Selfsufficientish.com

Hi everyone,

After days of research on the best materials for raised beds, versus cost I made several raised beds from old scaffolding planks. I found a guy on Ebay who sold 8ft planks for £5, and delivered them for £10. So 14 planks plus delivery was £80. I decided on making 4 2x2 ft beds for herbs and small stuff. I then made 4 8x2ft beds for the bigger stuff such as spuds, celeriac etc, The compost was £30 for a tonne delivered (loose). So for £110 (roughly) I got my beds built.

In case any readers need the details for the soil & boards :-

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Scaffold-Boards-/ ... 4398e551b6

http://www.thecompostshop.co.uk/

Now I can't wait to start getting some stuff in the ground...assuming these hard frosts ever end ! I'll get some pictures up, although my Mother in Law did say "They look like coffins" !!

Dan

http://dannyllama.wordpress.com

Assuming this is not some sort of spam mail advertising your dealings then I'd sugest you make the beads 4 ft wide for the main crops as 2ft wide you will not get much in the terms of spacing.

Hi Al

Ha, fair point. No I simply brought this to everyones attention in case they were looking for scaffolding boards. I was looking around for ages for them at a decent price.

Dan

dannyllama wrote:Hi Al

Ha, fair point. No I simply brought this to everyones attention in case they were looking for scaffolding boards. I was looking around for ages for them at a decent price.

Dan

1000 humble appologies Dan, I was probably in a cynical mood tother day, lol. If possible try checking out the best width of deep beds. From my infomation the optimum size is 1.2m or 4 ft widw.

BA

No probs Al, I would probably have treated someone else's post with cynicism :P ! The size of the garden is quite big, but I needed to leave space for the little one to play. Plus I was building them on a budget so couldn't afford more boards and compost.

Is there an 'Ish guide on when and what to start planting ? I've got plant fleece which should protect the plants from this rather chilly weather.

Dan

dannyllama wrote:I've got plant fleece which should protect the plants from this rather chilly weather.

It rather depends on where you live, Danny! Up here we won't be sowing anything outdoors (well maybe some hardier crops in a cold frame) before May but as Odsox has pointed out on another thread he's ready with quite a lot of stuff.

If you fancy sticking your location in your profile that would be good

Hi Maggie

Thanks for the response. I am in Liverpool, well about 12 miles north of it !

Dan

I reckon in the wild and woolly North West it might still be a bit early, although you could have a go with some radishes and salad leaves - at least the seeds are cheap if they don't germinate.

Broad beans, cabbage, cauli, onions, peas, runner beans, to name a few.