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Author Topic: what planting material to get for raised beds?  (Read 3737 times)

laurelrus

  • Joined Apr 2014
  • Quainton,Buckinghamshire
  • Hobby farmer
what planting material to get for raised beds?
« on: April 18, 2018, 03:21:40 pm »
We've got a new raised bed area ready to plant up, I've been yearning for a cutting garden/ mini flower farm for ages.

We have plenty of farmyard manure, very well rotted so I don't think we need a multi purpose compost, but at the moment that's the only thing in the beds. It would be really helpful to know what's the right thing to add to that to make the right soil for flowers (dahlias and summer flowering bulbs to begin with).

Thanks very much for any advice/input  :sunshine:
2 pygmy goats, 3 Ouessant sheep, 19 chickens, 2 donkeys, 2 Shetland ponies and 2 dogs

Maysie

  • Joined Jan 2018
  • Herefordshire/Shropshire Border
Re: what planting material to get for raised beds?
« Reply #1 on: April 18, 2018, 04:10:25 pm »
I have no idea about the soil needed for those specific plants, but if it helps we used 20 tonnes of imported topsoil and a load of well-rotted horse muck from our own horses to fill our 6 raised beds for veggies and some cut-flowers. 

I seem to remember the beds were about 1.2m x 3.6m x 0.4m high each and 20 tonnes was about right. 
The soil was a sandy-loam.  The cheapest place we found was a subsidiary of British Sugar, so it was sieved soil which had been washed off the sugar beet at their local processing plant, so looked a bit 'washed out' when it arrived, but was soon reinvigorated by the addition of some compost and horse muck! 

HTH :farmer:

PK

  • Joined Mar 2015
  • West Suffolk
    • Notes from a Suffolk Smallholding
Re: what planting material to get for raised beds?
« Reply #2 on: April 18, 2018, 09:07:15 pm »
As Maysie suggests, you need to add some ordinary top soil. It’s true dahlias like a well manured soil, but many plants that are typically used in a cutting garden, including bulbs, do not like soil that is too rich as this leads to excessive vegetative growth at the expense of flowers.

Steph Hen

  • Joined Jul 2013
  • Angus Scotland.
Re: what planting material to get for raised beds?
« Reply #3 on: April 19, 2018, 12:04:45 pm »
Up here we can get compost from the tip for free/very little money. It's not suitable as a potting medium by itself, too fibrous, but would be good mixed with muck and topsoil. Perhaps you could keep costs down if you have someinth similar near you?

laurelrus

  • Joined Apr 2014
  • Quainton,Buckinghamshire
  • Hobby farmer
Re: what planting material to get for raised beds?
« Reply #4 on: April 19, 2018, 04:11:12 pm »
Thanks very much for the replies - much appreciated.
Steph Hen that’s a great suggestion - I’ll definitely enquire at the tip!
2 pygmy goats, 3 Ouessant sheep, 19 chickens, 2 donkeys, 2 Shetland ponies and 2 dogs

cans

  • Joined May 2013
Re: what planting material to get for raised beds?
« Reply #5 on: April 19, 2018, 07:32:49 pm »
I second the tip for compost.  Hubby (over)filled a trailer (that was an exciting day!) with council compost to put in as a filler for our raised beds then added decent stuff and manure.  Now just top up with our own compost with occasional muck for good measure depending on what’s going in.

cloddopper

  • Joined Jun 2013
  • South Wales .Carmarthenshire. SA18
Re: what planting material to get for raised beds?
« Reply #6 on: April 20, 2018, 12:32:37 am »
We've got a new raised bed area ready to plant up, I've been yearning for a cutting garden/ mini flower farm for ages.

We have plenty of farmyard manure, very well rotted so I don't think we need a multi purpose compost, but at the moment that's the only thing in the beds. It would be really helpful to know what's the right thing to add to that to make the right soil for flowers (dahlias and summer flowering bulbs to begin with).

Thanks very much for any advice/input  :sunshine:

For  just a few square meters of bed that are not too deep .
 If you have a B&Q close by this years Verve compost is an ideal base to add a few forks of your own  composted dung based manures to , to set up the rised bed .
 It will hold plenty of moisture & be free draining , be full of the air plants need round their hair roots.
The basic Verve has  enough nutrients in it for about six weks growth so you adding a bucket to every bale of Verve compost  will be a  fantastic growth medium.
 The verve will still be decaying after four years or more ( my 36 inch deep beds with it in are now into their fifth year . I've been adding last years spent tomato tubs & last years flower tubs off the drive  that were filled with just weed free Verve  as toping up stuff to all beds along with my quality home made dung based composts .

This year I got six bales of the Verve compost a month ago,  being a cheapskate pensioner went of pensioners day ( Wednesday ?) with my OAP's discount entitlement card and got a 10 % ( ?)  discount on the lot which were £6 or so a bag or IIRC , two for £10
« Last Edit: April 20, 2018, 12:48:01 am by cloddopper »
Strong belief , triggers the mind to find the way ... Dyslexia just makes it that bit more amusing & interesting

cloddopper

  • Joined Jun 2013
  • South Wales .Carmarthenshire. SA18
Re: what planting material to get for raised beds?
« Reply #7 on: April 20, 2018, 12:39:14 am »
I have no idea about the soil needed for those specific plants, but if it helps we used 20 tonnes of imported topsoil and a load of well-rotted horse muck from our own horses to fill our 6 raised beds for veggies and some cut-flowers. 

I seem to remember the beds were about 1.2m x 3.6m x 0.4m high each and 20 tonnes was about right. 
The soil was a sandy-loam.  The cheapest place we found was a subsidiary of British Sugar, so it was sieved soil which had been washed off the sugar beet at their local processing plant, so looked a bit 'washed out' when it arrived, but was soon reinvigorated by the addition of some compost and horse muck! 

HTH :farmer:

I'm thinking of when I lived at Guyhirn in East Anglia.
  Somewhere that does carrot washing  on newly lifted carrots is also a good place to go , as is a place that washes newly lifted leeks at a processing point .

 The combination of sand,  soil & hair root fibres that readily rot down quickly is much sought after by a lot of small time horticulturalists for sterilizing to use for potting on
Strong belief , triggers the mind to find the way ... Dyslexia just makes it that bit more amusing & interesting

Maysie

  • Joined Jan 2018
  • Herefordshire/Shropshire Border
Re: what planting material to get for raised beds?
« Reply #8 on: April 20, 2018, 09:12:14 am »
I have no idea about the soil needed for those specific plants, but if it helps we used 20 tonnes of imported topsoil and a load of well-rotted horse muck from our own horses to fill our 6 raised beds for veggies and some cut-flowers. 

I seem to remember the beds were about 1.2m x 3.6m x 0.4m high each and 20 tonnes was about right. 
The soil was a sandy-loam.  The cheapest place we found was a subsidiary of British Sugar, so it was sieved soil which had been washed off the sugar beet at their local processing plant, so looked a bit 'washed out' when it arrived, but was soon reinvigorated by the addition of some compost and horse muck! 

HTH :farmer:

I'm thinking of when I lived at Guyhirn in East Anglia.
  Somewhere that does carrot washing  on newly lifted carrots is also a good place to go , as is a place that washes newly lifted leeks at a processing point .

 The combination of sand,  soil & hair root fibres that readily rot down quickly is much sought after by a lot of small time horticulturalists for sterilizing to use for potting on
It's funny you mention East Anglia, as my topsoil all came from the Bury St Edmunds sugar beet facility, back when I lived in Suffolk.  Great stuff and they just want to get rid of it.  It was all sieved, so there was nothing larger than 20mm stomes in it, so was perfect for carrots. 

It was just a shame that it was torrential rain when I was moving the 20 tonnes of saturated soil by wheelbarrow - which was rather heavy!  All not helped by me breaking two of my toes the week before too. 

laurelrus

  • Joined Apr 2014
  • Quainton,Buckinghamshire
  • Hobby farmer
Re: what planting material to get for raised beds?
« Reply #9 on: April 20, 2018, 10:05:23 am »
Thanks clodhopper - there's a B&Q locally so I'll go in later and check that they have Verve and hopefully we can stock up on that this weekend!
2 pygmy goats, 3 Ouessant sheep, 19 chickens, 2 donkeys, 2 Shetland ponies and 2 dogs

 

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