[Green Goddess]

I am about to start planning my raised beds.  Can anyone tell me the best size to go for and how high.

[Scribbler]

I use gravel board which is 6" deep. My beds are 3m x 1.2m. I'm filling them up with a 50/50 mixture of topsoil and well rotted horse manure.

Four beds altogether, oriented north to south, with enough gap between to make access easy.

[Bombers]

I found this article most useful when I planned my quarter plot last Autumn.
www.allotment-garden.org/articles/raised-deep-bed-gardening-construction.php
Don't be too stingy with the size of the pathways though!

[newseed]

I have just bought link-a-bord its 1m wide plastic plank and you can add together as many as you want, plus, it was very easy to put together.  Take a look at the Harrod Horticulture website.

[SkipRat]

The best thing if you can get them are scaffold boards, but they are getting harder to find. I have six raised beds 30 feet by 4 ft and are 9" high, and it took me quite a while to get them.

[Kermit 1964]

I can vouch for link-a-bord; they have their own website and were extremely helpful in assisting with the right number of bits to order for my 26x4 ft beds.  Though some of mine have 'bowed' a bit over time-on the sunny side of the bed.  

Pretty pricey, but not as expensive and far better for one's back than railway sleepers-(which also now have a 'don't grow veggies' in them H&S warning). Also made from recycled plastic which mildly assuages my conscience!

I think they do 4ft size as well as 1m standard, but you might have to ask nicely.  I thought their 'propagator top' idea for the compost bin quite clever too!.

Certainly worth a look, but you need deep pockets if you have a large area to do!

[compostqueen]

Link a bord is good and easy to assemble. You could go and collect it to save postage. They'd be glad to see you    

Scaffold boards are right difficult to get unless you buy new ones which are available from the builder centre and apparently not too dear. The scaffold companies shred their old ones in huge machines. I think it's possibly health and safety issue so they don't get re-used in the trade.

Those gravel boards are good - the 1" ones from the timber place. Wicks one are a bit dodo though unless I was just unlucky with those I bought which snapped like biscuits.

You can use old bricks as well which look really nice.  Mine are just stacked as we can't use mortar etc but that way they are easily moved or dismantled. I make round ones round the bean rig  

[courgette]

going back to the scaffolding....if i got some would it need to be treated in any way as I've heard its not pressure treated?

[puravida]

I looked at various options before I built mine and ended up using pressure treated gravel boards.

Regular untreated boards it seems will only last a couple of seasons before they start to rot.

There is a risk of the treatment agents leaching into the soil - older boards were pressure treated with a solution containing arsenic but that no longer happens so newer timber should be okay.

Even so - I've been told pressure treated gravel boards will only last 4-5 seasons but they are so cheap, easy and quick to put together that I am not too concerned.

Other options that are more permanent wold be hardwood, plastic boards or even building them out of bricks and mortar.

[Janeymiddlewife]

could I use the wood from my son's junior bed frame - being lazy i suppose, but it's already rectangular, if i saw off the legs even if it only lasts a year or two it's free

[Scribbler]

Couldn't you leave the legs on and take the corners off so they're pointed? This way you could stick it straight into the ground.

[puravida]

could I use the wood from my son's junior bed frame - being lazy i suppose, but it's already rectangular, if i saw off the legs even if it only lasts a year or two it's free

In principle I think it would be fine, but a) I'm not sure how well your son will sleep in the garden and b) he'll have to mind not to roll onto your broad bean seedlings at night.

[Green Goddess]

thanks everyone lots of advice as usual.  Mothers Day has provided me with lots of lovely pressies with an allotment theme so I am all ready!

[superplanty]

Gravel boards 2.4m by 6" by 1" cost £3.78 from B&Q. 3 boards would make a 8' by 4' bed.

[nipper31]

could I use the wood from my son's junior bed frame - being lazy i suppose, but it's already rectangular, if i saw off the legs even if it only lasts a year or two it's free

Where will the poor boy sleep if you do  :shock:  :?: