ome daft questions froma newbie. You have been warned :)

You first need to know what kind of weeds you are dealing with.  The annual weeds are not a problem but any of the nasty perennial weeds should be removed before you build your beds or they may just come up through them.

I dug the weed roots out of the ground for the raised bed I made this year and put weed supressant fabric down before positioning and filling it.  Guess what has just started to grow through...


.... yes, Mare's Tail 

Thankyou Sally

I guess i'll have to be nice to my husband and get him to dig it all out! It seems to be mainly ivy with some annual type weeds plus this very nasty stuff that sticks to you!! Have no idea what its called

The only good thing about Ivy is it slows the bind weed down, and is quite rewarding when you pull up 6 foot long lengths of it!

Thanks for the replies. I have managed to talk hubbie into digging out the ivy.
I think i shall have to start a compost bin. I belong the the freecycle network. Maybe someone will  have one to donate on there!! It has been a very useful resource. I have managed to get a spade,hoe, seed potatoes and several houseplants on there so far. Such a good idea!

If you have back problems, you might also want to consider building (or buying) table top raised beds (basically, raised beds with legs so the top can be reached without bending down). Fill them with good, new soil (you could use a mix of compost and manures, coarse vermiculite and peat substitute), so you start with very good soil without any weeds in it; no digging necessary. Most plants will grow fine in 6 inches of good, rich soil; I grow in mine tomatoes, spinach, beans, peas, lettuce, arugula, peppers, chillis, aubergines, broccoli, cauliflowers, bok choys, round carrots, various oriental vegetables, cabbages, different herbs... You'll need a deeper one if you want to grow leeks, long carrots, potatoes, parsnips...
Take a look at the "square foot gardening" method, which is what I (and other people on this forum) use, if you're interested.

Quote from: Aunt Sally on June 22, 2010, 10:06

Burn the Ivy, don't compost it  !!!!

Thanks for telling me Sally. I had no idea 

What a fab idea. I shall investigate. Thank you