Just to note in passing :-)

Our back garden is due to transition from grass to hard landscaping
sometime in the next 12 months or so.

Therefore no incentive to prepare borders for flowers and vegetables.

I've had my eye on some 'raised bed' plastic bags sold in various places,
and saw some - roughly 1m by 1m - for sale 2 for £5 in a local shop.

Well, for £10 I would get four raised beds which would do this year and
then could be taken down in the winter or whenever we start the
transformation.

All I needed to do was fill them up, and start planting.

So, I soon established that each bed would take the following:

1 * 120 litre bag of Homebase compost
1 bag Homebase farmyard manure
[Mix in some chicken manure and Growmore into the bottom two layers]
1/2 Homebase 120 litre bag of compost
1 bag Homebase top soil to cap it off.

Oh, and the sides are too floppy to hold everything in easily.
So, with one side up against the fence panels, and all four bags in one
long row, I now have the ends and outer side supported by old floor boards
held in place by cut up garden canes hammered into the ground.

This does give somewhere to tie the green plastic garden twine to keep
beasties (including our cats) off the freshly turned earth.

The result does look promising.

I have six outdoor tomatoes, four outdoor cucumbers, and a dozen Cos
lettuce all bought from garden centres/nurseries to get things started.

I intend to sow seeds of lettuce, onions etc. in plastic tubs and plant
out anything that germinates - a better prospect than planting seed
directly, I think.

However, all this cost quite a bit more than £10!

Cheers

Dave R

On 2 Jun 2013 17:58:42 GMT, "David.WE.Roberts"
wrote:

Just to note in passing :-)

Our back garden is due to transition from grass to hard landscaping
sometime in the next 12 months or so.

Therefore no incentive to prepare borders for flowers and vegetables.

I've had my eye on some 'raised bed' plastic bags sold in various places,
and saw some - roughly 1m by 1m - for sale 2 for £5 in a local shop.

Well, for £10 I would get four raised beds which would do this year and
then could be taken down in the winter or whenever we start the
transformation.


As you noted the bags are about the cheapest part of the exercise ,
but a free alternative can be the bags that builders materials are
delivered in. They are often designated one use for safety reasons
after craning them off delivery vehicles so many can be found
around builders sites ready to be dumped and free for the asking.
For raised bed use you need to roll the sides down ,as they come they
make excellent bags for garden rubbish ,compost and making leaf mould
in.
G.Harman

wrote:
As you noted the bags are about the cheapest part of the exercise ,
but a free alternative can be the bags that builders materials are
delivered in. They are often designated one use for safety reasons
after craning them off delivery vehicles so many can be found
around builders sites ready to be dumped and free for the asking.
For raised bed use you need to roll the sides down ,as they come they
make excellent bags for garden rubbish ,compost and making leaf mould
in.

Or growing potatoes in

wrote:
wrote:
As you noted the bags are about the cheapest part of the exercise ,
but a free alternative can be the bags that builders materials are
delivered in. They are often designated one use for safety reasons
after craning them off delivery vehicles so many can be found
around builders sites ready to be dumped and free for the asking.
For raised bed use you need to roll the sides down ,as they come they
make excellent bags for garden rubbish ,compost and making leaf mould
in.

Or growing potatoes in


I've successfully grown potatoes in the big blue Ikea
"frakta" bags, 40p each.

Tom Gardner wrote:
Or growing potatoes in

I've successfully grown potatoes in the big blue Ikea
"frakta" bags, 40p each.

Do they not waterlog?

wrote:
Tom Gardner wrote:
Or growing potatoes in

I've successfully grown potatoes in the big blue Ikea
"frakta" bags, 40p each.

Do they not waterlog?

Not noticably. They are made from woven strips of
plastic not solid plastic sheeting, so excess water
can drain between the strips.

Tom Gardner wrote:
I've successfully grown potatoes in the big blue Ikea
"frakta" bags, 40p each.

Do they not waterlog?

Not noticably. They are made from woven strips of
plastic not solid plastic sheeting, so excess water
can drain between the strips.

*nod* That was what I was trying to remember. The builders' bags are
made of similar stuff (at least, the ones I have are)

On Mon, 03 Jun 2013 12:47:35 +0100, damduck-egg wrote:

On 2 Jun 2013 17:58:42 GMT, "David.WE.Roberts"
wrote:

Just to note in passing :-)

Our back garden is due to transition from grass to hard landscaping
sometime in the next 12 months or so.

Therefore no incentive to prepare borders for flowers and vegetables.

I've had my eye on some 'raised bed' plastic bags sold in various
places,
and saw some - roughly 1m by 1m - for sale 2 for £5 in a local shop.

Well, for £10 I would get four raised beds which would do this year and
then could be taken down in the winter or whenever we start the
transformation.


As you noted the bags are about the cheapest part of the exercise , but
a free alternative can be the bags that builders materials are delivered
in. They are often designated one use for safety reasons after craning
them off delivery vehicles so many can be found around builders sites
ready to be dumped and free for the asking. For raised bed use you need
to roll the sides down ,as they come they make excellent bags for garden
rubbish ,compost and making leaf mould in.
G.Harman

We have more builders bags than you can shake several sticks at, but the
base area is smaller and there is an awful lot of side to roll down to get
a low bed.

So in this case at £2.50 a pop the purpose made ones seem a better bet.

Cheers

Dave R

David.WE.Roberts wrote:
On Mon, 03 Jun 2013 12:47:35 +0100, damduck-egg wrote:

On 2 Jun 2013 17:58:42 GMT, "David.WE.Roberts"
wrote:

Just to note in passing :-)

Our back garden is due to transition from grass to hard landscaping
sometime in the next 12 months or so.

Therefore no incentive to prepare borders for flowers and vegetables.

I've had my eye on some 'raised bed' plastic bags sold in various
places,
and saw some - roughly 1m by 1m - for sale 2 for £5 in a local shop.

Well, for £10 I would get four raised beds which would do this year and
then could be taken down in the winter or whenever we start the
transformation.


As you noted the bags are about the cheapest part of the exercise , but
a free alternative can be the bags that builders materials are delivered
in. They are often designated one use for safety reasons after craning
them off delivery vehicles so many can be found around builders sites
ready to be dumped and free for the asking. For raised bed use you need
to roll the sides down ,as they come they make excellent bags for garden
rubbish ,compost and making leaf mould in.
G.Harman

We have more builders bags than you can shake several sticks at, but the
base area is smaller and there is an awful lot of side to roll down to get
a low bed.

So in this case at £2.50 a pop the purpose made ones seem a better bet.

FYI from Ikea at 40p each including handles
FRAKTA Carrier bag, medium Length: 45 cm Depth: 18 cm Height: 45 cm
FRAKTA Carrier bag, large Length: 55 cm Depth: 37 cm Height: 35 cm
http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/search/?query=bag

On Tue, 04 Jun 2013 11:02:31 +0100, Tom Gardner wrote:

David.WE.Roberts wrote:
On Mon, 03 Jun 2013 12:47:35 +0100, damduck-egg wrote:

On 2 Jun 2013 17:58:42 GMT, "David.WE.Roberts"
wrote:

Just to note in passing :-)

Our back garden is due to transition from grass to hard landscaping
sometime in the next 12 months or so.

Therefore no incentive to prepare borders for flowers and vegetables.

I've had my eye on some 'raised bed' plastic bags sold in various
places,
and saw some - roughly 1m by 1m - for sale 2 for £5 in a local shop.

Well, for £10 I would get four raised beds which would do this year
and then could be taken down in the winter or whenever we start the
transformation.


As you noted the bags are about the cheapest part of the exercise ,
but a free alternative can be the bags that builders materials are
delivered in. They are often designated one use for safety reasons
after craning them off delivery vehicles so many can be found around
builders sites ready to be dumped and free for the asking. For raised
bed use you need to roll the sides down ,as they come they make
excellent bags for garden rubbish ,compost and making leaf mould in.
G.Harman

We have more builders bags than you can shake several sticks at, but
the base area is smaller and there is an awful lot of side to roll down
to get a low bed.

So in this case at £2.50 a pop the purpose made ones seem a better bet.

FYI from Ikea at 40p each including handles
FRAKTA Carrier bag, medium Length: 45 cm Depth: 18 cm Height: 45 cm
FRAKTA Carrier bag, large Length: 55 cm Depth: 37 cm Height: 35 cm
http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/search/?query=bag

To get the same surface area for planting you would need 6 of the larger
bags at £0.40p which saves you £0.10p. Plus, of course, any postage/
transport costs from Ikea would push the price up quite a bit.

You also don't get a large continuous bed.

Cheers

Dave R