[newseed]

Hi, this is my first attempt at growing my own, I have a very small garden and I am putting a raised bed made of link a bord, its only 1m wide by 2m long. I am not sure how much soil to buy and what type.
I am hoping to grow things like leeks, carrots, beetroot, runner beans and salad crops.  Any advice regarding the soil would be appreciated.

[noshed]

You can use anything that isn't too expensive - cheap grow bags, multipurpose compost, mixed with garden soil. Bung a bit of blood fish and bone in and you're away!
What are you standing it on? It's better if you can put it on soil - if so, fork that a bit before filling the bed to improve the drainage.

[newseed]

I am debating whether to put the frame on soil about 2' away from my leylandii hedge that I put in last year or I may take up some of the lawn and lay it further from the hedge as I have read the the leylandii will take all the moisture out of the ground.
Thanks for the tip on the type of soil, do you know how I work out how much I need?

[noshed]

I'd be inclined to site it away from the hedge if you can. Apart from anything else it will be dry and you want to be able to get round all four sides for weeding etc.
If you're putting it on a lawn someone on here recommended recently cutting off the turf and putting it in upside down in the bed. Then start filling with anything you can lay your hands on - eventually you'll be using your own compost of course...
Hard to know how to calculate - get a few bags and see how you go. The 99p shops are doing grow bags at the moment for example.

[andrewjwalsh]

Hi Newseed,

I asked the same question and the answer is to use clod/turfs upside and then stack it with a bit of everything!

[noshed]

There you are then, I wasn't hallucinating

[compostqueen]

I got some of those Link a bord jobs - they make them near me    

I didn't dig anything out for mine. I just laid thick pieces of good cardboard cadged from the business park, then put the Link a bord bed on top of that.  The weeds are kept at bay by the cardboard which takes an age to rot away by which time the weeds have been killed off.  I've not had any weeds surface - only a moley  :evil:

I filled mine with all the tater peelings, tea bags, kitchen scraps, home made compo, manure from the local stables, loads of leaf mould made on the lotty (carrots like it apparently)  and soil from the plot. Even the mole hills went in  

[Trillium]

Interesting that you've recently planted leylandii as several months ago we had a post asking how to get rid of them, and many responded with like requests  :?

[newseed]

I was going to put a fence in, then we had strong winds and most of the neighbours fences blew down.  So I decided on the Leylandii because they are a good screen and kept under control, they look really good.
Thanks Compostqueen, sounds like its not going to be as hard as I was making it.

[compostqueen]

these Link a bord beds are ok I reckon. I managed to overwinter pak choi, carrots and spinach on them. They say being twin walled they're well insulated. All made of recyclables to apparently

I've got two full length ones and one small metre square, double height box (which was a freebie) and I use that for salad leaves and spring onions

Ok they're a bit posh for the lotty but mine were birthday presents so that's ok then