Growing veg in raised beds - advice please

[handmedownqueen]

I have just had a loveley new patio done in natural stone
plan now is to put some raised beds on it but dont want to ruin my patio

do they come with bases or is it just four wooden sides?

what do you put below the compost and what about drainage?

also what should i grow most usefully - seven hungry mouths to feed...

Those pre-made raised beds are a rip off IMO. It is far cheaper to make your own (and more flexible too as you can chose your own shape and size of bed). They aren't difficult to make at all.

tbh though I would just take the approach of thinking of it as container gardening on a large scale (assuming you don't want to lift some of your new paving). A lot/ most vegetables will grow happily in a container - esp if it is a large container!

When choosing what to grow I always consider these things

What will we actually eat? (DH and DCs won't eat broad beans for eg)

What is expensive to buy in the shops? (if space is resticted don't grow lots of potatoes which are cheap to buy in general) I grow exotic salad mixes for example - they are always expensive in the supermarkets but grow very quickly aqnd can be cut down and re-grown so you get 3 crops from one sowing at least. They are ready to harvest after 3 weeks too.

What tastes a lot nicer when home grown? The answer is pretty much everything, but tomatoes and carrots are difintely far tastier when home grown.

Dh made one last year and I grew carrots in mine. I bought compost from the tip, it was dirt cheap, and the carrots grew really well. Grew some leaks too. The only problem was that it got quite damp underneath and rats would run underneath it. We got rid of it this year and I just bought a load of those flexible rhino tubs.