[Axe]

Now go easy lol this isn't a dig, but,

Arnt raised beds supposed to be about 2-3 foot high to help people with back problems?,

I see a lot of posts and even local plots with just a 6 inch boards around the edge calling them raised beds, also with 2-3 foot gap covered with woodchip or other mulch/weed suppressant between as a pathway, to me that is a lot of wasted growing area (I much prefer a scaffold boards width ) , and the "raised beds", seem more like neat edging?

Am I the only one who prefers wood free beds?, I understand its pleasing to the eyes to have nice tidy wooden frames on the plots, but are the 6inch high ones really any different to a bed without edges?

so, my question is, what defines a true raised bed?

[Growster...]

I think you'll find that some gardeners use raised beds to get better soil and compost layers higher off the ground level, Axe. This is often the answer to heavy clay soil and bad drainage.

The very high beds as you describe really need to be built of brick or sleepers, but of course, are good for anyone with back problems or worse.

Whether you want to dig either sort of bed - or not, is another question. We garden from individual 8' x 4' beds as shown here, and we can easily sit on the paths to weed or plant out. I do cultivate these each year and there are no edges so mowing is easy!

[mumofstig]

I just use boards to keep the edges tidy, and to stop the soil getting on the paths. When they are forked over and compost added they are slightly raised and without the edges, make a real mess. For me, it saves a lot of work compared to non edged beds which need the edges tidied regularly as the sides slide onto the paths.

IMO they're not really raised beds - which I think need to be at least 6-8ins to count. How high they are raised would depend on the gardener and any disability they have.

You can plant closer together in beds - at equidistant spacing, because you don't plant in rows to allow for access.
You only cultivate from the sides of the beds.
I don't think paths (unless they're super wide) use more space than you lose from normal between row space. You certainly have lighter and easier to cultivate soil to grow in, because you aren't walking on the soil.

[Kenilworth]

I guess in the truest form  your right they aren't raised beds.

I have done similar to what you have described, lots of small and large beds with (neat edging ) and membrane, woodchip  (from the local tree surgeon) for paths.  We did it for a couple of reasons,

As Growster  mentions above it does seems to aid in the development and maintenance of the soil and helps with drainage

We both work full time with two small children so the time we have for the allotment is not great and doing it this way allows us to cut down on weeding and just generally target specific areas a lot better, thus saving time.

With the small children it also distinguishes a lot easier for them where they can go and where they cant.

I find crop rotation a lot easier to visualise and remember.

I realise we probably don't get the best return per square foot but I think the advantages outweighs the disadvantages for us at this moment in time. As we as a family evolve we may well looking at doing things differently but that is for the future.

[Eblana]

My boards are about 2 - 6" (depending on what wood I could get my hands on) and I have paths that are about 2' wide, I hadn't planned on doing this and didn't have any 'raised beds' for the first two years but the plot flooded so many times that I had to use this method to improve drainage.  With the 'raised beds' the water seems to run down the pathways which are gravel and stone rather than wood chip and away into a soak away, they are this width so that I can get a wheelbarrow up and down between the beds.  The beds are just a nice size so that if they are very wet I can still work on them without having to walk on the soil.

[BabbyAnn]

As Growster  mentions above it does seems to aid in the development and maintenance of the soil and helps with drainage

the time we have for the allotment is not great and doing it this way allows us to cut down on weeding and just generally target specific areas a lot better, thus saving time.

I find crop rotation a lot easier to visualise and remember

these are more or less the main reasons I have - I found I could not work a whole plot and had to divide it up into manageable beds.  When I first started, I shared a plot with my friend - he rotovated his half and I set up a bed system in mine.  In time he couldn't cope and gave up, saying it was too much work ...  When I took on a new plot, we had the wettest spring/early summer in 2007 and I found myself wading ankle deep in water.  The bed system is about 6 inches above footpath level and works really well - evident from this recent wet winter as my neighbour (a rotovator man) has had to wait for his plot to dry off before he could do anything and in the meantime I've got several beds up and ready/planted.

The other reason is soil improvement - I cannot generate enough or have the finances to add lots of compostable material/sharp sand to a whole plot to improve the heavy clay.  However, a bed at a time is more affordable.  My wood is from pallets/skips so not pretty but there's no doubt that my plot looks neater for having fixed beds.

I realise we probably don't get the best return per square foot

I might disagree with that - I think I probably squeeze in more knowing that I have bed boundaries, and even on a whole plot system there are "footpaths" and recommended space between planting rows so I don't see how you lose growing areas unless your footpaths are broader (mine are 12-18 inches wide)

[brokenglass]

For the reasons stated above I am on a wet clay soil which I find easier to drain and improve using a raised bed system.     I f you have limited time on the plot you can concentrate on one bed at a time giving a better result than if you were tackling the whole plot.   In the end it is each to their own and if you are commenting on this as more of a fashion than anything else you may have a point in some instances.

[Nobbie]

I always considered raised beds to be beds where you don't tread on the soil, so it is naturally a bit higher than surrounding paths, especially when you start adding mulches.

[Growster...]

What also comes out of all this, is the fact that you can better manage just one bed, or two, at a time, without the pain of arriving down at 'The Patch' to find that you have to weed and hoe three great rows of veg, and it's soon going to rain...

We like the idea of being able to do just a couple of beds at a time - it's easier on the old body frames...

[Robster]

I grow on "raised beds" and all of the above very positive reasons apply for me.  I'd not do anything else now.  My priority order of advantages
1. Better soil improvement- no treading, more worms
2. Easier to plan and rotate
3. Access all year even when its very wet for conventional plots
4. Easier to manage and keep neat and tidy
5. Sense of achievement over attaining small goals defined by the beds

[BabbyAnn]

I always considered raised beds to be beds where you don't tread on the soil, so it is naturally a bit higher than surrounding paths, especially when you start adding mulches.

ah yes, very good point - if you walk on clay soil it becomes compacted, which means it is more prone to "flooding" during very wet seasons like my plot was when I first took it on in 2007

[Trikidiki]

I have 'builders sand' if I go down more than 18" so drainage is no issue for me. I prefer 'raised beds' for most of the other reasons stated above.

They started out as beds so that I had defined planting areas so I didn't walk on those areas. Also it meant I didn't have to dig the paths so saves time and wasted effort digging something I'm only going to walk on. Over time as the soil improves with the addition of compost etc and the fact it does not get compressed the soil level rises so they become raised beds by action rather than design. The boards I use are 200mm and some of the beds are now up to the top of the boards. All my vegetable beds are 2400x 1200mm, some of my fruit beds are 2400x600mm, this means I can standardise on plastic sheeting, netting, fleece frames etc.

The dog knows where she is allowed to walk and follows the paths when she moves around the plot. She would be all over the planted rows in a conventional vegetable patch.

My paths have weed membrane covered in woodchip, therefore no weeds (well not many) to worry about on the paths. I have 500mm paths but wish I had made them 600mm to give a bit more space to move around, I don't think there is any great loss over a conventional plot in terms of workable area and I think any deficit is easily made up for by closer planting on the raised beds.

The one problem is when a mole gets in they tend to get stuck either inside or outside the beds then track along the boards. It makes a mess of the paths sometimes.

so, my question is, what defines a true raised bed?

Whatever you want it to be.

[Thrutchington]

Mine are about 10-12" high, dug out well inside and they do produce a good crop. I put plenty of manure in for the crops that need it as I have a clay soil, it does the job.

[Axe]

Great, thanks for the replies guys, i can understand if you have flood issues it can channel the water away from your beds which is good, never though of it like that. and i suppose it can be pleasing to the eye having it tidy 

[AnneB]

We started putting in raised beds in order to just have something in the ground whilst we attacked the forest of old carpet, glass, bricks and assorted debris.   However, we continued with it as we found our soil to be very heavy clay underneath which flooded frequently.

For each bed since then we dig out a load of the clay underneath, fill it in with compost / sifted soil and then put the scaffolding plank beds on top of that.   We have three beds that have a double height of scaffolding planks.  I always put carrots in one of these.  I find I can squeeze a lot of crops in each bed.

Our paths are fairly narrow, but with a wider one down the middle that will take a wheelbarrow. 

It works for us.