Raised beds

[cockneycarrot]

Have had allotments for 46 years, now changing half to raised beds, as i can't cope with 20 pole. What are the veg you would normally grow in them, i am coming up 80 years old and the comradeship is wonderful.

[oldherbaceous]

Hello my old Cockneycarrot, i must admit i don't used raised beds, but as far as i no you can grow exactly the same things as you grow in the open ground. I'm sure you will get some excellent information from some of the members who have raised beds.
Good on you for trying something new at the young age of eighty.

Kind regards a friendly Old Herbaceous.

It will either rain or get dark.

[Beryl]

We have been gardening with raised beds for the last 15 years. Although I have to say we didn't start out with that idea, it just happened, with all the manure etc that we piled in they became raised. Now we do have some purpose built beds but they do take a great deal of filling and tend to dry out much quicker so I hope you have a access to a good water supply.
I grow anything and everything - the choice is yours.
You are welcome to visit my web site to see.
www.saundersallotment.co.uk

I hope you have many more happy years on your plot.
Best Wishes.
Beryl.

[Compo]

I too have just started with raised beds, the advantage is the ground is easier to keep clean, the extra few inches of height saves your back, if you put bark or fabric on the paths you can then kneel and really get close to work on the beds, but agree about the water situation you need a good supply, and unless you are careful with your design you can't get a rotavator on the beds. Good luck they look good anyway!!

[Tigger]

I've had raised beds for over 20 years and grow pretty much everything in them.. Just don't make them too wide or you'll have to walk on them to plant/weed, which defeats the object!

[Trevor Holloway]

I've just taken on a half plot on my local allotments which had been covered in 8' tall brambles for at least 20 years - could not resist it as it is at the end of my garden.
I'm putting in raised beds now so that it will be easier to tend, using old carpet paths.
I plan to grow most tings in the beds (with bare copper wire stapled around the edges to try to keep the slugs at bay).
Anything I should be wary of ?

[richard p]

the main difference with beds is the plant spacing, as you are not walking on the beds you dont need to plant most things in rows . most people use the "domino 5" spacing refered to in other threads.

[PT]

Hi Trevor.
If your on the Derry's field allotment, I personally wouldn't put raised beds on your plot for the first year. It was only cleared in the winter. There was all sorts growing there, bramble, horsetail comfery, couch bindweed, and lots more.[the blackberries were good, I'll miss them] It's a lot to take on in the first year. Try covering half for the first year, and concentrating on the other half. I'm on plot 1 if you want to chat. Or send a PM for my phone number.

[fuchsia]

We use raised beds and as mentioned they do dry out quicker ,we tend to put potatoes in them under weed suppressing fabric and have had good results ,carrots under mesh and again good results the only bad result I have had is onions ,and thet is because there is white rot I think in the soil .
Fuchsia

[Trevor Holloway]

Nope I'm in Molesey, the plots (7 or 8 of them) were cleared last October, slash and burn, then deep rotovated.
The ground is very much clay ridden, the worst of which I have put on the pathways, digging over the plot there was broken glass, rubble and loads of the "wooden spider" roots, which were burnt and I still come accross more (now with shoots on ).
Concentrating on getting the beds sorted means more effort in less space.
The ease of access (gap in my fence) means I can keep a wary eye out for the weeds as they pop up, plus I can keep watering when no-one is looking .
Not too opimistic about yeild this year but hopfully will get good results next year.

[Helenclare]

Hi, I built 3 new raised beds over Easter from railway sleepers. They are each 4 foot by 8 foot and I have filled them with about one third homemade compost mixed with rotted leaf mould 60 litres of mixed perlite and vermiculite bought in 100l bags off the internet and the rest is compost from Wickes being sold at the moment at 4 80l bags for £10.
This has given a light airy planting mix and is the basic mixture used in the square foot gardening book.
It will be interesting to see how the beds develop.

Today I have transplanted lettuces, Swiss chard, parsley, cabbages,and sowed carrots, beetroot and have put in my peas raised in guttering. I will try and take some photos and work out the costs.

[fuchsia]

that sounds really sturdy Helenclare ,we have no chance of railway sleepers ,have to replace little posts this year as they are rotten already and have only been in about 3 years
Fuchsia

[cockneycarrot]

Thank you all for replying to my thread regarding what to grow in my raised beds. i must say i was a bit disappointed in the answers, only one said grow anything i want to. I had read a list of veg to grow in a book but can't find it now. i don't want to grow runner beans, or goosebury bushes, rubarb etc. so please can i have more ideas for my raised beds.

[Beryl]

If you have been gardening for so many years surely you know the kind of veggies you like to eat.
Raised beds are no different from flat beds.
They just need a little more attention with watering and replenishing with extra rotted compost each year.
The seed catalogues are full with more choice than ever.
Come on - make the decision - go for it.

Beryl.

[pigletwillie]

Hi Cockney carrot,

All of one of my plots is down to raised beds. I grow everything that I normally did in the ground with the exception of potatoes, sweetcorn, peas, leeks and brassicas. I grow these on my other plot as I find that they do better and I like to keep the raised beds free for more gourmet food.

I grow 90% of my onions and all of my shallots in them, all of my salad crops, all of my carrots, turnips, celeriac, bulb fennel, swedes, tomatoes, peppers, chillies et al.

If you get them filled up with organic matter rather than soil they will hold onto moisture really well and wont need watering very often.

My baby carrots from last year were wonderful as were the chanteray style ones and my October sown garlic is already whetting my appetite. Dont forget asparagus either as they like to be out of the wet soil.