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esmed
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07-04-2009, 09:15 AM

Filling a raised bed in garden?

As the sun is shining brightly today the OH is building my veggie patch which is going to be a raised bed to keep the dog out. So I have two questions:

1. Can I just fill it with premium top soil or should I be adding anything else to the mix? I wasn't sure if a layer of pebbles at the bottom would help with drainage to the soil below.

2. As it is going in front of my decking should I line it to protect the decking and the wood at front? OH says no but I'm not so sure.

Any advice is much appreciated!!

Just thought of a third question:

3. What's the best book to buy for guidance on vegetable growing?
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elaineb
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07-04-2009, 09:42 AM
I wuld not be spending money on books hun,take a look at some good websites
like this one:

http://www.rhs.org.uk/growyourown/

http://www.rhs.org.uk/growyourown/vegadvice.asp

If your going to line the raised bed then make sure there is slits in it for drainage.
Maybe you could put some good compost in with the soil to give your veggies a good start.
Good luck, Oh and pics asap
Elaine xx
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IsoChick
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07-04-2009, 10:22 AM
If you are going to line it, just use weed suppressant fabric... is the wood that the bed is made of treated in any way?

A mix of topsoil and compost should be fine, unless you have soil elsewhere that you want to move, then use that!

Will post in a while with a couple of decent worthwhile growing books!
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MissE
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07-04-2009, 11:45 AM
If its just going on top of the soil that's already there, I shouldn't think you'd need to add pebbles. If you're filling it with a good quality topsoil or multicompost, it'll drain anyway.
As to lining it - I would be inclined not to. Why do you think it will harm the deck?

and those websites look pretty neat
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esmed
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07-04-2009, 12:12 PM
Originally Posted by MissE View Post
If its just going on top of the soil that's already there, I shouldn't think you'd need to add pebbles. If you're filling it with a good quality topsoil or multicompost, it'll drain anyway.
As to lining it - I would be inclined not to. Why do you think it will harm the deck?

and those websites look pretty neat
I wasn't sure if the soil would eventually rot the decking with dampness or something??

The stuff underneath is a thick clay type stuff so we're breaking it all up with a fork.
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MissE
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07-04-2009, 09:10 PM
It would rot the wood of the raised bed first, before it got through to the decking .. and that'll take ages. You'd see it first. That's presuming the raised bed is having its own wooden edge all the way to the soil.
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