[jambop]

I have had a rethink on the raised beds. I am now thinking about making them 2.5m x1.25m . The reason being that this would allow me to orientate them so as any flood water will flow down the surrounding paths. These bed are, I am hoping, going to be used for winter veg and the in the spring after these crops have been cleared they can be used for salad and herbs. The thing is ... is this size of bed going to be OK for growing cabbage, Broccoli and the like? I will be making four of them.

[gobs]

It depends, what and how much you want to grow. Some caulis and sprouts can be enormous.  You might be able to fit a couple of sprouting broccolis in there.   For smaller varieties, yes. The other broccoli is quite small but a summer crop.

Also, do hold in mind, what you are planning to put after them, needs a lot less space.

[jambop]

It depends, what and how much you want to grow. Some caulis and sprouts can be enormous.  You might be able to fit a couple of sprouting broccolis in there.   For smaller varieties, yes. The other broccoli is quite small but a summer crop.

Also, do hold in mind, what you are planning to put after them, needs a lot less space.

This is I suppose the downside of raised beds there is not a lot of room but you need a bit of space around one to walk whereas in open ground the plant spacing is for walking

[no_akira]

How much of a re-think are you considering....

This is (picture attached)  a sunken and mounded bed against the central divider. The path sections have been sunk into the soil (about 3") and the excavated soil added to the bed.

The mobile 8 block path carriers have side planks with a 1" inch hollow section running underneath  that would allow water to run down under the path in your scenario, seeping into the beds.

These are "North-South" orientated beds with a fully open bed at the camera end (Southern end)  for your larger spaced plants such as Courgette / Pumpkins /  Cabbages in full glare of the sun. The dimensions are 1.5m (width) by 3.3m +/- in length. I have x3 of these side-by-side. Giving me aprox 14sqm of growing area.

its a multifunctional bed

[sunshineband]

Jambop, I grow all my brassicas in raised beds 1.2m by 3.6m and find I can fit enough in the three beds to keep us well supplied. I know your are planned slightly smaller in length but should still be very productive. It is also a great size to be able to cover with butterfly netting on a frame too.

Good luck with your new plan

[Vagabond]

Just make sure the beds are narrow enough for you to comfortably reach the centre of them. My husband built my beds and whilst he can reach across to the middle of them easily, at a good 12" shorter than him, I struggle!

[snowdrops]

My allotment is all long narrow beds, albeit  not raised, but approx 5ft wide by 30+ft long in most instances. I find I can standardise netting,frames & weed suppressant membrane so that it can be used in my crop rotation. Your new plan should work if you plan carefully where each plant goes, depending on what you plan to net with just plant the higher growing brassicas into the higher part of the frame then plant around with lower growing varieties. With raised beds you can plant closer together, you might get smaller cauliflowers & cabbages but if like me you prefer fresher veg, who wants a cauliflower or cabbage that you picked a week ago & are still working your way through. I prefer a smaller fresher one every other day depending on the menu.

[jambop]

Right so I have decided to go ahead with my plan. I have made up some boxes to prepare for the beds they are 2.5 x 1.25 m. I think once they are up and running after a couple of seasons they will give me options for veg that can be grown covered during the winter and early spring, they will also allow me to grow vegs that only require short rows. I am thinking about stuff like lettuce and salad crops, herbs, beetroot and after the manure has had time to decay carrots. I am posting a couple of photos showing what I have done so far. One of the boxes has some herbs growing without being made up to the level but the other is in the process of being filled with a soil manure mix which will be used this winter. I plan another two boxes parallel to these where the greens are growing in the forcing tunnel. The rest of my veg will just be grown in normal long rows I have posted a photo if almost the rest of the veg plot to let you see what I have to play with. If I did not have the water logging problem I would just stick with normal open ground growing but I actually think this new area will add some new possibilities to my veg growing.