Raised Bed construction materials ?

[marshlander]

The previous owners had a caravan but honestly, you'd have thought they were buiding a new runway! Having lifted the granite flagstones, we found a bed of mortar. Under that, large stones, under that broken brick hardcore. After 2 days graft clearing one side we still hadn't got all the bricks out and found underneath was increadibly sticky yellow clay.

Now we have three 8'x4' linkabord raised beds and one of our chicken houses on this part of our veggie plot. The rest of the area is divided into raised beds with grass paths. We used the flagstones for paths etc round the garden. Would have loved sleepers but too expensive and too heavy for us.

I've seen pics of all kinds of things used to make raised beds incl bottles, roof tiles, boulders. We did use some free untreated timber years back but it rotted in no time.


http://www.railwaysleepers-uk.co.uk/ has reclaimed sleepers in oak and other hardwoods that don't need treatments.
http://www.railwaysleeper.com/railway%2 ... tments.htm give guidelines on using reclaimed treated, untreated and new which they sum up as ;-

Don't use creosoted sleepers around children, food, or inside
Don't sit on them, eat off them, or put them indoors! HANDLE with GLOVES