Raised beds

[FiveGoMadInDorset]

I would like to do a raised bed this year, adding more as I go along but one step at a time, can anyone advise about best size, and how to go about it?

I made mine above lawn. I put down think cardboard, sleepers/edging tiles, then had a load of manure delivered. By the next season it was ready for planting, and the plants did the hard work of breaking up the soil beneath.

It depends on the shape of your garden, but you want to be able to reach into the middle from the edges so that limits the ideal size.

i agree about what the previous poster said about reaching the inside of the bed from the edge - you do not want to have to walk on it! I have my raised beds quite high, probably about mid thigh ish. This is to save on back work. Some people have them just one plank high.

i love my raised beds! i have 5 quite large beds and use a crop rotation system each year. I wish i had more space for permanent crops like raspberries, so that might be something to bear in mind whilst planning your garden.

Thank you both, will have a nose for sleepers/planks and bits

Mine are 2 sleepers high and it’s possible to reach the middle from each side. If you are using sleepers remember these are difficult to cut, so making them the width of a sleeper and say the length of 2 can make them easier to build.