Hi Mg, even though I don't grow ny veg, I've always thought the same as you,{apart from the typo's} a raised bed should be, as you say about 20cm, or in my case 8" and about 4ft square, so that you can work from each side, without stepping on the bed, Derek.

Thanks Derek... Unless I hear otherwise we will decline and, sadly, stop growing veg. :( Will be a hugely sad day for us!

Oh, that is sad, MG! Around here, we often use raised beds 70 cm deep--if only to get that much good soil--though never more than 4 ft. wide. A few stepping stones could solve the problem of reaching all the growing area, IF you had stairs to get up there! "If we had some eggs, we could have ham and eggs...if we had some ham." Kind of silly when you think that one of the reasons for making tall beds is to make the plants more accessible. Are they easily remodelled, or literally set in stone?

The raised beds could not easily be remodelled given the way they have been made. The neighbour used them for a few years with very poor results whilst we used the land near them, she has now decided to extend her lawn (and it is her right to do so) and so offered us the raised beds. Ah well all things change and come to an end!

Well, I hope that it is a case of one door closing while another opens. I know that veggie gardening is an avocation for you, MG. Is this affecting Bulba's work , also?

Mg is it really 20 odd foot high ?

I was imagining about 2 foot.......

I was just ambling through Goy (asyou do on acold January day) and came across Raised vegetable beds on Goypedia and wondered if you'd checked it out. ......

That was a typo it should have read 70cm and it is definitely 1.5 metres across, at least! Not practical for veggie gardening at all as it would need steps to get up to and also have to be walked on Pam and whole whole idea of a raised bed is you don't walk on it.

TugB I'm sorry to say that veggie gardening has not been an avocation for me for around three years now. I developed osteoarthritis of the spine and can't dig or do anything like the amount of gardening I would like to. It is primarily down to Bulba now. At the same time we have both become far more interested in our bird and cetacean watching so I suspect this is all for the best, though I will miss the taste of freshly picked veggies!

Phew! ?
You really wouldhave needed a ladder!

I know what you mean MG, happens to us all

I enjoy watching the birds too, the goldfinches have been fun this year, and long tailed tits when they arrive all of a chatter.....

At this time of year we tend to head to the coast, which isn't far away, to watch the sea birds especially the migrants. In late December and early January we had hundreds of Little Auks blown into the Moray Firth from the North Sea due to the gales.

Well, with osteo (ouch!) it indeed may be for the best. Grocers around here are at least providing more good, organic produce, hopefully yours are as well. Maybe a few containers would be possible. You and Bulba are in my prayers, always.

How is it today Mg?
Gertrude seems to be really causing trouble........

It's been pretty wild Pamg but nothing like the 100 mile an hour winds they had on the summit of Cairngorm. Fortunately we didn't need to get anywhere as I think it would have been just about impossible.

Tugb. thank you, sadly we have not had a greengrocers in our nearest town for at least 10 years. The next nearest doest have one but it isn't organic orientated. There is an organic box scheme in the area but... I like to be able to pick and choose my fruit and veg! So, very sadly, that leaves the local supermarket which does have a pretty good range of organic veg!

4ft wide is also pretty standard and recommended by the pros around here too. Ideally you want to reach into the raised bed without stepping into it. Gardening should be enjoyable, not a chore. If it's wider then 4 feet, I plant a row of flowers in the middle (sunflowers, marigolds, whatever you like) that you can leave for the season.

We're simply giving up Bathgate...

Slight language confusion, MG! Most places here in the States, the grocer IS the supermarket. Ah well, "In America, they haven't spoken it for years."

You don't have a garden do you Tug?
Isn't it a yard......
Or is that just a myth ?

Sunny cold and windy here Mg, tomorrow, 2 to 5c and pouring rain...ugh ?

Garden is in the yard or you can just have a garden or just a yard. Often used interchangeably. Yard is used in a broader sense.

Heavy snow showers earlier then turned to rain due to be back to snow tonight and another storm on Monday it seems.

Pamg, when I moved recently, I wound up with a gravel yard with a few aloes. No chance of changing this--I don't own the property. Instead, I keep a few large pots, and excercise my other knowledge at the garden center where I work. Some day, I may get a chance at something better, but that is in God's will.

Funny old weather, 2c out at the moment (7am) due by this evening to be 12c!!
Are they naming this storm?.......
Hope the snow clears quickly Mg.....flood warnings here again

No wonder I'm confused Bathgate ?

I find growing in troughs and pots easier these days Tug, and they can look so pretty
The GC job must be interesting, looking after the plants and maybe pairing them with their new owners......do you have to tactfully suggest thats not the right plant for your garden .......

I remember going to Arizona years ago, you could have fried an egg on the slabs it was so hot, very dry too

"Well, though I wouldn't plant that in full sun...." and so on! :)
Much of southern Arizona is that hot in summer, Pamg. A surprising number of plants, however, actually seem to like the heat.

Its a dry heat isn't it, here being an Island its almost always a humid heat.....if we get any that is ?

The lower humidity actually does help, though in late June, it only means that 47º C feels like 32º would in the UK. A bit later in the year, in the monsoon season, 40º in the day, and 34º at night, with 50% to 60% relative humidity, is a horse of a different color!

Thank goodness for Air conditioning!