Superior Raised Beds - A Quick Guide

Firstly, if you require a size of bed which we stock as standard simply select the relevant sized started kit. This will include planks, corner posts, aluminium brackets, fixings and an instruction booklet – everything you need to build your bed.

If you'd like to extend an existing starter kit, or wish to construct a bed size we don't offer as standard, select from the additional parts listed above. All planks come complete with joining brackets and fixings and you can even cut them to create a bespoke bed to your own exact specification. Here’s an example of how to achieve a 1.2m x 1.2m (4ft x 4ft) wide x 40cm (16”) high bed with an adjoining 1.2m x 1.2m (4ft x 4ft) wide x 40cm (16”) high bed including capping:

Select your starter kit: 1.2m x 1.2m (4ft x 4ft) x 40cm (16”) high with capping (GDN-474) = £176

Then choose from the additional components list to create the adjoining bed:

3 x 1.2m (4ft) planks (GDN-583) = £55.20

2 x 20cm (8”) high posts (GDN-590) = £5.30

2 x post caps (GDN-594) = £3.20

3 x 1.2m (4ft) capping (GDN-587) = £18.90

Grand Total = £258.60

Superior Raised Beds - Planning and Planting Information

 
To help you make the most of your raised beds - and most importantly enjoy growing in them - we've compiled a list of factors to consider when siting and filling your beds;

Raised beds can be placed directly onto soil, lawn or paving.

The beds can be filled directly with a fertile, organic rich, light & friable topsoil/compost such as the vegetable and fruit mix that we supply via our partnership with Rolawn. Calculating the quantiy of soil you will require to fill your beds is relatively simple; you just need to multiply the length of your bed by the width and the depth and the figure you arrive at is the amount of compost you'll need in litres. To make things even easier; all the Rolawn soil we supply is delivered in 1000 litre tote bags so you can tell immediately how many bags you'll need to order. The example below should help you with this;

2.4m long  x 1.8m wide  x 20cm deep = 864 litres - 1 x 1000 litre tote bag required

For the best growing results, we'd advise you to fill your beds with 75% topsil and use a bulky organic matter - such as farmyard manure or home-made compost - to make up the other 25%. For more details on filling your raised bed, please contact our horticulturist.  

One of the benefits of a raised bed is the fact you can tailor the growing medium to the plants you are wishing to grow.  For example you can use ericaceous compost for acid loving plants or you may want to grow carrots in sand.

If you want to increase the drainage of your bed you can add a layer of  gravel approximately 5cm / 2” deep at the base, but note that the level drainage will be dictated mainly by the ground that the bed is sitting on.  If for example the bed is sitting on a free draining sandy soil you may want to lay down a semi-permeable ground sheet beneath the bed to reduce the drainage.

We've also produced a quick guide to the depth of bed you'll need to grow favourite Kitchen Garden crops. This list is by no means definitive but if you're unsure of how many tiers to go for, the over-riding advice is to go deeper - this gives you the flexibility to grow a wider variation of vegetables in the future and also helps with crop rotation.
Here's that list;

If you’d like further information on the Superior Raised Beds, or would like to discuss any feature of this product, please call our Customer Services Department on 0845 218 5301 or e-mail us at enquiries@harrod.uk.com – we’d be delighted to help!

What The Experts Say...

If you’re looking for a bed with a more ‘polished’ appearance, try the ‘superior’ raised bed kit from Harrod Horticultural (from £58). Constructed from heavy and durable Swedish timber, these beds will turn your veg patch into an attractive focal point. Finished with a non-toxic preservative, they will also ensure that your plot remains fully organic.
July Allotments (in association with the National Society of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners Ltd), Off the Peg Raised Beds, Grow Your Own magazine, July 2009

Raised beds are a great way to grow vegetables and fruit: they look smart with instant well-defined edges, and can be created relatively quickly, by lifting paving stones or turf in a lawn, for instance, installing the surrounds and working in well-rotted farmyard manure or garden compost. They are also incredibly practical, as crops benefit from the increased depth of uncompacted soil – all areas of the beds being accessible from the paths. This also means that crops can be set closer together than in open soil, vastly increasing the yield per square metre… A middle of the range option in a variety of sizes and heights with decorative capping comes from Harrod Horticultural…

Gardening Life, Get the Look: Raised Beds, Sunday Telegraph , 24 May 2009

The RHS Head of Gardens Creative Development, Matthew Wilson, introduces the benefits of raised bed gardening in Harrod Horticultural beds.

‘Kits on Test’ – As far as assembly and looks go, we were impressed with how easy they were to put together… and would recommend for gardeners who are not confident about cutting wood or DIY.  This upmarket kit is made of 3.5cm (1.5”) thick FSC Swedish timber treated with a Garden Organic approved treatment and guaranteed for eight years.  Strong, sturdy and good-looking, it was easy to assemble but not all the places to screw are pre-drilled.  Gardens Monthly, March 2009 

Rachel de Thame mentions Harrod Horticultural raised beds in her gardening feature for the Sunday Times:

Raised beds: we constructed our own beds from treated timber, but also used one ready-made kit, which takes much of the guesswork out of the process. Harrod Horticultural supplies excellent kits, offering a range of flexible permutations. Rachel de Thame returns to her Cotswolds garden...

View our helpful video clip below: