Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Chatting => Design and Construction => Topic started by: ches on August 30, 2019, 12:48
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Good afternoon all,
I'm pretty certain this has been asked, more than once before probably.
I'm about to start making some raised beds from "reclaimed" pallets. They are not all the standard 1 tonne pallets (various sizes).
My question is, in your opinion what size of raised bed works best for you? (not necessarily height but length and width)
Any help is greatly appreciated.
Ches
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From my point of view, as big as you can manage to fill (they take a surprising amount), as long as you can reach everything without having to walk on the bed (my newbie mistake :nowink:)!
AM
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I currently have
1m x 1m
1m x 0.5m (deep bed)
and i'm thinking my next one will be about 1.5m x 1.5m or maybe even 1.5m x 2m depending on what size timber I can get.
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You need to be able to reach the centre so I would not make it more than 4 feet wide. Length doesn't matter so just max out your space. My beds are 4 foot by 8 foot. I need to access them from both sides to plant a row. I have filled them entirely with home grown compost.
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My beds are 5ft across, a bit too wide in reality & not raised. Because hubby used to them & needed the width to make it viable. Now I do no dig I’m considering making them narrow but I have slabbed paths in between but might in time remove them (just don’t tell hubby or my children this , as they shifted them all from various places to the plot lol). For me 3-4 ft would probably be wide enough as I’m only 5ft 2”.
I would add a caution here & say do you really need raised beds? I used to think that was the way to go as that’s what lots of tv programs suggest, but if you’re soil is good & you have good drainage,they aren’t always the best-the soil can dry out very quickly, they take a lot of filling, the wood rots, it’s time consuming to build & fill them. Slugs love to hide down next to the Wood & come out to feast on your plants at night.
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My beds are 5ft across, a bit too wide in reality & not raised. Because hubby used to them & needed the width to make it viable. Now I do no dig I’m considering making them narrow but I have slabbed paths in between but might in time remove them (just don’t tell hubby or my children this , as they shifted them all from various places to the plot lol). For me 3-4 ft would probably be wide enough as I’m only 5ft 2”.
I would add a caution here & say do you really need raised beds? I used to think that was the way to go as that’s what lots of tv programs suggest, but if you’re soil is good & you have good drainage,they aren’t always the best-the soil can dry out very quickly, they take a lot of filling, the wood rots, it’s time consuming to build & fill them. Slugs love to hide down next to the Wood & come out to feast on your plants at night.
I have done a lot of thinking about if they are the best option and for me I think they are. My plot is on the side of a mountain and I’m relatively close to the bottom. The soil is awful and doesn’t drain much of at all. My OH shared the plot and she has a dodgy back (this is the main reason for raised beds)
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Mine are 80cm x 120cm each bed. (Pallet toppers). I have three long side to long side together, if that makes sense. A gap then another three side by side. I have four sets of these. If I made them my self I would make them no more than 100cm wide as the 120cm depth is a little bit too much to reach for me. I would keep the total length of 240cm each bed. I am 5ft 3".
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My beds are 5ft across, a bit too wide in reality & not raised. Because hubby used to them & needed the width to make it viable. Now I do no dig I’m considering making them narrow but I have slabbed paths in between but might in time remove them (just don’t tell hubby or my children this , as they shifted them all from various places to the plot lol). For me 3-4 ft would probably be wide enough as I’m only 5ft 2”.
I would add a caution here & say do you really need raised beds? I used to think that was the way to go as that’s what lots of tv programs suggest, but if you’re soil is good & you have good drainage,they aren’t always the best-the soil can dry out very quickly, they take a lot of filling, the wood rots, it’s time consuming to build & fill them. Slugs love to hide down next to the Wood & come out to feast on your plants at night.
I have done a lot of thinking about if they are the best option and for me I think they are. My plot is on the side of a mountain and I’m relatively close to the bottom. The soil is awful and doesn’t drain much of at all. My OH shared the plot and she has a dodgy back (this is the main reason for raised beds)
Makes perfect sense in those circumstances I agree.
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For me 3-4 ft would probably be wide enough as I’m only 5ft 2”.
I too am 5ft 2" and 4 ft is the maximum I can cope with. Will you be able to access both sides if you are on the side of a mountain? If not you will need to make them narrower.
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For me 3-4 ft would probably be wide enough as I’m only 5ft 2”.
I too am 5ft 2" and 4 ft is the maximum I can cope with. Will you be able to access both sides if you are on the side of a mountain? If not you will need to make them narrower.
I can access 360 around the beds. I'm thinking 4ft x 6ft