Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: 1jim on March 06, 2010, 10:08
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Hi Everyone
Im new here so hello to everyone, am looking forward to being an active member here...although I suspect I may just end up asking a lot of silly newbie questions to start with, and to prove a point here the first of what Im sure will be many ::)
I am just about to take on an allotment, this is to be a new site (used as an allotment site 80yrs ago but grass field since), when we take it on it will just be marked out and grassed. We hope to be on the plot early april. My plan was to build lots of raised beds and fill with topsoil to get a quick start on the plot. I have sourced some topsoil from a skip company- £70 for 3tonnes. Has anyone any experience of using this type of screened topsoil and would you reccomend it?
About the beds, I was planning on building them with old wood/new wood from wood yard if I cant get any old and covering with some kind of preservative, any tips on which preservative is ok to be in contact with fruit/veg? and how high would you make the beds?
sorry for all the questions
thanks
Jim
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Why bring in topsoil the soil under the grass should be perfect
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The ground is supposed to be quite heavy clay, I thought that this might be a way to make a quick start as wont be able to do anything at all until april and would like to get some growing done this year
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Hi 1jim,I ordered a ton of so called top soil for my raised beds two years ago,but i wish now i had paid extra for a good quality one,as the stuff i had was full of glass,bits of plastic and sand although it was supposed to be screened.
I paid forty pounds for it and was assured it was good quality.I would have liked the topsoil from Rowlawn but it was double the price,I guess you get wot you pay for!
My crops didnt grow well in it and its taken me ages to condition it.
I used old scaffold boards for some of my raised beds which are economical.
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Good evening Jim and welcome to the site. You don`t get out of digging that easy. Even if you buy soil in, you will still need to dig over the soil in the bottom of the beds. :lol: :tongue2: :D
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I think I was kinda hoping that it would reduce the digging because I wouldnt need to dig soil to top up the beds (if that makes sense) and the kids would get quicker results on their part of the plot. What kind of height should I be looking to make beds?
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I would say about scaffolding board height - 9"-1ft possibly. I have heavy silt and it is the best option to have raised beds. I still double-dug the ground after skimming the grass off to help with drainage but I don't walk on the beds at all. Don't bring any sub-soil up when digging and get as much compost, manure and grit in as you can.