We're just in the process of clearing a rather overgrown area of our garden to put in some raised vegetable beds. There are two reasons for the raised beds. One, we have a lot of trees around that area. Two, the ground is clay with boulders, not stones, and I mean 2' diameter boulders, in it.
My questions are
Do we have to dig the ground over before we put the raised beds on top (I'm really hoping the answer is no 'cause it took me a week to dig a very small area given the amount of boulders I ended up diggin out).
How deep should the raised beds be? I'm thinking that might be dependant on whether we dig the ground over first or not?
Ta for any replies
Clay soil & raised beds
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Tony Hague
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I should begin by admitting that I am not a fan of raised beds, unless there are strong reasons. Sounds like you might be in that category though !
A couple of things to think about. You mention a lot of trees in the area - will this present problems with light ? Second thing, have you done the arithmetic as to how much soil you might need to make your beds ? It often comes as a surprise to people just how much is needed.
Anyways, I guess you are right that any depth of your existing soil you can loosen up will reduce the depth you need to add. Also looking on the bright side, a clay soil will probably be rich in minerals and have potential for better crops once improved.
I guess the depth you need will depend a lot on what you want to grow; lettuce etc have a pretty small root system and won't be much troubled by what is more than a few inches deep, whereas if you want to win a prize for your parsnips, get digging !
Not having seen the soil you have,. I think I'd try to loosen up (rather than thoroughly dig) what you have to reduce a bit what depth you need to add, and rely on the worms to do some mixing for you - aiming for a spade depth workable soil when you are done.
A couple of things to think about. You mention a lot of trees in the area - will this present problems with light ? Second thing, have you done the arithmetic as to how much soil you might need to make your beds ? It often comes as a surprise to people just how much is needed.
Anyways, I guess you are right that any depth of your existing soil you can loosen up will reduce the depth you need to add. Also looking on the bright side, a clay soil will probably be rich in minerals and have potential for better crops once improved.
I guess the depth you need will depend a lot on what you want to grow; lettuce etc have a pretty small root system and won't be much troubled by what is more than a few inches deep, whereas if you want to win a prize for your parsnips, get digging !
Not having seen the soil you have,. I think I'd try to loosen up (rather than thoroughly dig) what you have to reduce a bit what depth you need to add, and rely on the worms to do some mixing for you - aiming for a spade depth workable soil when you are done.
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PLUMPUDDING
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Good answer from Tony. You might like to have a look at the Harrod Horticultural web-site as they have some useful information about the different depths of raised beds for different veg.
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Kleftiwallah
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My veggie garden is all (5) raised beds. All from paving slabs, the fist trial was with them sunk 50% into the ground, the later were just rested on the ground vertically with an angle iron collar welded at the corners round the top edges. Crackin' job Grommet. Cheers, Tony.
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Myrkk
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Thanks for the replies.
Our garden is on a hillside and we are surrounded by trees on two sides and the other has a large wall. So we do have issues with light. However, it is a south facing garden so a little shade isn't such a bad thing, I'm hoping anyway. We don't have anywhere else to put our veggie patch and it is a very large garden so I don't want to take on anything such as an allotment as this one is taking up all my time.
The wall is south facing so I'm hoping to grow espaliered (sp?) fruit against it. The fruit trees in the garden at the moment are really past their best. So hoping that taking these trees down will help to open up the veggie plot a little and give it more light.
Am I right in thinking that putting lime and manure into the soil will help to improve it?
I am looking forward (not) to having to barrow all the topsoil that will be required up to the beds once they are in. lol. I do enjoy gardening, just not the landscaping that is going to be required first.
Our garden is on a hillside and we are surrounded by trees on two sides and the other has a large wall. So we do have issues with light. However, it is a south facing garden so a little shade isn't such a bad thing, I'm hoping anyway. We don't have anywhere else to put our veggie patch and it is a very large garden so I don't want to take on anything such as an allotment as this one is taking up all my time.
The wall is south facing so I'm hoping to grow espaliered (sp?) fruit against it. The fruit trees in the garden at the moment are really past their best. So hoping that taking these trees down will help to open up the veggie plot a little and give it more light.
Am I right in thinking that putting lime and manure into the soil will help to improve it?
I am looking forward (not) to having to barrow all the topsoil that will be required up to the beds once they are in. lol. I do enjoy gardening, just not the landscaping that is going to be required first.
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FelixLeiter
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Myrkk wrote:Am I right in thinking that putting lime and manure into the soil will help to improve it?
Adding manure is always a good move, whatever your soil type. But be careful about liming. Lime can improve the structure of a clay soil but only so long as it is not alkaline. Do a pH test first before applying lime. If your soil is acid, do for sure add lime because it'll help break it up.
Allotment, but little achieved.