newbie

[lochernepioneers]

I havent been a member on the site for very long, but i was wondering if any of you garden in raised beds as opposed to normal gardening.

[lancashire lass]

I do - my allotment plot is at the bottom of a hill and the soil is heavy clay.

1) the plot can get saturated in wet seasons so needs raised beds to aid drainage
2) the soil readily compacts when walked on, so beds are dedicated garden space with permanent paths round them
3) in winter/spring, cold air drops down the hill so the plot is one of the last to warm up before planting. Raised beds with better drainage allows the soil to warm up quicker
4) I like a bed system because it allows me to concentrate on one bed at a time rather than large areas - it also means crop rotations are much easier to work out as I have a permanent plan of what grew in which bed rather than guess which part of the plot

[lochernepioneers]

The reason i was asking, was,that my wife is disabled and i have a problem with my back, was thinking it would make life a lot easier for us both, we plan on having at least 4 6ft x 4ft raised beds, where they are going ,we can get right round them all.we also have a 10ft x 8ft polytunnel.

[manda]

We have raised beds made from 5 metre long pallets,but we made them too long (3 pallets long so about 48ft) and too wide (4ft). When we do them again we'll go about 6ft but will make them about 3 / 3.5 ft because then you're not stretching to reach the middle (I have a bad back too and found that 4ft was just that bit too far)