"Ceeci" wrote in message
...

1) The beds will be placed on a lawn area. What do I do with the lawn?

This is what I do, and have been 99% weed-free. Wet the area thoroughly.
Lay down a couple of layers of paper (any paper will do; I use old phone
books and newspapers), or a single layer of cardboard. Wet that really well
too. Sprinkle a little cow poo over it to get the earthworms excited. Then
fill it with your dirt and organic stuff. The grass will die and rot under
the paper and make the earth richer. You may also want to keep a layer of
paper AROUND the beds, covered with decorative mulch, just to avoid grass
creeping back in, but I admit I don't do this and rarely have any problems
with it.

2) What do I fill the beds with? I was thinking of filling at least half
with good quality topsoiled (delivered to my door) and the rest with veg
compost, compost made myself in my garden and some manure. Not sure if
this is correct?

You don't really have to spend a lot on dirt. If you are doing transplants,
you can fill the beds with rough stuff like clippings and dead leaves (it
could help to mow them to chop them up a little first), and you'll do fine
just setting the plants in there, maybe with a handful of dirt or compost in
with them. Even if you want to plant small seeds, you can dig a little
trough in the rough stuff and put some commercial dirt or compost in the
trough to plant a row with small seeds. In a few years of refilling with
rough stuff you'll have some good, crumbly dirt and you'll only have to top
it with dead leaves and clippings every year. (It took me about a year to
see a few inches of real soil below the mulch.) I placed ads on Craigslist
asking people for their bagged dead leaves and got TONS of them!

3) Any suggestions as to what to grow in each bed and what goes nicely
together? We are thinking of growing lettuce, cabbage, broccoli, patty
pan squash, cauliflower, spring onions, raddish, onions/garlic, dwarf
french beans, chard...

You can find lists of companion planting suggestions online. I cram my
plants in there pretty good. I space them at least half as far as the seed
packets say to space them. With raised beds you really can get a lot in
there. I'd suggest planting different things is each bed...herbs under
tomatoes, onions among lettuce, beans and corn together with a pumpkin or
two among them... It confuses the critters!

4) In terms of crop rotation I have little knowledge, but I assume
whatever we grow in a bed this year, should not be in the same bed the
next?

Right. Also, when you plan to have a high feeder growing next year, be sure
to plant a legume the previous year. So if you know where you want to plant
corn next year, grow beans there this year. Look up crop rotations online
to find some good info on cycling the types of vegetables you grow.
--S.