Raised beds

[FusionChefGeoff]

I've heard a lot about these for creating a veggie patch in my garden. What are the advantages over just cutting out a chunk of turf? And if they are definitely the way to go, can I build my own or just buy the whole shebang from somewhere? And how about getting the soil to fill them with - surely bags and bags of compost from the garden centre will bankrupt me!!?

The advantage of raised beds is: the lack of foot traffic reduces compaction thus allowing the plants to yield more. I made my own with 9" boards screwed to posts driven into the ground. I can reach right across the beds with tools so I don't have to stand on the bed. There are kits available, but they're not cheap. I would like the ones made from recycled plastic, but they're even dearer. I mixed the dug out soil as I was building the beds with some relatively cheap soil improver.