Raised beds or traditional ?

Cleo · « **on:** September 26, 2008, 19:57 »

I'm interested in Allotment style.

Which way do you tend to go

Raised beds or traditional rows....?

Which do you feel makes better use of the space..?

Do you have strong views ?

Or...is it all a bit more freeform

Let me know.....

( pics welcome )

fatbelly · « **Reply #1 on:** September 26, 2008, 20:02 »

Traditional row planting gives you far more space and allows you to plant as much of each crop as you wish.

Whereas, raised beds are easier to maintain and weed etc but offer far less space and flexibility.
On our site only two people out of 64 use raised beds the rest of us do row planting.

Ice · « **Reply #2 on:** September 26, 2008, 20:29 »

According to Doc Hessayon raised beds produce as much as traditional ones. I love mine because they are easy to weed. You don't walk on them and compact the soil. You only need to dig every few years. They drain better. If you have back problems they are ideal too. I also find it is easier to net off plants from birds and butterflies.

It's horses for courses really. Everyone has their favourite method of growing.

kezlou · « **Reply #3 on:** September 26, 2008, 20:56 »

I currently have a mixture of raised beds and traditional. I did not realise how bad the drainage was over at the allotment site as i only got in June of this year. I have come to the conclusion that if it wasn't for the raised beds nothing would of grown over at the plot.

Saying that my raised beds are not surrounded by wood or anything fancy, in reality they look like big piles of mud

:oops:

compostqueen · « **Reply #4 on:** September 27, 2008, 08:56 »

yeah no edging required, you can flatten em off with the back of the spade then they look like you buried somebody

I have a mixture too and I must say I do like the raised beds as they seem more manageable somehow. I think it's in my head but I can weed a raised bed quite happily as it's small enough to do quickly. I then treat myself with a cuppa and a bun before moving onto the next one. Breaking the task down. The long 'old person' rows (as I call em) seem interminable to weed so I keep the weeds behind me. Makes it easier if I can't see the extent of the problem.

Am I in denial

Eatyourgreens · « **Reply #5 on:** September 27, 2008, 10:23 »

Raised beds (With wood surrounds) were common practice in Tudor times and probably earlier, so just as traditional as the traditional way

Bob

compostqueen · « **Reply #6 on:** September 27, 2008, 12:14 »

mine get edged if I have resources

So I have some with and some without

Aidy · « **Reply #7 on:** September 27, 2008, 12:39 »

traditional for me, tried raised but the rotovator kept breaking them

Scribbler · « **Reply #8 on:** September 27, 2008, 12:50 »

If you do go for raised beds, make them about four feet wide by about three yards long - or whatever that is in new fangled metric. That way you can reach everything.

BUT NO FANCY DIAMOND SHAPES LIKE ON TV PERLEASE!!!

Rampant_Weasel · « **Reply #9 on:** September 27, 2008, 13:22 »

rows for me, i like the diggin in the autumn its my favourite part of the year.cant beat digging with blackbirds and robins for company

Ice · « **Reply #10 on:** September 27, 2008, 15:12 »

Quote from: "Rampant_Weasel"

cant beat digging with blackbirds and robins for company

You can if you have sciatica for company.

Knight Family · « **Reply #11 on:** September 27, 2008, 16:33 »

Quote from: "Ice"

Quote from: "Rampant_Weasel"
cant beat digging with blackbirds and robins for company
You can if you have sciatica for company.

dont get me started, I was off with it for 7 weeks first thing this year!! Plus I prefare digging with chickens!

Ice · « **Reply #12 on:** September 27, 2008, 17:33 »

Quote from: "Knight Family"

Plus I prefare digging with chickens!

Isn't that a little cruel? :shock: I use a fork.

FCG · « **Reply #13 on:** September 27, 2008, 17:45 »

Let your chooks do all the hard work! Dig up the sods and let them loose on them. I had fine tilth after a week with no hard pan from walking about on it after a week.

I have a raised bed and multitudes of containers where i am simply because i can't have anything else. However on an allotment i plan to have half and half. Some crops make sense to have in a bed and some in a row. For instance i wouldn't put my spuds in a raised bed, but straight in the ground.

Space wise raised beds with paths take more, but you work more with the space you have. Rows give you more space to work in, but less manoeuvrability and you end up compacting the soil.

Cleo · « **Reply #14 on:** September 28, 2008, 08:54 »

I think I may well have a mixture of both methods. I have to admit to a nostalgic fondness for " old person " rows. That's how I used to garden with my grand dad and great uncle......I say garden...I was mostly relegated to picking tonnes of blackcurrants and filling buckets with them so aunty could make jam

I also see the benefit of a raised bed.,,especially for carrots etc.

Potatoes, as you say go straight in...

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