddock for horticultural use then that is perfectly correct and from what I have read raised beds are acceptable.

The nuisance is that if you wish to put up a shed or greenhouse in your garden then that is permitted, but you can not do the same in an agricultural field (paddock) without planning permission (unless you farm 5 Ha and get permitted development). If you are using your paddock (discreetly) as a garden then consider taking photographs (dated) and evidence of your garden use, since as long as you can prove that you have used the area as a garden for 10 years you can get a certificate of lawful use if someone was to question your change of use.

Barney
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Ricard with an H
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Very interesting Barney and one of the reasons I'm so restricted when it comes to a greenhouse. I still have plenty of space if you ignore our paddock, though none of that space is suited to a greenhouse without spoiling something else.

The original log-store was a temporary structure on the paddock that lasted ten years before it's end of term last week. Our new log-store is fitted at the rear of our shed/store/garage which would have been perfect for a greenhouse but log-storage is part of our annual economics.

I already had a partial change of use and don't intend applying for further changes on the basis of discussion with local farmers one of which is a local-authority councillor. In fact he told me to stick a greenhouse up and cited the many planning-law infringements that farmers make on their land that is ignored.

That visit I had from Mr Jobsworth 13 years ago wasn't a joke, he even intimated that me walking around the paddock to take in the view of the far hills needed domestic change of use.

I'm growing grass, is that allowed ? The farmer grows wheat, barley, turnips and kale, I grow kale but in raised beds. I'm probably not allowed if it's for my own use and I can't sell it.

I don't want any more planning permission, it just allows people to masturbate in public. I would rather stop growing things whilst the planners pander to targets and allow wind turbines to proliferate for the good of the fat-cats around here.
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How are you supposed to start and maintain a healthy lifestyle if it completely removes a wine lover’s reason to live?
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Pa Snip
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Further points of consideration:-

Do you guys need planning permission for this minefield you are embarking upon

Should planning issues be enforced by hard or soft wood planks
Should they be long or short

Are raised beds easier to get out of than waterbeds in the morning

:)

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Ricard with an H wrote:Very interesting Barney and one of the reasons I'm so restricted when it comes to a greenhouse. I still have plenty of space if you ignore our paddock, though none of that space is suited to a greenhouse without spoiling something else.

The original log-store was a temporary structure on the paddock that lasted ten years before it's end of term last week. Our new log-store is fitted at the rear of our shed/store/garage which would have been perfect for a greenhouse but log-storage is part of our annual economics.

I already had a partial change of use and don't intend applying for further changes on the basis of discussion with local farmers one of which is a local-authority councillor. In fact he told me to stick a greenhouse up and cited the many planning-law infringements that farmers make on their land that is ignored.

That visit I had from Mr Jobsworth 13 years ago wasn't a joke, he even intimated that me walking around the paddock to take in the view of the far hills needed domestic change of use.

I'm growing grass, is that allowed ? The farmer grows wheat, barley, turnips and kale, I grow kale but in raised beds. I'm probably not allowed if it's for my own use and I can't sell it.

I don't want any more planning permission, it just allows people to masturbate in public. I would rather stop growing things whilst the planners pander to targets and allow wind turbines to proliferate for the good of the fat-cats around here.


Depends on the relative strength. :wink:
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Lonely location, wind power on tap, public disavowment of greenhouses, mmmm. :twisted:
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FelixLeiter
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Geoff wrote:I always ask "why raised beds?" Fashion or necessity?

I should also like to ask the same question. They make for a pleasant enough carpentry project, I suppose, but I'm not convinced of their benefit. From a cost / benefit point of view, measurably unnecessary.
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Why Raised Beds?

Off the top of my head ...

(1) More productive than open ground
(2) Soil improvement (eg lightening clay) is concentrated
(3) Facilitates 'Square Foot Gardening' more easily
(4) Easier to manage (eg no digging)
(5) Easier to control pests
(6) Easier access (I'm not getting any younger)
(7) Aesthetically pleasing

They may not be for everyone but they work for me.
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Ricard with an H
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And me, you wouldn't do open ground gardening on my ground and raised beds are an easy way to control the ingress of moles.

All/most of my raised bed soil is imported. If you're lucky enough to have ground that drains well and you a decent depth of soil there is still a case for concentrating your efforts into the soil by selectively isolating your growing area.

We have a lot of moles, moles don't get into raised beds where I had the forethought to lay expanded metal sheets down before back-filling.

And finally, I have one area of garden that hasn't been turned into raised beds and that area is my control area for comparison.

The raised beds win every time
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I use raised beds for 3 reasons , first was the contamination of the top soil i did not fancy eating things grown in soil that contains asbestos not to mention the amount of broken glass, second , the soil is less than a spade deep then clay, thirdly drainage was a big problem i have the remains of an 18 inch brick wall running the width of the plot just under the surface of the soil at the back this stops any rainwater from draining off i have taken big chunks out of it but to no avail, raised beds seemed the way to go and they work well ive got 10 im also still working a patch of ground 10 meters x 7 this is still heavey soil even after 4 years of thick layers of horse ,chicken , and pigeon manure im still getting bits of tarmac, bricks and glass out of it but its were i grow my spuds and other bits and pieces
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Ricard with an H
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I also have underground concrete and other unmentionables, you wouldn't believe what the JCB driver dragged out of the ground that had been hidden for convenience rather than paying to have it taken away.

The concrete bases are the remains of silage-clamps, then the builder buried old rocks and stone under a thin cover of subsoil, grass grows readily on it but the right grass will, and will grow at -3 degrees.
How are you supposed to start and maintain a healthy lifestyle if it completely removes a wine lover’s reason to live?
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Ricard with an H
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I've been thinking about this issue, some people can't see the point in the extra work creating raised beds. It's a surprise coming from accomplished gardeners.

Do you know for every one of us there are hundreds who can't see the point in growing your own when you can buy it without any work involved, some people think we are mad to toil with the soil. presumably it won't be many years before people forget what it's like to strip and prepare a cabbage.

Gardening to those hundreds (For every one of us) is faffing about with a few planters and whilst that in-itself can be a challenge, massively rewarding and I have seen some fantastic displays from a few pots and the odd corner plot.
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Yes Richard people are getting very lazy. As we know how much better freshly picked home grown produce is and that we are eating it at its best without tons of chemicals and no loss of vitamins. Also don't you find home grown is much more tender and cooks faster than bought stuff?

It is a bit sad when people are buying bags of ready mashed potato and chopped up veg. A woman was wandering upand down with a little girl the other day in the supermarket and I asked what she was looking for. She said chopped mushrooms and when I said couldn't she buy whole ones and chop them herself she said that "buying chopped veg gave her more quality time to spend with her daughter"!!!!!! She could have prepared a whole meal in the time she spent searching for chopped up stuff.
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I think it depends what sort of raised beds you mean.

Proper raised beds, of the sort that provide a good depth of soil to grow crops in, require a massive amount of soil to fill. To me, they are an unjustifiable expenditure of time and effort unless you have contaminated land, or are prone to flooding, or some such.

The sort of thing most people mean, a few gravel boards demarking an area raised by only a few inches, are pretty much a waste of time and serve mostly to create a hiding place for slugs. Trouble is that for some reason (perhaps TV gardeners ?) most new allotmenters seem to think that vegetables need a little wooden border round them to grow. In fact a great many new allotmenteers seem to be frustrated civil engineers, not gardeners. At our site the plots have been subdivided so many times that by the time they've built their shed, composters, seating area, raised beds etc, they are left with hardly any space, or energy, to grow crops :lol:
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