Build a raised bed, sow summer cabbages, and more
Lucy’s guide to timber-raised support for fruit and veg
IMPROVED soil drainage, increased soil warmth, reduced back pain – there are numerous reasons why installing raised beds is tempting for fruit and vegetable gardeners. You can build them using brickwork, paving slabs or rendered breeze blocks, but the most common and versatile construction material is timber.
All fruit, vegetables and herbs will happily grow in raised beds. Due to their larger soil volume, they dry out far less than containers so watering is simpler, and you can still pander to the needs of fussy crops such as blueberries that require specialist ericaceous compost.
The fact that you can enrich the pocket of soil with any form of compost, specialist or otherwise, means that your crop’s root health is boosted. It’s a win-win situation!
Building them is pretty straightforward; simply follow the walkthrough below. We’ve installed lots for our veg garden at home. Path widths don’t need to be extravagant – you do want maximum growing space, after all!
With our sandy soil, we’ve kept the height quite low, as otherwise the beds would dry out too much, but on heavier clay plots you’ll want to build them higher. My husband sourced 4x2in (10x5cm) treated timber and 2x2in (5x5cm) timber pegs. For larger timbers, consider bolts or metal corner plates to secure them.
Regardless of the materials you use, the construction technique is the same. Taking time to measure out with a garden line and checking horizontals with a spirit level will ensure a top-notch job…