[Rixy]

Walking home other day I noticed someone a couple of streets away from where I live was renewing their fence, ever the opportunist I asked as to whether I could have the old fence and was told yes .  

The fence itself comprised a 4"x4" bottom and a 4"x4" inch top rail screwed to which were 6' lengths of 6" wide 1/2" thick planks.  After unscrewing all the planks (50 or 52, i forget which) and cutting out the rotten buts of the botton and top rails and upright supports I now have a fair amount of wood with which to make some raised beds.

Now the question is, do I go for A - 6' L x 3' W x 1.5' H beds or do i go for B - 6' L x 2' W x 1.5' H beds  and find something else to do with any surplus planks?.  

Cheers for your input

Roy.

[compostqueen]

Titchmarsh recommends 4' wide by 12' long raised beds as being ideal size for reaching across to the middle and long enough to walk round. If they're too long you'd be tempted to walk across the bed

At the end of the day though it's what timber you've got but the above is a starting point. I hadn't a clue so made my first ones that size but I have some timber now which I think means my next one will be 4' wide by probably 8' long.

[Rixy]

The planks are 6 foot long by 6 inch wide and 1/2 inch thick, think i will go for 6  6'x2'x1.5'  beds.  Need an allotment to put them on first though , so the wood will be staying in my outhouse until then.

[senrab_nhoj]

The planks are 6 foot long by 6 inch wide and 1/2 inch thick, think i will go for 6  6'x2'x1.5'  beds.  Need an allotment to put them on first though , so the wood will be staying in my outhouse until then.

I'd make them 12' long and have a joint half way along, either a bracket or using a stake to join

[rictic]

Why do people have raised beds.

P.S I am new to allotmentieering.

[daz]

Why do people have raised beds.

P.S I am new to allotmentieering.

better drainage
easier to work on
neater alotment
no initial digging of the ground
you can put different types of soil in each one
loads of plus points really

i just wish i had the mulla to make my own

[Rixy]

Why do people have raised beds.

P.S I am new to allotmentieering.

My personal reason is to gain some height thereby lessening the distance i have to bend over, hopefully taking some of the strain off of my back.

[DD.]

Why do people have raised beds.

P.S I am new to allotmentieering.

better drainage
easier to work on
neater alotment
no initial digging of the ground
you can put different types of soil in each one
loads of plus points really

i just wish i had the mulla to make my own

More frequent watering due to faster drainage
Waste of a lot of growing space
More path maintenance
Lot of digging to get soil into beds
Time/money spent sourcing wood
Loads of minus points really.
(Playing Devil's Advocate here to get the balance  :twisted: )

[compostqueen]

they don't have to be edged at all. Just raised and the top gets flattened with the back of the spade

[Porffor]

Why do people have raised beds.

P.S I am new to allotmentieering.

better drainage
easier to work on
neater alotment
no initial digging of the ground
you can put different types of soil in each one
loads of plus points really

i just wish i had the mulla to make my own

More frequent watering due to faster drainage
Waste of a lot of growing space
More path maintenance
Lot of digging to get soil into beds
Time/money spent sourcing wood
Loads of minus points really.
(Playing Devil's Advocate here to get the balance  :twisted: )

as the owner of a dodgy back though nothing can outweigh the ability to stand up again after weeding/planting etc..

[anneyo]

I'm on the point of buying a raised bed system made from recycled uPVC because I read that timber treatments used to preserve wood can leach out into the soil and into crops.
Has anyone any experience of uPVC systems that 'link' together?

(By the way, I'm new to these boards and looking forward to picking lots of brains - as well as fruit and veg!)

[fayenz]

I've been wanting to make raised beds for ages. We looked at recycled wood but was so expensive! then looked at concrete circle thingies but were so heavy and expensive to deliver!

There HAS to be an easier way?

All advise would be most welcome and visual instructions would be even better  

[Lenmad]

I'm on the point of buying a raised bed system made from recycled uPVC because I read that timber treatments used to preserve wood can leach out into the soil and into crops.
Has anyone any experience of uPVC systems that 'link' together?

(By the way, I'm new to these boards and looking forward to picking lots of brains - as well as fruit and veg!)

Hi Anne, yes i have just built my firsst link-a-board system, they come in I metre packs. Despite being disabled it only took me about 30 mins to assemble the 2 metre system I bought, i thought it would be best to start small.
Prices vary, the main suppliers seem to charge about £24 for each 1 metre system, I found an on- line site that do them for just over £14. I am not sure if I can post the URL on here, this is my first day on here
The turn round time was about 5 days and came in good order. I hope this helps
regards Len

[SnooziSuzi]

Hello and welcome to all you newbies

Not sure whether you have this in New Zealand or not, but I've just managed to scrounge a whole load of timber & used floorboards from our local Freecycle site.

Why not give that a go?

[Kate and her Ducks]

I got an (expensive) wood one when I first started which has been great and the expense is the only thing that put me off getting another. I then made myself a second one out of bricks I got out of a skip and from a friend. Easy to do (might be a bit more level the next time though :oops: ), looks good (if I could see it under the trailing pumpkins that have exploded from it) and can always add another layer to raise it further if needed.