What to fill raised beds with?

For growing veg, unless you intend using them for ones which do not like it, the best filler is a mixture of your soil and well rotted manure. For carrots, parsnips etc, then substitute well made compost for the manure.

Then keep on mulching your veg/fruit with grass cuttings, compost, leaf mould - even hair (free from hairdressers!) and this will all help build up the soil - and keep the weeds down!

owdbuggy is right. If you have to take turves off to start stack them for a few months upside down ,wonderful filler.

I would be careful at filling your beds with just soil from the allottment - weeds would then be introduced along with the soil. Also using compost means that any weeds that come up are easily pulled. Good luck with the raised beds I found they really have worked this year - much easier to grow stuff in soil that hasn't been compacted.

thank you so much for your help, as a novice allotmentier i have alot of queries and the advice i am receiving from this web site has been so much help! thanks again