[mushroom]

hi,

I'm planning a raised bed for carrots and parsnips. My plot is just over 20 ft wide and 90 ft long. So the raised bed wants to be 20ft long and 6 ft wide, perpendicular to the length of the plot. I've never built one of these before  :oops: but I have a good idea what soil to use. I'm going for a predominantly sandy mix. What I don't know is:

1. what materials should I use for building the bed?
2. how high should it be to avoid carrot root fly?
3. a rough idea as to cost?

I'm googling for diagrams/how-tos, thanks in advance for any tips

[DD.]

Not being a raised bed person, I'll let the experienced ones answer 1 & 3.

The answer to No. 2 is at least 24", so you may need extra protection on top of your side panels, unless you want to pay out for 2 footers!

[WG.]

You will need around 15 tonnes of extra material for a 2ft high bed

3. is therefore tricky since it depends on how much you have to buy.

[pookey]

metal/plastic corrugated roofing sheets would probably be high enough and if youre lucky, you might find some scrap somewhere going free.

Could you not consider building normal raised beds 15-20cm high and then use some hoops and fleece to make a protective tunnel cloche cover to keep the flies out?  You would save fortunes in soil and wood.

Another idea would be to use tall fence posts and screw on pallets for the walls if you can get them free

finally, maybe try some carrot fly resistant varieties - resistafly is one scecifically developed for carrotfly.

Maybe build 2 beds of different heights to experiment before you comitt to spending out big on a huge high bed.

[paul2004]

Hi mushroom i have built mine out of new scaffolding boards 11ft long and 10 inchs high cost £7.00 each they are 4 ft wide as not to strech far for weeding in middle of bed as for carrot fly you can put up a fleece screen around bed.

[mushroom]

Thanks folks, you've given me some ideas. I like the scaffolding board one, I wonder where I can get those from. it would be great to make the frame out of scaffold poles then have boards slotted inside. It would also mean it could be dismantled more readily than otherwise, and it would be very strong.

[paul2004]

Phone any scaffolding company near you and they will have verious ones and lengths and also the poles.

[mushroom]

metal/plastic corrugated roofing sheets would probably be high enough and if youre lucky, you might find some scrap somewhere going free.

I'm perusing freecycle

Could you not consider building normal raised beds 15-20cm high and then use some hoops and fleece to make a protective tunnel cloche cover to keep the flies out?  You would save fortunes in soil and wood.

Doing it as cheap as possible is a priority. However, I'm on clay, so, to make nice long carrots and parsnips, I need about 2 feet of sandy soil depth. Another way would be to just make the hole 2 feet deep and cover with enviromesh I guess... at least I'd not have to spend $$$ on wood and bracing.

finally, maybe try some carrot fly resistant varieties - resistafly is one scecifically developed for carrotfly.

hmmm... no the reason for growing em (for me anyway) is to experiment with the rarer types, heirloom varieties that kind of thing.

On reflection, it's probably easiest to dig a hole, replace the soil and cover it. Thanks for the tip

[sweet nasturtium]

Excuse me for butting in, but if you dig a hole into the clay won't it just fill with water?  

I'm in clay too (and fairly eroded soil) and just mounded the soil up for me carrots which they enjoyed.

[gobs]

It's not necessarily better or easier even if it sounds like that. As whenever you open the fleece to cultivate or whatever the * gonna get in!

We have two about 1x1m raised beds for carrots I use about 6-8 bags of compost to fill (75-120l), you can get them at 99p each at Lidl or similar and at specials anywhere 3-4 for a tenner thing, or whatever deal you find. You can stuff a load of carrots in there.

[Rob the rake]

How about doing it this way.

You've already got  a foot or so of topsoil, I would guess. So make your bed frame a foot high and fix it in position.

Start adding sand, a couple of inches at a time, and fork it in until it's well mixed with the topsoil. Continue this process until you nearly fill the bed, and you will then have almost 2ft of usable depth.

Leave a few inches of space at the top to avoid overspill, and to leave room for mulching. Your cloche arrangement can then be fitted to the top.

I use wooden frames furnished with enviromesh as a barrier. Makes it easier to weed and water without exposing the crop. Having said that, I need to make some new ones since some bounder was so impressed with the last lot that they stole them. :evil:

[gobs]

:x Oh, Rob.  

[Bigbadfrankie]

not bring a lover of raised beds I would plant them in the ground

[gobs]

not bring a lover of raised beds I would plant them in the ground

You a down-to-earth man, aren't you?

[sweet nasturtium]

I quite like a down-to-earth man in my bed!