The arguments for and against raised beds are like those made
over dig versus no dig. You are either for or against them and you often find
some support one or the other and few change sides. It is like asking a United
fan to support City.
Raised beds are not new and can be traced back to medieval
times when beds could be edged with wattle fences. 18th century market
gardeners in Paris built up their plots with horse manure and compost. Did you ever see them in Percy Thrower's, or Geoff Hamilton's gardens? So why does it seem everyone suddenly wants a raised bed and even the big DIY
store are now selling kits which tells you that it has gone mainstream. When
did the current obsession with raised beds start to take hold in the UK?
In the 80s and 90s the modern organic movement raised many
soil issues such as compaction on hard beds, soil structure improvement, weeds
reduction and being able to isolate root disease and other soil related problems
with raised beds. Now you can’t pick up a gardening magazine, watch a gardening
video or even turn on a TV garden program without being faced with timber
raised beds.
I can see the case for raised beds on some plots but will the
trend be that all plots will have to have a shed, compost bin, rainwater barrel
and raised beds. Interestingly on our site, which has a huge diversity of ethnic backgrounds and culture, only a single group of growers have adopted them.
Are they cheap? Some may say that there is masses of timber
waiting to be picked up and screwed together, but if you look at the cost of
new and even reused timber the answer is no. First to build a single 8 x 4 foot
1 foot deep bed you will ned some 24 feet of 6 x 1 or scaffold board and 6 foot
of 2 x 2 plus nails, screw etc. Then you must fill it. So the maths is not hard
and then times that by the number of beds. There are also those who will debate
what sort of timber that should be used. and whether the beds need lining.
I did the maths and walked away, that’s until today. So, what
has changed and have i suddenly become a devote follower of raised beds or merely
a follower of fashion?
The building we live in is now having to adapt to the new
building fire regulations post Grenfell and wooden decking on balconies is now
out. Decking was not universally installed by owners, but it all has now to be
removed. This means that there is now potentially a lot of good quality decking
boards going free. Music to the allotment holder in me.
As a result, I have now got some 50 x 8 foot grooved boards
and 2 x 2 treated batons for free and transported them to the plot. I could use
the timbers to just create neat borders and tidy my bank, but I have decided to
raise my game and beds instead.
I intend to line the inside of the timbers and treat the outside,
so they have a longer life expectancy. Once the main plot area is cleared next
month, deck screws will be waiting to be inserted and construction will start.
I also have spoken with the farm manger and will be dumping quite a few
wheelbarrow loads of horse manure to over winter. All will be tucked up into the
beds and covered in tarp over winter.
As I arrive to inspect my plot or what resembles a timber
yard, Lottie, my faithful whippet plot companion comes to a halt.
‘Where did that lot come from?’ asks Lottie pointing her paw
towards a huge pile of timber on the allotment path.
‘I brought it across yesterday,’ I reply.
‘You’re not building another greenhouse, are you?’ Lottie
asks.
‘No raised beds.’
Lottie understands what beds are and after all like most
whippets she spends most of her life sleeping on them, in them and making them.
So, it’s no surprise that she looks a little happy but confused.
‘But you aren’t going to sleep here overnight are you?’ she
asks.
I reply, ‘No they are for growing vegetables in.’
She looks confused and turns towards the bench and exclaims,
‘Did you know there is wood under my bench too!’
I reply, ‘Yes i think I now have enough to make a few beds.’
‘Well it’s a good job the weather has turned that’s my lower
bunk for when I get hot,’ says Lottie sniffing the timbers.
I simply reply, ‘noted.’
I realise that I will have start to build soon as Lottie is
a whippet of habit and I have robbed her of her second bed. She looks at me as
if she wants to understand raised beds but doesn’t and clearly thinks I am mad.
How do you describe a raised bed to someone who has no idea
why you would want to spend the effort, money and time when you could grow vegetables
without raised beds? I must admit I used to think the same, but one can’t ‘look
a gift horse in the mouth’, can you?
