tvrchimaera wrote:

Im new here, so firstly...Hello to all.

Being new to vegetable growing I thought it best to ask some advice
before I start digging.
I have an 8ft x 6ft area to work with. I was thinking of a 8ft x 4ft
bed so I can easily reach from each side.

1. How deep should I make the bed and should I dig into the current
soil or build this bed on top and use a liner as I have seen suggested
elsewhere?

I made mine 8" and 10". In hindsight or when we decide to add another
bed, we will double the depth for root vegetables even though we have
had good luck in the 10" beds


2. Are there any types of treated timber I should avoid or is this the
reason of using a liner?

I would avoid treated lumber. Ours was constructed of plain,
inexpensive spruce lumber. We didn't use a liner although you can line
the sides with plastic to help with moisture retention and the lifespan
of the wood sides. My theory is the wood is only going to last so long
anyway so we didn't use a liner.


3. When should I prepare the bed for planting out next year.

Depends on where you are. We used our beds the first year we built them.

4. What topsoil / manure / compost combination should I use to fill
it?

I used a 1/3 ratio for each the first year. At the end of the year I
covered the top of the beds with mulched leaves and straw. The straw
was a bad idea! I ended up burning that off (funny story) and churning
the soil mixture a bit. I may try doing that again next year as my
garden is going right wild at the moment.


5. Know of any good books to stop me asking what may be obvious
questions?

I have 5 raised beds all using the square foot gardening method. I
highly recommend that method for raised beds. Do a google for Matthew
Barthemew's (spelling?) website. He has a lot of great tips. I really
like the stepped raised beds!

Kind Regards
Brian