Raised allotment beds

 


Hi

I got some great responses from my first post so i thought you might be
able help with another query?

I have taken over an allotment and have spent the last 12 months
clearing it!!! The soil is pretty good but for ease of access i have
built 2 x  'L' shaped raised beds. 10ft x 8ft at their longest sides
and 4ft wide.

I hadn't quite anticipated how much soil etc i was going to need to
fill them! They are 12" high and i am looking at approx 3 tonnes to
fill them......

I don't really have any spare soil although i have taken some out when
i was making the paths.

What should i fill my beds with? I wish to grow a variey of things in
them. I have looked at topsoil and it is very expensive. I assume i
should also have a quantity of compost in there? What about sand?

I know this can be improved over time and with the addition of manure
etc but i would really like to start growing in them asap

Thank you for your time




--
mw80

 

g'day mw80,

can you source spent mushroom compost from the mushroom farm or other?

how about that composted recycled material from the local landfill or
refuse station? not sure about where you are but lots of local
councils recycle green waste this way, sometimes they give it away to
gardeners other times they charge for it.

we sue mushroom compost as our main medium for our gardens, we have
pic's and story on our site.



On Mon, 14 Apr 2008 12:51:36 +0100, mw80
snipped

With peace and brightest of blessings,

len & bev

--
"Be Content With What You Have And
May You Find Serenity and Tranquillity In
A World That You May Not Understand."

http://www.lensgarden.com.au/

 


len gardener;784454 Wrote:

Thanks both

I have managed to get some well rotted horse muck for the bottom of the
beds and
then mixed some compost and top soil for the rest.

Do i need to add any sort of irrigation system or well the trusted
watering can
do the trick?!




--
mw80

 

we never use irrigation systems we find we can better manage water
when it is done by hand, so to that end we mulch heavily to minimise
moisture loss from the beds.

we also use our grey water and my wee water on our plants, but we make
our own laundry gel and use an earth friendly dish detergent, and as
we use rainwater all the time we need very little detergent as rain
water is softer.



On Thu, 17 Apr 2008 11:12:38 +0100, mw80
snipped
With peace and brightest of blessings,

len & bev

--
"Be Content With What You Have And
May You Find Serenity and Tranquillity In
A World That You May Not Understand."

http://www.lensgarden.com.au/