[muckyboots]

I would like to put some raised beds in for next year but the price of timber is a bit off putting,has anyone any suggestions for a cheaper option, i would be able to see them from the house so the head gardener wants something pleasing to the eye.HELP!!

[grinling]

ground or raised up level.
Scaffolding planks/pallets/freecycle/gumtree/preloved

[Kristen]

I had lazy raised beds for years - path dug out (and lowered) by a spade's depth, the soil piled on the beds, so they had "sloping shoulders".  Cost nothing, but the soil does slip down the edges so needs tiding up every other year, or so.

Won't look "super smart" though, but certainly improves drainage on heavy soils and gets the raised part into better heart - we never walk on ours, for example.

Some 6 or 7 years later I came by some suitable timber and put smart edges on them ... but the beds were already there, productive, and all the other benefits.

personally I wouldn't use railway sleepers (new ones, nor old ones) as they are so wide they waste a huge amount of space - if used to surround 3 beds the sleeper width alone takes up the space for a 4th bed!

If you need the beds raised right up (because of difficulty bending etc.) then that's a different issue ...

[surbie100]

I use decking (get it when it's on offer) and paint it with shed paint to make it more pleasing to my eye. Used scaffold boards are about the same price, or a little more around here, though if you know someone in the building trade you might be able to get a better deal.

I also got a job lot of free floorboards a while back (freecycle) and have been using those too.

Mine are only raised by the depth of one board, so not by a huge amount, but it does make a big difference in terms of drainage.

[Kristen]

Mine are only raised by the depth of one board, so not by a huge amount, but it does make a big difference in terms of drainage.

Mine are the same, only raised a bit, but it makes a huge difference to drainage on my clay soil, compared to growing on a "uniformly flat area"

[muckyboots]

Thanks some good ideas there, i want to raise them to about 2ft/3ft my soil is so free draining as its all ex gravel pits, I want to raise the beds so i can fill them with some decent soil without the stones and dryness and get a good crop of veg.Thanks for all your suggestions.

[Kristen]

i want to raise them to about 2ft/3ft

That's a lot of "soil" (or whatever) that you will need to fill them. Assuming 4' wide (maximum width to reach comfortably from either side), and 3' tall then that is 1 cu.m. (a "Builders Tonne Bag") every 90cm / 3 feet.  The structure needs to be reasonably strong too, to contain the soil at that depth.

Not knocking it, just want to be sure you are tooled up for it!

[surbie100]

i want to raise them to about 2ft/3ft

If you're growing anything remotely tall, have you got a stepladder to reach the crops? 

[Tenhens]

We looked at building raised beds last year , when we worked out the required amount of wood and soil as mentioned above , we abandoned the idea. Not only was the potential cost considered but also the time spent on construction and filing ,we felt it wasn't worth it.  I guess some people prefer them , others don't.

[muckyboots]

Its looking like a re think as it seems like a costly venture to far,thanks for all who replied.

[Growster...]

If you want just to have separate beds, Muckyboots, then why not just have narrow 2' paths between 8' x 4' beds, and keep the soil level with these paths so you can mow them when you need to.

We do this now as a matter of course, and if the grass seems to be edging into the beds, we give them a Glyphosate nudge to keep them sane! I keep a no-go area between the grass paths and the growing areas, and it's a doddle to maintain, and also there's no grass to strim against the raised bits!

Next year, we'll have twenty-five separate beds for veg and seven for soft fruit, and the system works well, although of course, I have to mow the paths, but that's no big deal really - I always need the exercise..

[snowdrops]

Have you considered lasagne beds. Depending how much manure, green waste you can get, this raises the beds high. Google it or look on here at Angeladavies diary on here. I think on my diary thread there are a couple of pictures of the ones I've done. My intention now is to do a bed in this style every year for the squash & plant through membrane. It's really worked for me last year & this although I don't have drainage problems.

[sonnycbr]

I used profiled sheeting, its very light and strong. One drawback is, its expensive to buy new but if you look on the internet for salvaged sheets, they are cheap enough.They are usually plastic coated and last ages. Don't look too bad either.

[muckyboots]

Thats worth a look sonnycbr thanks i will have a look on the  tinterweb and see whats on offer.

[LotuSeed]

One of my raised beds is about two feet high and around 4'x7'. I attached pressure treated decking boards to 4x4 at each corner. That bed took a massive amount of "dirt". I filled my truck up with bags of topsoil, compost and mulch and made three trips to the hardware store to fill it!  The "dirt" cost me a lot more than the lumber and decking screws lol. (And considering I did all the cutting, building, moving and filling myself, on one 90+ degree day, it was a TON of work! 


If the cost of the lumber is prohibitive, you could always try building the beds, or raising their height, as your budget permits.
I'd also recommend trying to find a source for free manure to help lower the cost of filling them. Also check the prices of bagged soil versus having it delivered by the truckload. I got more for my money having it delivered than buying all those bags to fill that one tall bed

The look on my husband's face when I told him how much I'd spent on "dirt" lol