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DavidLaw

Joined: 10 Jul 2018
Posts: 2
Location: London

Posted: Wed Jul 11, 18 7:35 am Post subject:
looks nice ..!

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46235
Location: yes

Posted: Wed Jul 11, 18 8:31 am Post subject:
tidy ( unlike my yard ) the composite recycled plastic for bed sides is an ace idea, did you get them as flatpack kits or is it a matter of cutting lengths, slots etc etc ?

gz

Joined: 23 Jan 2009
Posts: 8939
Location: Ayrshire, Scotland

Posted: Wed Jul 11, 18 8:37 am Post subject:

billfromlachine wrote:

gz,

These were actually made from what's called composite wood which is a misnomer since they're actually made from recycled compressed plastic but it does help the environment and zero maintenance.

You could also make them out of salvaged pallet wood or other reused material.

Raised beds in our area is pretty much the only option as our soil is heavy clay and like concrete to work with otherwise.

Regards

Bill

gz wrote:

great seeing successful deep beds..aren't these bed walls things that come round pallets of tiles or something similar?

Our soil is the same...like a sodden sponge the minute it rains,like a brick otherwise

Shan

Joined: 13 Jan 2009
Posts: 9075
Location: South Wales

Posted: Wed Jul 11, 18 9:34 am Post subject:
Looks very tidy and well organised. I can relate to the raised beds as we are on a mix of heavy clay and massive rocks.

billfromlachine

Joined: 08 Jul 2018
Posts: 26
Location: Montreal Canada

Posted: Wed Jul 11, 18 11:04 am Post subject:

Mistress Rose,

The current beds were installed last spring, however, prior to that they were wood and were badly rotting away.

Now we just have cedar wood boards along the back and side fence and cedar has a long life without treating it, however, it is very costly.

Regards + HH

Bill

Mistress Rose wrote:

When I was a child we lived on clay. Dad used to slab it up in the autumn with a spade and let it break down over winter. He added a lot of compost I think too. FIL added so much leaf mould to his garden (courtesy of the local wood) that it is now quite nice soil.

We have raised beds as I find them easier to deal with and far less daunting than being faced with a large patch of ground. Ours have wooden sides, but need to be rebuilt, as even the oak they are made from rots in time.

billfromlachine

Joined: 08 Jul 2018
Posts: 26
Location: Montreal Canada

Posted: Wed Jul 11, 18 11:06 am Post subject:

Shan,

Thank you. We have been gardening this plot for 30+ years and the first years rocks, rocks and more rocks along with tons of mulch, compost, peat moss, etc to build up and loosen the soil....so it took a long time to get things to this stage.

Regards + HH

Bill

Shan wrote:

Looks very tidy and well organised.

I can relate to the raised beds as we are on a mix of heavy clay and massive rocks.

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15986

Posted: Thu Jul 12, 18 6:45 am Post subject:
We use our own western red cedar for the compost heap boards, but used oak for the raised beds. We have made a raised bed for son's in laws our of western red cedar. We really need to repair ours with some.

billfromlachine

Joined: 08 Jul 2018
Posts: 26
Location: Montreal Canada

Posted: Thu Jul 12, 18 10:44 am Post subject:

dpack,

They came as flatpack kits so it was a fairly simple matter of putting them together.

Regards

Bill

dpack wrote:

tidy ( unlike my yard )

the composite recycled plastic for bed sides is an ace idea, did you get them as flatpack kits or is it a matter of cutting lengths, slots etc etc ?

billfromlachine

Joined: 08 Jul 2018
Posts: 26
Location: Montreal Canada

Posted: Thu Jul 12, 18 10:47 am Post subject:

Mistress Rose,

Well I must admit the pastic wood kits are rather expensive but given the fact we are getting up in age we decided to go with them due to no maintenance.

Regards
Bill

Mistress Rose wrote:

We use our own western red cedar for the compost heap boards, but used oak for the raised beds. We have made a raised bed for son's in laws our of western red cedar. We really need to repair ours with some.

gregotyn

Joined: 24 Jun 2010
Posts: 2201
Location: Llanfyllin area

Posted: Sat Jul 14, 18 9:58 am Post subject:

I thought the sides were euro pallet sides, which build up on a pallet normally, but in a garden situation the base would be omitted. I like the idea of them being recycled plastic, no maintenance appeals!
I have done this with tyres stacked on top of each other a few times, but I get a lot of the wooden sides from work, so may try to use them to grow spuds in, adding a layer at a time as the potatoes grow upwards. By growing this way you get more potatoes to the footprint, so getting lots of potatoes from a given, smaller area. I can't remember the said record of growing this way, but think it is about 1cwt. from one tuber of main crop. I may have a go next year trying the same thing but using a pallet underneath, and using the conventional euro sides-it can only go wrong!
Thank you Bill for the idea.

billfromlachine

Joined: 08 Jul 2018
Posts: 26
Location: Montreal Canada

Posted: Sat Jul 14, 18 11:11 am Post subject:

gregotyn,

You're welcome, actually you could probably go to the maximum height at the beginning and just fill in with more and more earth or compost as the plants get taller.

Regards

Bill

gregotyn wrote:

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46235
Location: yes

Posted: Sat Jul 14, 18 12:13 pm Post subject:

billfromlachine wrote:

dpack,

They came as flatpack kits so it was a fairly simple matter of putting them together.

Regards

Bill

dpack wrote:

tidy ( unlike my yard )

the composite recycled plastic for bed sides is an ace idea, did you get them as flatpack kits or is it a matter of cutting lengths, slots etc etc ?

thanks

billfromlachine

Joined: 08 Jul 2018
Posts: 26
Location: Montreal Canada

Posted: Sat Jul 14, 18 2:38 pm Post subject:
Folks, The plastic wood kits are rather expensive. If you have access to some old pallets here's a video showing how you can make your own raised beds for minimal expense. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yEfAWWnYys Regards Bill

Jam Lady

Joined: 28 Dec 2006
Posts: 2571
Location: New Jersey, USA

Posted: Sat Jul 14, 18 7:58 pm Post subject:

Anyone ever tried straw bale gardening?

https://bonnieplants.com/library/how-to-condition-and-plant-a-bale-of-straw/

Not especially pretty but does work well. And as the straw breaks down in a year or two it adds organic matter to the garden.

The slope behind / to one side of the house is where a plateau was bulldozed out of the slope to have a place to build the house. It is a "friendly" clay soil (not suitable for pottery, gz) and in the beginning I used to dig in generous helpings of gypsum. That flocculates the fine clay particles - fancy word that means they clump together - and improves drainage.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46235
Location: yes

Posted: Sun Jul 15, 18 11:55 am Post subject:
yep. i covered some very compacted and weedy clay with small bales planted squash/pumpkin in holes full of compost fed with mixture=good crop by the next spring it was pretty good soil with a straw mulch year after good soil

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