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#1
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Raised beds
Hi all,
I am strating to make use of some old raised beds thay are 30 feet by 4 feet wide an 3 feet high - I have repaired the brickwork but have a question. I have removed all the soil and have found a layer of crushed rock, should I line the structure with polythene and make draine holes in the bottom or just pile in a mix of soil, potting compost and rotted manure. I have also laid on water to each so that I can install a trickle hose in each. Bob |
#2
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Raised beds
"Bob" wrote in message
... Hi all, I am strating to make use of some old raised beds thay are 30 feet by 4 feet wide an 3 feet high - I have repaired the brickwork but have a question. I have removed all the soil and have found a layer of crushed rock, should I line the structure with polythene and make draine holes in the bottom or just pile in a mix of soil, potting compost and rotted manure. I have also laid on water to each so that I can install a trickle hose in each. Bob I'd use a layer of weed-suppressing membrane rather than polythene as it'll do the same job but more effectively unless you happen to have the polythene already. Don't just put the soil in direct as it'll wash down into the gaps and the surface will sink. If you want to make loads of holes in polythene quickly, roll it up into a sausage and stab it with a garden fork - much quicker than making the holes individually. -- Martin & Anna Sykes ( Remove x's when replying ) http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~sykesm |
#3
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Raised beds
The old way was to put in your rubble etc, then cover with turf laid grass
down on top then the soil to fill. -- David Hill Abacus nurseries www.abacus-nurseries.co.uk |
#4
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Raised beds
"Bob" wrote in message
... Hi all, I am strating to make use of some old raised beds thay are 30 feet by 4 feet wide an 3 feet high - I have repaired the brickwork but have a question. I have removed all the soil and have found a layer of crushed rock, should I line the structure with polythene and make draine holes in the bottom or just pile in a mix of soil, potting compost and rotted manure. I have also laid on water to each so that I can install a trickle hose in each. Bob I'd use a layer of weed-suppressing membrane rather than polythene as it'll do the same job but more effectively unless you happen to have the polythene already. Don't just put the soil in direct as it'll wash down into the gaps and the surface will sink. If you want to make loads of holes in polythene quickly, roll it up into a sausage and stab it with a garden fork - much quicker than making the holes individually. -- Martin & Anna Sykes ( Remove x's when replying ) http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~sykesm |
#5
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Raised beds
The message
from "Bob" contains these words: Hi all, I am strating to make use of some old raised beds thay are 30 feet by 4 feet wide an 3 feet high - I have repaired the brickwork but have a question. I have removed all the soil and have found a layer of crushed rock, should I line the structure with polythene and make draine holes in the bottom or just pile in a mix of soil, potting compost and rotted manure. I have also laid on water to each so that I can install a trickle hose in each. There's no need to line it. The crushed brick is to let rain drain out. Janet. |
#6
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Raised beds
The old way was to put in your rubble etc, then cover with turf laid grass
down on top then the soil to fill. -- David Hill Abacus nurseries www.abacus-nurseries.co.uk |
#7
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Raised beds
The message
from "Bob" contains these words: Hi all, I am strating to make use of some old raised beds thay are 30 feet by 4 feet wide an 3 feet high - I have repaired the brickwork but have a question. I have removed all the soil and have found a layer of crushed rock, should I line the structure with polythene and make draine holes in the bottom or just pile in a mix of soil, potting compost and rotted manure. I have also laid on water to each so that I can install a trickle hose in each. There's no need to line it. The crushed brick is to let rain drain out. Janet. |
#8
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Raised beds
On Sat, 20 Mar 2004 21:41:05 GMT, Janet Baraclough.. wrote:
The message from "Bob" contains these words: Hi all, I am strating to make use of some old raised beds thay are 30 feet by 4 feet wide an 3 feet high - I have repaired the brickwork but have a question. I have removed all the soil and have found a layer of crushed rock, should I line the structure with polythene and make draine holes in the bottom or just pile in a mix of soil, potting compost and rotted manure. I have also laid on water to each so that I can install a trickle hose in each. There's no need to line it. The crushed brick is to let rain drain out. And there's no need for such crushed rock/brick drainage material unless the soil beneath is truly badly drained -- and in that case, the excess water will trickle out anyway if there are small interstices around the foot of the beds' walls. -- Rodger Whitlock Victoria, British Columbia, Canada [change "atlantic" to "pacific" and "invalid" to "net" to reply by email] |
#9
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Raised beds
On Sat, 20 Mar 2004 21:41:05 GMT, Janet Baraclough.. wrote:
The message from "Bob" contains these words: Hi all, I am strating to make use of some old raised beds thay are 30 feet by 4 feet wide an 3 feet high - I have repaired the brickwork but have a question. I have removed all the soil and have found a layer of crushed rock, should I line the structure with polythene and make draine holes in the bottom or just pile in a mix of soil, potting compost and rotted manure. I have also laid on water to each so that I can install a trickle hose in each. There's no need to line it. The crushed brick is to let rain drain out. And there's no need for such crushed rock/brick drainage material unless the soil beneath is truly badly drained -- and in that case, the excess water will trickle out anyway if there are small interstices around the foot of the beds' walls. -- Rodger Whitlock Victoria, British Columbia, Canada [change "atlantic" to "pacific" and "invalid" to "net" to reply by email] |
#11
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Raised beds
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#12
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Raised beds
You could be right about the beds being used for alpines, when I unearthed
them after what seems to be 35 years growth of weeds, shrubs and trees I found a frame above each one about 2 feet above soil level it foxed me what they were used for. I have 6 of these raised beds and so far have cleaned and repaired three of them. I have also build a path though the centre of them as to get to the rest of the garden meant zigzagging between each one. I took down the frames when I emptied them. the soil in the frames originally was about 50:50 compost and crushed brickwork. I am going to use these beds for vegetables at least for this season. Bob " I was wondering if the old raised beds were made for alpines/rockplants; maybe with glass lights over the top in winter to keep rain off; I've seen a picture of something similar in an old gardening book. The broken brick drainage would make sense for alpines. Janet |
#13
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Raised beds
You could be right about the beds being used for alpines, when I unearthed
them after what seems to be 35 years growth of weeds, shrubs and trees I found a frame above each one about 2 feet above soil level it foxed me what they were used for. I have 6 of these raised beds and so far have cleaned and repaired three of them. I have also build a path though the centre of them as to get to the rest of the garden meant zigzagging between each one. I took down the frames when I emptied them. the soil in the frames originally was about 50:50 compost and crushed brickwork. I am going to use these beds for vegetables at least for this season. Bob " I was wondering if the old raised beds were made for alpines/rockplants; maybe with glass lights over the top in winter to keep rain off; I've seen a picture of something similar in an old gardening book. The broken brick drainage would make sense for alpines. Janet |
#14
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Raised beds
I've just invested in 12 scaffolding planks to start dragging some order into my vegetable garden. I was going to lay them and cut another to make the top ends and whack a piece of wood into each corner and screw the planks to them. However a carpenter said I might just as well nail the scaffolding planks to each other. Is this okay? How level do I need t make the long sides and what do I put down between the rows to make it as easy as possible to trundle up and down between the beds? I am hoping to dollop a load of compost onto each bed which well mean I don't have to dig very deep janet -- Janet Tweedy Dalmatian Telegraph http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk |
#15
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Raised beds
On Mon, 22 Mar 2004 21:20:07 -0000, Bob wrote:
You could be right about the beds being used for alpines, when I unearthed them after what seems to be 35 years growth of weeds, shrubs and trees I found a frame above each one about 2 feet above soil level it foxed me what they were used for. Aha! Bulb frames. Used to grow tempermental bulbs that take exception to Britain's damp climate. I think Wisley has bulb frames, so you might go take a gander if you're in the neighborhood to see how they are used. -- Rodger Whitlock Victoria, British Columbia, Canada [change "atlantic" to "pacific" and "invalid" to "net" to reply by email] |
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