Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Chatting => Design and Construction => Topic started by: no_akira on July 18, 2015, 09:44
-
Have come up with a simple new approach to structuring growing beds... using a single pallet !
http://www.get-planting.co.uk ( information for newbie veggie growers, non commercial )
Its sort of in between (hybrid) open-soil and raised beds... but makes watering more efficient.
Been having the best year of growing (yields, plants taking off) since starting to implementing this method this season in 8 years of trying to grow stuff...
-
A good concept, good luck with it :)
How about pallet partition planting?
-
It looks like a good idea, its just a shame I don't have ready access to pallets.
-
Did speak to a recycling wood company in St Albans about making these pallet bed dividers...
Said they got the idea...but until there is demand...
Its a good idea but is it a good enough idea for people to put there hands in their pocket.. :unsure:
NB: The good thing about the stack design its easier to fit a cut in half pallet into a modern small car for transporting around.
-
Probably not a money spinner as you can generally pick up free pallets in a lot of places... Still a good idea tho, why not write a book about your experiences and your tips, best methods, most suited crops etc. and sell that?
-
Look how much the permaculture concept has been a money spinner... Take that as inspiration?
-
Its more FYI only type of project really. An alternative to the limitations of "raised beds"
The core of this approach in my mind is the sponge effect caused by the "puffed up" bed of soil.
I've taken inspiration from when mixing a bucket of plaster. As you add water or as water dries off from a batch of plaster it effects moisture levels across the whole batch, hard to explain. But this is what I think is happening with this method. As you pour water down the central spine, it get sucked up across the profile of the soil in a uniform way.
Would be quite hard to test this theory out...
-
Like the idea, thanks for sharing. You mentioned filling the gap with stones , does that take care of those slimy things with out shells?
-
Don't crucify me but I'm not a believer in slug pellets (why do we never see hedgehogs any more...) so I accept you are gonna get loses or veggies that have slug scarring.
They are attracted to moisture so seem to always collect in the same place, the dip at the back of the border at the base of the pallet wall. I then just collect them up. You could beer trap here for targeted removal.
My way of dealing with the slime critters is "Relocation, relocation, relocation". Pick them up using a leaf, then basically fling them into the nettle section of the plot.
Surprisingly they don't seem to collect in the pallet stack, there too lazy to climb vertically up the stack !
Noticed, the outer border suffers worse then the inner border which is relatively slug free... seems they have had there munch and cant be bothered to adventure, all that effort, to scale the wall to get to the more sensitive crop on the other side.
-
no_akira, why not pop into our other gardening boards and read and give some advice on the topic there ?
I'm sure you'd enjoy it :)
-
Thank you for the warm reception Aunt Sally, will do. Not sure how much advice I can give. I seem to be better at construction / building than actual growing... (joke)
-
Does the quality of the soil make a difference to this method? Do you have clayey or loose soil?
-
Here in West side of Essex it lovely clay, not the good stuff either, go down 6 inchs and your getting the colour change and it gets gooey... not the easiest to work from scratch.
It is a valid point and I think it has more to do with how free draining your soil is.
There are 2 factors
1. Avoid making the soil bank to high, there seems to be a fine balance between the height of your puffed up soil bed and its ability to suck moisture across the bank. Too high and it dries out too readily. This is one of the main limitations of raised beds in my experience, gravity pulls the water through them too quickly. Only a couple of inches above the original soil level seems to work best.
2. The other point of the system is that you have scrapped the cream 3" of top soil across the whole bed and heaped it all into a heap against your pallet.
-
Well I took my idea to the Edible Garden show (stand 554) at Stoneleigh near Coventry at the weekend.
I displayed the new design that is easier to construct for people to copy for use on their own allotments.
Once I had explained the principle of this approach to people
"We modify a pallet to act as a divider positioned between 2 beds. Its a planting bed system that sits between 'raised beds' and 'open soil' and that reduces the requirement for watering as the water is goes straight to the roots."
Even the 'old boys' of the National Allotment Association rubbed their chins and nodded. Could see what I was getting at.
Also the National Vegetable Society members made comments on its especially as one of them was a chippie (carpenter) he especially was impressed.
-
I do like to play and this looks a possible contender to play with, one major flaw for us is that we not permitted to use stones/ hardcore and this could be seen as technically using them, however I am sure we could come up with something as a replacement.
-
I like the idea but feel the comment on the website regarding "Allotment Guardianship" is a little wishful thinking.
“Allotment Guardianship”. Basically if you give up the allotment you have left it in a better state (not worse) than when you took the allotment on. Its means the next person to take on your allotment finds well defined growing beds with soil that is easy to turn over. - http://allotment-ideas.co.uk/open-book/
On the basis of how most allotments seem to be handed over, the truth might be when you take on your new allotment you may find it full of half rotten pallets which you can't shift as they're full of rubble and tied to the ground by couch grass and nettles. ;)
I do like to play and this looks a possible contender to play with, one major flaw for us is that we not permitted to use stones/ hardcore and this could be seen as technically using them, however I am sure we could come up with something as a replacement.
As far as I can see the only advantage to the stones is to act as a baffle to stop the water rushing down and washing the soil away, could easily be achieved using twigs.
-
I like the idea but feel the comment on the website regarding "Allotment Guardianship" is a little wishful thinking.
“Allotment Guardianship”. Basically if you give up the allotment you have left it in a better state (not worse) than when you took the allotment on. Its means the next person to take on your allotment finds well defined growing beds with soil that is easy to turn over. - http://allotment-ideas.co.uk/open-book/
On the basis of how most allotments seem to be handed over, the truth might be when you take on your new allotment you may find it full of half rotten pallets which you can't shift as they're full of rubble and tied to the ground by couch grass and nettles. ;)
I do like to play and this looks a possible contender to play with, one major flaw for us is that we not permitted to use stones/ hardcore and this could be seen as technically using them, however I am sure we could come up with something as a replacement.
As far as I can see the only advantage to the stones is to act as a baffle to stop the water rushing down and washing the soil away, could easily be achieved using twigs.
Indeed and we can use good netting like scaffold net I believe to hold the stones in place but agree with the left in the ground bit unless like us you pay a large deposit on your plot to keep it tidy to be given back if the plot is in good order when you leave.
-
Aldy, just wanted to clarify that the latest design requires a plastic plank (see Stokbord 112cm x 11cm) cable tied as a bottom to the box. With 5-10mm twiggs used as spacers to create the open slot around its base.
IMPORTANTLY this plastic plank acts as a "water deflector" directing water into each bed.
You could use scaffold netting but it might not be strong enough to support the weight of the flints / stones also the water would just fall straight through the pallet divider.
All the stones used on my plot have come from riddling my plot, the allotment is a very stony / clay type soil.
Trikidiki point is valid but in my defence the dividers are a recycled by-product that could be burned in a big pile by the incoming allotmenteer. After emptying all the stones out into a pile.
The guardianship comment was a bit of a throw away, airy-fairy point...
-
Aldy, just wanted to clarify that the latest design requires a plastic plank (see Stokbord 112cm x 11cm) cable tied as a bottom to the box. With 5-10mm twiggs used as spacers to create the open slot around its base.
IMPORTANTLY this plastic plank acts as a "water deflector" directing water into each bed.
You could use scaffold netting but it might not be strong enough to support the weight of the flints / stones also the water would just fall straight through the pallet divider.
All the stones used on my plot have come from riddling my plot, the allotment is a very stony / clay type soil.
Trikidiki point is valid but in my defence the dividers are a recycled by-product that could be burned in a big pile by the incoming allotmenteer. After emptying all the stones out into a pile.
The guardianship comment was a bit of a throw away, airy-fairy point...
Sorry my point was to carry out the design with the plastic but use the scaffold net purely to hold the stones in place within the original design. I checked out the nitty gritty and it could be seen as using hard core on the beds but using the scaffold net we could get away with it as it would make it easier to extract should the pallet rot.
-
A quick update on the how the redesigned pallet dividers have been working out so far this year.
(http://allotment-ideas.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/quick_pallet_wood_path_02c.jpg)
This is two dividers with a bean frame attached. The French beans have been doing really well. Had the first batch over the past 10 days. Still got the mid crop & top half to go.
The Sun flowers are doing well again they do need lots of water.
Only ever water through the pallet voids.
-
I missed this post first time around so am glad of your update no_akira. Thanks.
It does look very interesting and kind of extends my thoughts on keeping the surface dry as a sealing "mulch" for damp soil below where possible.
-
Last year I used straw as a moisture retaining barrier to great effect. But its best used once the plants have established themselves as snail & slugs hide in the straw and what with the weather were having.
I also been experimenting with upside down conical pots buried 3-4 inches below your soil level and then watering onto the pot. It runs down the pot then straight to the roots. My cucumber mound is coming on a treat using this method.
-
I really cant see any benefit....your beans and sunflowers look no different to mine. How deep in the ground is the pallet? It does seem a huge amount of work for no return, in my opinion that is.
Does the pallet not rot down very quickly? I am assuming you have used ones that have not been treated as you wouldnt want to realease all those nasties into the soil.
-
The divider is only 2 slats of wood wide. That is 3.5" x 2 = 7" but the soil only comes upto the mid point between the 2 slats.
Example: You have a fresh grassy ground un-dug border in front of you.
+ With a sharpened border spade (spade width only) you scoop a 2" layer of turf off 1.2m in length. Leave turf in pile to dry as we want the good quality top soil for our new bed.
+ Then dig the 2 small holes 4" deep for the legs of the bed divider. Position divider in the holes.
+ Using you spade scoop off turf, 1.2m x 75-80cm
+ Dig a small v shaped trench in front of the divider piling this soil on bare soil, it will get dug in during next step.
+ Now start digging 2" slither cuts full depth of spade in bared soil nearest the divider. With a quick deflection of the spade heap the slither of soil against the divider. This is a very easy way to dig over old compacted soil.
+ Water this dug section and leave a few days for water to saturate.
+ On return a light dig over then riddle top couple of inches. keeping large conker sized stones for filling divider.
+ Shake out soil onto your new bed from the dried turf pile. Waste grass onto your compost heap.
+ Finally shape this light fluffy soil border. Dip at back rising to a slight mound with long slopeing section.
NB1: Only fill about 2" worth of large conker sized stones. The larger the air gaps between the stones the dryer the stones will be. Slugs do not like warm & dry stones.
NB2: As a final stage I edge my new border with a woodchip filled mesh plastic baffle.
Yes normal untreated pallet (most are untreated i've been told)
It is just a different bedding technique, that recycles an old pallet (free) instead of expensive timber and makes use of the waste stones from your soil. Yes there is an initial level of faff to start with but going forward into your 2nd growing season it will all be a lot easier. It saves water & time, stops a soil crust forming and I have less plant failures and better yields.
It probably does suit you larger more water greedy plants such as Courgettes, Marrow, Squashes, Cucumbers, Sunflowers, Sweetcorn and potatoes.
-
So you are not burrying a pallet but making a trough to hold say 6" of stones, is that correct?
Would i be right to assume that you have a method to stop the water just running through the stones? I am struggling to understand the benefit of the stones but sure you have worked it out. I am also assuming you soil is very light to need that much water?
My grandad was a gardener so i learnt most things from him and he was adamant that once established water was minimal. I have always done that with enormous success.
Have often do you water the pallet trays monthly?
-
Thats is right PP its essentially a wooden trough but with a plastic plank cable tied to the bottom to retain the conker sized stones. There is a 10mm gap between the bottom plastic plank that lets the water pour out both sides into each of the paired beds. But it is only about 3" worth of stones, about a buckets worth per divider. There are a lot of stones in the soil at my allotment so these are freely obtainable.
The stones are there to add weight & slow down the rush of water so that soil isnt washed away underneath the divider.
No the soil on my plot is Essex clay which has a tendency to set like concrete.
A single 2 way pallet makes 2 and a half of these dividers.
I worked in a professional greenhouse 2 years ago and courgettes & cucumbers where being watered heavily every night and crop being picked every few days. But a lot of water was being wasted saturating the soil. Surely there must be a method of getting moisture / water directly into the zone around the roots I thought. This is the cheapest non technical solution that I could come up with.
Basically you are creating a moisture zone between 2 heaped beds of soil and which the plants root will seek out this moisture zone as the plant establishes.
In this hot weather I am watering every other night for the water greedy plants.
-
Interesting concept akira, but for crops that need more water of for very hot weather, I just sink in 2litre plastic bottle with the lids taken off & the bottoms cut off, water through the 'bottom' each plant gets 2 litres of water to the roots, at the end of the season I lift out the bottle & stoe it for next year. It seems a bit less effort to be honest.
-
How do you position the bottles in relation to your plants ?
-
With runner beans I put 1 bottle between 2 plants, with sweetcorn I put 1 bottle between 4 plants, squashes get I bottle each.
-
Sounds good but you have to go round accurately pouring water into each bottle which takes time.
I plunge fill a 10 litre plastic water can and pour about half (4-5 ltr) into each divider. It literally takes 2 mins, whole bed watered.
Remember it is only my second year experimenting with this approach. There are going to be situations where it works well and others not so well.
-
Yes I can see that would speed up the watering. I suppose it depends how you set you're plot up, mine is done in long narrow beds.