Raised Garden Beds

Raised Garden Beds 

These three raised garden beds were made from re-cycled hardwood fencing. 

The rails form frames along the outside of the boxes and metal brackets are bolted at the corners to give it strength and rigidity. 

The top of each box is finished with a long plank of 1x4 to form a seat. 

Each box is eight feet long and four feet wide. The top of each box is 18 inches above the ground making it possible to comfortably sit (side-saddle) on the edge of the box to attend to the plants.
 

The palings were cut into 18-inch lengths (with any rotted ends discarded and used as fire-wood), pre-drilled to accept galvanisd nails, and nailed inside the frames. 

The boxes were then lined with weed-matting and filled with bails of straw topped with rich garden soil, fertiliser and compost and finally layered with potting-mix and lawn-clipping mulch.

Two of the beds are covered with an arched shade enclosure, made from the two halves of a 12-foot circular galvanised-steel trampoline frame and covered with shade-cloth. 

The third box is covered with a removable metal-tubing cloche lined with wire-netting and also covered with shade-cloth. This keeps animals out and handles at each end make it easy to remove to attend to and harvest the veggie plants within. 

A smaller garden bed (4ft x 4ft) is located behind these boxes with a different soil mix specifically for growing rhubarb as it requires partial shade, better drainage and protection from frost.

Photos and description courtesy of Lionel Hartley.

Posted with Lionel's permission by The Friends of Lionel Hartley.