Redwing Posted December 26, 2008 Share Posted December 26, 2008 ahhh the good life! I have ordered all of the wood for my raised beds and walk in chicken run today and purchased all of the tools needed to construct it all! (there are batteries charging up all over the house ) My B&Q receipt was 17 inches long The weldmesh is on order for the run The slabs arrive on the 5th Jan The Eglu and hens have obviously already been purchased The greenhouse is arriving the first week in Jan The fruit trees have arrived and have been heeled in My 200ft long bare garden (we have already cleared the undergrowth and culled all the dead trees) will soon be full again but in a good way! I am now totally skint....but happy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 26, 2008 Share Posted December 26, 2008 200 feet! wow!!! Lucky you you'll soon start reaping the rewards, hope to see some pics Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted December 26, 2008 Share Posted December 26, 2008 Let's have some before, during and after pictures please . (That's quite some till receipt .) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackgold Posted December 27, 2008 Share Posted December 27, 2008 Our garden is quite well established with pretty things....i have now got the urge to rip out things and replace with food plants...... I cant wait till next month cos thats when i start planting things eg like my tomatoes....Oh to be completley self sufficient.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helenarees Posted December 28, 2008 Share Posted December 28, 2008 Hello, That all sounds very interesting, I'm just wondering what wood and size you're going to do your raised beds. I would like to do some raised beds myself but I haven't got a clue where to start and the plastic(recycled) ones are so expensive. Thanks Helena Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwing Posted December 28, 2008 Author Share Posted December 28, 2008 As we want quite a few beds I have had to go down a budget route! I got 5cm square wood as the uprights and will use it at each corner and every 60cm or so along each side for strength. The sides are 100mm x 19mm wood 'planks' I could have gone thicker but budget was the deciding factor here and I plan on mounding the soil first then placing the bed around it so the weight of the majority of the soil is downwards and not pressing against the sides (does that make sense??) I will have at least four 180cm x 90cm beds and four 90cm x 90cm beds this makes them all 60cm high which is quite tall, if I make them lower I can have more The wood is sawn treated wood from B&Q I got a table saw from B&Q for £20 and an electric screwdriver/drill for £49 - well worth every penny and should make my ham fisted attempts at carpentry look ok! I am currently building a wood store out of old pallets - I have no experience of carpentry whatsoever but if you get the right tools and some self starting chipboard screws you can do anything you put your mind to! Its all good fun and no one cares what it looks like so go for it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackgold Posted December 28, 2008 Share Posted December 28, 2008 I can get free pallets from work, i wonder if my hubby fancys trying out his joinery skills lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christian Posted December 28, 2008 Share Posted December 28, 2008 Wow Tasha, you will be busy! I agree, pictures before, during and after please Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trish Posted December 29, 2008 Share Posted December 29, 2008 my my you are going to be busy, in a good way. Happy Good lifeing (if that's a word) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helenarees Posted December 29, 2008 Share Posted December 29, 2008 Hello, Thanks for the information, I agree pictures would be great and also your tip on pallets into a wood store is great, I may start with that and see how that ends up before I invest in some bought wood as I already have 5 pallets hanging around and a pile of wood/logs strewn over my garden. Thanks again Helena Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christian Posted December 29, 2008 Share Posted December 29, 2008 Hi Helena, My next door neighbour made us a log store out of an old pallet and some off cuts of wood from our new fencing. It looks really good and does the job! edit - found a couple of pictures of my raised beds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackgold Posted December 29, 2008 Share Posted December 29, 2008 yes but now you have built all those raised beds etc where are the chooks going to play? lol Sue xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helenarees Posted December 30, 2008 Share Posted December 30, 2008 Hello again, Those raised beds look really good, thanks for posting and not so complicated to make as I thought - what's under the black membrane and did you dig a hole into the membrane to plant your veg or are the beds deep enough? Sorry for the beginners questions. Thanks Helena Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiggy Posted December 30, 2008 Share Posted December 30, 2008 I used plastic link-aboard but the bed sizes look about the same and are deep enough for most veg, I'm going to build a 3 tire high box for some asparagus for next season Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christian Posted December 30, 2008 Share Posted December 30, 2008 what's under the black membrane and did you dig a hole into the membrane to plant your veg or are the beds deep enough? The weed suppressing membrane was cut out inside each 'box', the soil dug over and then filled with compost. Sorry to hijack your thread Redwing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwing Posted December 30, 2008 Author Share Posted December 30, 2008 Thats ok - its all good gardening conversation! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
