Raised beds
By Nick Hamilton
Decide which crops you want to grow, then build your raised beds to suit
'I use the raised beds we have at Barnsdale primarily for quick crops, such as mini vegetable varieties, salad crops and multi-sown veg.'
Although raised beds are an excellent way of growing vegetables in a restricted space, they should not be discounted in larger vegetable plots. I use the raised beds we have at Barnsdale primarily for quick crops, such as mini vegetable varieties, salad crops and multi-sown veg. The longer-term crops, such as maincrop or brassica varieties, are grown in rows on our allotment area, with the quicker crops grown in the raised beds used to fill in the harvesting gaps from our maincrop veg.
Dimensions We have our beds at a fairly standard 1.20m (4ft) wide, which means that the centre of each bed can be reached from the pathways running alongside and there is no need to walk on the cultivated soil. All the compaction is then reserved for the pathways where no crop is grown, keeping the soil in the beds nice and fluffy and perfect for growing our quick turn-around crops.
A workable width If you find that this is too wide for you, or too narrow, then adjust the width of the bed to suit the length of your arms. The length of bed is not important, except that it is the distance you will need to walk to get around the other side of the raised bed.
Depth The depth of your raised bed is really dependant on what you are trying to grow and achieve. If like ours, they will be used for quick crops (and any root crops are either mini-varieties) then they don't need to be very deep. If the beds are also to be used for maincrop varieties, then the depth of topsoil needs to be adequate for the length of root required. The depth of soil will naturally increase year on year as organic matter is dug in.
Different types We have raised beds at Barnsdale that vary from ones with no edging board around them, where the level of the soil has been obtained just from digging-in organic matter, to beds that are surrounded by railway sleepers – and even some that are 90cm (3ft) high. These last two have had a mix of topsoil and organic matter added to them after building, so have an excellent root run.
Barnsdale Gardens in Rutland, Leicestershire, are the creation of the late Geoff Hamilton who was much loved by the public as a gardener and TV presenter during his lifetime. Today, Barnsdale Gardens continues to thrive and win awards in the hands of Geoff’s son Nick, together with Nick’s wife Sue. The gardens, shop and nursery are open every day except 23 and 25 December.
For further gardening advice, hints and tips, go to www.gardensmonthly.co.uk