Raised Veg Beds

[Rim Fire]

I used 2 inch insulation boards with some baton to hold them dont rot they are about 3 FT high so you can cut them in half if you want had them down for 5 yrs now 

[lord_seagrave]

People used to use lead pipes to supply drinking water, but now they don’t because lead is poisonous. Likewise leaded petrol, likewise radium pills, likewise various other poisonous preparations and products that have been found to be injurious to health.

“Proper” railway sleepers now fall into the same category - and it is unecessarily dangerous to contaminate your vegetables with the preservative chemicals.

I don’t have enough experience with modern “outdoor” timbers to comment on their longevity vs their health implications.

Either spend the extra money and buy hardwood (a la Monty Don), or go with concrete or steel (until they discover something dodgy in either of those!).

So long as the beds are good and deep, you need not bother with a weed barrier at the bottom and, so long as you fill them with good quality soil & compost, drainage shouldn’t be a problem (in fact, if they are anything like the ones I had, they will be prone to drying out).

Meanwhile, if you want a spoonful of chilli seeds (Red Basque - fruity, medium hot chillis that grow outdoors) DM me and I’ll put them in the post - I’ve got loads. I had a great crop this year and made a wonderful chutney from the unripe fruit at the end of the season.

LS

[Dougy]

This was left at work after some fume extracting was upgraded. Cut into lengths and im putting some spuds in them. 

At the far back was 6 fence posts, then a load of reclaimed decking and then a shop bought raised bed. And then some of the ducting. 

Edited January 5, 2019 by Dougy