[Sandrav]

Hi everyone   

I have only had my allotment for a week, and the weather has not really given me a chance to do much yet.

I have the chance of getting about a dozen free railway sleepers. I do want to do some raised beds, but not sure the best way to use the sleepers, i have been told that they are almost impossible to cut.

I would love to hear from anyone that has used them and how (photos would be great).

Does anyone have any other novel idea for sleepers?

Look forward to your suggestions - thanks

[m1ckz]

they cut ok with a good saw,,better still with a chain saw

[Rangerkris]

I would cut them with a chainsaw but it would cost you a new chain :blink: they are a nightmare to cut as they are full of stone a tar 

[Yammer]

Hello

I have used sleepers for steps and found them okay to cut with a large bowsaw.

I would hesitate to use them near my veggies unless they are very clean. They can exude a lot of oil and tar which may contaminate the soil.

[Goosegirl]

You could fix some posts into your beds and nail them into the sleepers. To prevent tar contamination, use old compost bags etc (i.e. thick plastic) to line them on the inside and underneath then add your soil so they don't show.

[kermit]

Yea, watch out for leaking contamination.  I saw a guide somewhere on the net that basically showed how you can simply lay them flat and stack them up into a bed - no cutting or drilling required.  Cant find the link now - sorry!  We ended up buying wood to get a good finish (beds are in our garden and visible from living room), but was pretty expensive.  Was also really hard work (we had to dig over heavy clay and rock) but well worth it - look great, easy to grow in, low maintenance and very productive 

[stentman]

You already have your sleepers and I would agree with others about possible seepage of chemicals but have a look here for some ideas. Big site with lots of reading about sleepers.

 http://www.railwaysleeper.com/?gclid=COTd9YyZ7Z0CFZ1h4wodww9OLw

[coatesi]

If they are free,go for it. I have used them for years( back on to a disused rail siding) and had no problem from the treatment.
      The best saw to cut them with is somebody elses 

coatesi

[Alby]

Ive had these sleepers on the go for about 15 years, and they were free    



Never had a problem with contamination although even now its not wise to sit on them when its hot and sunny , thats about once a year here in gods fridge  

  Alby

[Kristen]

I'm not a fan, although they look nice. My thinking is that they are nearly a foot wide, and thus for a 4' wide bed "steal" half the width.  Two beds and you've "lost" the space for a third

[Yabba]

Put them touching and you have a 2' wooden ( albeit raised ) path between the beds

¥

[Sandrav]

 

Thanks to everyone who gave suggestions, especially for the photos, gave me a real idea of what they could look like.

Will probably use them as raised beds and ensure i use the thick plastic to help prevent any contamination. Will post some photos once they are in place

xx

[Alby]

raised beds are to make things easier to maintain the plot . Once they are in you have paths between the beds that enable you to maintain the plot without to much bending , and harvesting is a peach  

  If you dig out the path between the beds and add the top soil to the beds you then make the beds deeper and even easier  

  raised bed no dig is the easiest way to get a productive plot with very little effort, although setting it up is an awful labour intensive task   it is in real terms not " no dig " as keeping the soil loose does include light digging but the end result is great.

  I loose very little growing area as raised beds allow you to plant quite intensively therefor I loose nothing and gain massivley

  Whoops sorry  :blink: I just love the raised bed system  

               Alby

[cooperman]

I have used a double row of sleepers to raise the height of my greenhouse....