Hi all,

I've tried to read the FAQ's before posting but all the ones I tried
returned a page not found?

So... We have a large untouched for years garden that we want to
gradually reclaim by fencing off a bit at a time (to keep the
neighbour out!) and we'd like to put in raised beds. BUT ... what
sort of stuff do you use for an organic garden? Plastic (listening to
the news about babies bottles today none to keen on that one)or
treated wood, or untreated wood?

Sue.
Who is confused and liable to remain so for some considerable time as
she tackles one garden issue after another.

The term organic gardening covers such a wide set of asperations. To some it means growing veg without using artificle fertilizers or using insecticides etc. But if you widen it to include the edging to the beds then does the concrete path between the beds become subject to the organic test?

I use treated timber which is 'Tanelised' to stop it rotting. Not old sleepers that may have been soaked in Creasote as that stuff is poison and it leaches out.

They say organic vegetables taste better. Thats a matter of opinion. I think its more to do with the fact that the vegetables we plant have been bred for taste rather than maturing together or for keeping qualities or bug resistance like the commercial growers go for.

I wouldny worry about ethical issues surrounding what you use to retain your beds but stick to using organic fertilizers and not using insecticides.

In article
,
herbgarden writes

BUT ... what
sort of stuff do you use for an organic garden?

I used scaffolding planks and painted them with a wood preservative.
Thought they'd last forever but noticed after three years that the
bottom edges are rotting or beginning to!

--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk

On May 11, 12:28*pm, Janet Tweedy wrote:
In article
,
herbgarden writes

*BUT ... what
sort of stuff do you use for an organic garden?

I used scaffolding planks and painted them with a wood preservative.
Thought they'd last forever but noticed after three years that the
bottom edges are rotting or beginning to!


I've just made one and used concrete blocks but that was probably
massive overkill and hard work (I was reusing them from an old
demolished shed in my mother's house so at least it was recycling).
Scaffolding planks sound like a good idea. Where did you get them
from?

Des


--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraphhttp://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk

On 6 May, 20:43, herbgarden wrote:
Hi all,

I've tried to read the FAQ's before posting but all the ones I tried
returned a page not found?

So... *We have a large untouched for years garden that we want to
gradually reclaim by fencing off a bit at a time (to keep the
neighbour out!) *and we'd like to put in raised beds. *BUT ... what
sort of stuff do you use for an organic garden? *Plastic (listening to
the news about babies bottles today none to keen on that one)or
treated wood, or untreated wood?

Sue.
Who is confused and liable to remain so for some considerable time as
she tackles one garden issue after another.

I used nothing, see the photo on page one of these pics.
http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/rodsgarden/Rod's plot01/page1.htm
You'll see the 2 older beds I inherited have wood edging, now falling
apart after only a few years like Janet's. Since those photos I've
made a small very posh one using 2ft square x 1 3/4" thick concrete
flags set on edge with the bottom edge dug into the clay subsoil by
about 9-12". That's in an area where there was no soil and I had to
build the whole thing on top of the clay subsoil - expensive but worth
it for a much wanted high value crop, soft fruit in my case.
The edgeless beds need tidying up every spring to keep them in shape
and perching my enviromesh carrot cages on them is a bit awkward but
otherwise no particular problems, so unless you've got money to burn
(and time) I wouldn't bother.

herbgarden wrote:
Hi all,

I've tried to read the FAQ's before posting but all the ones I tried
returned a page not found?

So... We have a large untouched for years garden that we want to
gradually reclaim by fencing off a bit at a time (to keep the
neighbour out!) and we'd like to put in raised beds. BUT ... what
sort of stuff do you use for an organic garden? Plastic (listening to
the news about babies bottles today none to keen on that one)or
treated wood, or untreated wood?

Sue.
Who is confused and liable to remain so for some considerable time as
she tackles one garden issue after another.

We've just had a raised bed put in, edged with old railway sleepers. It
looks great, although it's not raised by very much. If you want it
raised by more than the height of a railway sleeper, you'll need several
stacked on top of each other.

Adam

Adam wrote:


herbgarden wrote:
Hi all,

I've tried to read the FAQ's before posting but all the ones I tried
returned a page not found?

So... We have a large untouched for years garden that we want to
gradually reclaim by fencing off a bit at a time (to keep the
neighbour out!) and we'd like to put in raised beds. BUT ... what
sort of stuff do you use for an organic garden? Plastic (listening to
the news about babies bottles today none to keen on that one)or
treated wood, or untreated wood?

Sue.
Who is confused and liable to remain so for some considerable time as
she tackles one garden issue after another.

We've just had a raised bed put in, edged with old railway sleepers. It
looks great, although it's not raised by very much. If you want it
raised by more than the height of a railway sleeper, you'll need several
stacked on top of each other.

We just built our own, I looked at railway sleepers and decided that
they were firstly too big and secondly overpriced for what they were.

Instead I bought lengths of tanalised 50x150mm timber (that's 2" x 6"
for the metrically challenged). Enough for a raised bed ten metres
long by a bit less than a metre wide cost about £120, much less than
sleepers for the same size bed would have cost. It's screwed together
and has a couple of braces to prevent the sides being pushed apart.

--
Chris Green

In article ,
says...
In article
,
herbgarden writes

BUT ... what
sort of stuff do you use for an organic garden?

I used scaffolding planks and painted them with a wood preservative.
Thought they'd last forever but noticed after three years that the
bottom edges are rotting or beginning to!


Don't know how organic it is but I use 45x45cm slabs set just over half
in the ground and if needs be the tops can be covered with plastic drain
pipe which has had a slot cut length ways and then clipped over, yes they
sometimes shift but are not set in concrete and are easy enough to get
back upright.
--
Charlie Pridham, Gardening in Cornwall
www.roselandhouse.co.uk
Holders of national collections of Clematis viticella cultivars and
Lapageria rosea

herbgarden wrote in
news:c02c68f9-d459-4480-b1f6-
:

Hi all,

I've tried to read the FAQ's before posting but all
the ones I tried
returned a page not found?

So... We have a large untouched for years garden that
we want to
gradually reclaim by fencing off a bit at a time (to
keep the
neighbour out!) and we'd like to put in raised beds.
BUT ... what
sort of stuff do you use for an organic garden?
Plastic (listening to
the news about babies bottles today none to keen on
that one)or
treated wood, or untreated wood?

Sue.
Who is confused and liable to remain so for some
considerable time as
she tackles one garden issue after another.


I have built two beds 5.5m x 1m using gravel boards.
They are cheap and should last at least 10 years in
contact with soil. I stacked two together to give a bed
30cm high. Because they are only 25mm thick they need
50mm x 50mm vertical battens every metre and 75mm square
corner pieces.
Our local building supply company sells them in 5.4m
lengths

Very pleased with them

Davy

"Davy" wrote in message
09.145...
herbgarden wrote in
news:c02c68f9-d459-4480-b1f6-
:

Hi all,

I've tried to read the FAQ's before posting but all
the ones I tried
returned a page not found?

So... We have a large untouched for years garden that
we want to
gradually reclaim by fencing off a bit at a time (to
keep the
neighbour out!) and we'd like to put in raised beds.
BUT ... what
sort of stuff do you use for an organic garden?
Plastic (listening to
the news about babies bottles today none to keen on
that one)or
treated wood, or untreated wood?

Sue.
Who is confused and liable to remain so for some
considerable time as
she tackles one garden issue after another.


I have built two beds 5.5m x 1m using gravel boards.
They are cheap and should last at least 10 years in
contact with soil. I stacked two together to give a bed
30cm high. Because they are only 25mm thick they need
50mm x 50mm vertical battens every metre and 75mm square
corner pieces.
Our local building supply company sells them in 5.4m
lengths

Very pleased with them

I went even cheaper & got some old dumper scaffold/painters planks from a
scaffold business for my polytunnel raised garden. Decent 8 & 10 inch
planks. I simple knocked a couple of 100 mil nails in the end of each to
join them together. They'll last a few years & cost me nix.

rob

In article
, Des
Higgins writes

I've just made one and used concrete blocks but that was probably
massive overkill and hard work (I was reusing them from an old
demolished shed in my mother's house so at least it was recycling).
Scaffolding planks sound like a good idea. Where did you get them
from?

Des


Builders yard Des, about £12 each

--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk