9 Raised Bed Gardening Mistakes to Avoid

9 Raised Bed Gardening Mistakes to Avoid

Today’s video is about my 9 Raised Bed Gardening Mistakes
When you are building raised beds there are a number of mistakes I have made over the years. This video is set out to help you avoid the raised bed gardening mistakes that I made building raised beds. Hopefully you will not go through the pain of making poor decisions with your raised beds or any disastrous raised bed mistakes or results. So join me today as I tell you how to avoid the 9 Raised Bed Gardening Mistakes.

40 Comments

  1. Clive Fenn on September 21, 2021 at 10:41 pm

    Currently installing raised beds on a 5th allotment: Wish I’d known not to do it in the nice weather and put it off till it was windy and rainy. Fascinated to see you still use feet and inches up in the North, down here in the Midlands I’ve settled for beds 3m x 1.2m, able to reach the middle from both sides and not too long that you get bored walking round them and try to step over them. You and Charles Dowding – way to go man!



  2. Edwin Thompson on September 21, 2021 at 10:42 pm

    Tony how are you???
    this video is sooooo informative
    its what we want from you
    constructive gardening for the everyman
    not many channels are half as good as yours
    with your knowledge and your abaptation
    to how not to make the same mistakes

    a conglomeration of how to garden for the average pocket and map out your backyard
    (garden),,,, i think we have a sponsor
    bonny-lad,,,Just need a title and style

    email you
    Tony seeya ,,,Ed



  3. Alan Wood on September 21, 2021 at 10:43 pm

    Great video Tone ,,that’s my Autumn project sorted ,,,,



  4. Something In The Air on September 21, 2021 at 10:43 pm

    Try Hugelkultur for raised beds.



  5. J on September 21, 2021 at 10:43 pm

    What’s the cheapest flexible pipe available for making hoops?



  6. Nicole Fraser on September 21, 2021 at 10:44 pm

    I love your urban garden it’s so organized!



  7. Pawel Pietrzak on September 21, 2021 at 10:45 pm

    in our UK wet climate plastic beds may be better than metal or wood… it is just my personal opinion, not from experience yet – but deduction – plastic is less sensitive to wet whether than metal or wood. I find your advice very helpful and I love your rised beds garden, hope to achieve something like that in future…



  8. marvelousdave1 on September 21, 2021 at 10:45 pm

    Great advice I have just got allotment last month and i was thinking of raised beds after watching you video going to do it now



  9. Big Shuff on September 21, 2021 at 10:46 pm

    Thanks for the vid mate, and some good points made for me to consider. I am now 61 and just about to make some raised beds in the garden. However I anticipate tending them into my more senior years when I may not be so agile. In fact I already suffer with arthritis to an extent. So I’m thinking of making them a bit higher than I see your are purely for access reasons. What are your thoughts on this and how high would you recommend?



  10. Dorinda Middleton on September 21, 2021 at 10:46 pm

    Tony, Joe Mills just had his allotment vandalized by someone splashing paint all over it! All the plants not the raised beds or shed. Keep an eye on your plot, they may be going after you tubers. Of course he’s devastated, a whole years worth of work down the tubes. Take care.



  11. Christina Wright on September 21, 2021 at 10:47 pm

    Thanks!



  12. Gerard Shaughnessy on September 21, 2021 at 10:48 pm

    The garden is a credit to you so neatly done



  13. G. Jones on September 21, 2021 at 10:48 pm

    this is great, thanks



  14. My Patch of Norfolk on September 21, 2021 at 10:48 pm

    I use raised beds and no dig and wouldn’t look back. I do the ‘reach test’ to determine the size of mine. I reach to the middle from both sides to make sure I can comfortably get to the middle. Raised beds are also really manageable. If you’ve only got half an hour you’ll be surprised at how many you can weed and it feels like you’ve achieved something.



  15. Peter Maddison on September 21, 2021 at 10:52 pm

    Just a quick tip for you to help save creating email addresses just for compettitions. There is a YouTube ‘Comment Picker’ you can use instead.
    https://commentpicker.com/youtube.php



  16. mike hollis on September 21, 2021 at 10:53 pm

    We use raised beds, like you we painted the wood, we actually use scaffolding boards. They lasted about 8 years, they rotted through at the height of the path. We are gradually replacing them, and rearranging the layout. But this time although we are using scaffolding boards again we are wrapping them in plastic.



  17. Mandy BEWKES on September 21, 2021 at 10:57 pm

    Hope you had a good birthday Tony. I have now 4 raised beds I love them but I’m struggling to find a soil conditioner here in the states. Maybe your American viewers can help me.



  18. Peter Maddison on September 21, 2021 at 10:57 pm

    Found your channel about a month ago and currently binge watching from the begining.
    Out garden is currently in transition from a lawn to slabbed and I’m collecting pallets to make three raised beds (3′ x 14′ x 2’10"). But I’ve got a problem… Jenny (OH) has got me to build a small raised herb harden near the back door with some of the pallet wood and now she also wants me to build a raised bed for her. Going for raised beds as we have 4 little Shih-Tzu’s and the sil is rubbish anyway as it’s mostly cayand we get flooded out when it rains as were on the edge of a flood plain.
    p.s. Jenny loves your laugh 🙂



  19. Tony C Smith on September 21, 2021 at 10:59 pm

    *Please subscribe* https://bit.ly/2A3nJrX Hope you enjoyed this video – if you’d be ever so kind to share it around and tell folks that would be super cool. Go on… watch another.



  20. Meghan Plamondon on September 21, 2021 at 10:59 pm

    Thanks so much for the advice, this is my project for this fall. I’m looking forward to it.



  21. Paul Gentry on September 21, 2021 at 11:01 pm

    I have two four foot beds and a bunch that are three. Three is much better. I spaced them four feet apart. That seems like a lot, but this time of year when so many plants are trailing out of their beds it’s perfect.



  22. Nicholas Flemming on September 21, 2021 at 11:03 pm

    7:00 Building materials… up to you. but I prefer free. I build them and upkeep them with whatever free materials I can get. Usually pallets — which work just fine.



  23. Nicholas Flemming on September 21, 2021 at 11:05 pm

    5:00 6ft wide beds are fine. Conserves space. Just walk around it to get the other side. The bed should be twice as far as your reach. (for maximum growing space.)



  24. Jason Potts on September 21, 2021 at 11:06 pm

    Tony !!! Why do you always skip passed your chillies ? I always like to compare my veg to yours as we live in a similar part of the uk and i never get to see your chillies :/



  25. Keith Hilton on September 21, 2021 at 11:08 pm

    Good advice Tony, However us people in the southern hemisphere the timings and directions are the opposite. Cheers -Aussie Keith.



  26. Sandra & Alan Our First Alottment on September 21, 2021 at 11:09 pm

    Thanks for this Tony – lots of tips and learning points – just what we are looking for. Love this type of content Sir!



  27. Steve Inczedi on September 21, 2021 at 11:11 pm

    Going to do raised beds at my plot next year, but this weekend I’m playing “take a shot” everytime you say” raised beds”



  28. Nicholas Flemming on September 21, 2021 at 11:13 pm

    2:30 July is a fine time to build for winder crop/fall harvests



  29. kowe76 on September 21, 2021 at 11:13 pm

    Love the no dig concept. Great advice. 🙂



  30. michael j lydon on September 21, 2021 at 11:17 pm

    Hi Tony
    What a wonderful garden you have. What size borads do you use for your beds



  31. Diane Irvine on September 21, 2021 at 11:26 pm

    Totally agree Tony, I have raised beds and no dig and mulch is needed so weeds don’t get on top of you.I also have orchard that I grow in no raised beds there. It’s harder to keep.I do think when you are weeding you are inclined to get all bed done.



  32. Guðbjörg Gísladóttir on September 21, 2021 at 11:27 pm

    this is a bit of a pet peeve for me (not speaking English all that much… it not being my mother´s tongue)… Tony you said "living predominantly (ok, I did not hear the t…that is part of that word) in a wet climate" and my reaction is… did you mean "living in a predominantly wet climate" As I understand English..(should be less than you Tony) you do not move a lot… but do live in a climate where it is more often wet than dry ? I know your brain does not always keep up with what words come out of your mouth… or is that your mouth and throat are not able to keep up with your brain and thinking? Just enjoying my pet peeve.. LOL



  33. Trevor D on September 21, 2021 at 11:29 pm

    Hi Tony. Just in the planning stage of building three raised beds on part of our back lawn. Have the timber ready in the garage and hope to start building in early Jan. Recently retired so this is a project I have always wanted to do but have never had the time. Watched two of your videos and found them both really interesting. The timber I am using, the size and design is very much like yours. Approx 8 x4 x 10 inches high. Using treated wood like yours but I see you also painted on your own as well. What sort would you recommend and is it really necessary? I also intend using 2 x 2 supports in the corners and at the half way point on the longer sides. Not something you did so worth doing or not? What do you think? I also intended leaving about 6 inches and pointed end on each support to sink in to ground. I thought this would help with supporting sides a bit but I see when you were building yours you sawed them off flush. Is this something you thought of doing? Would be interested in your thoughts. Have subscribed to watch other videos and will give a big thumbs up. Have a great Christmas. Trevor.



  34. Gregory Seager on September 21, 2021 at 11:31 pm

    Ooh I missed this one 🙂 Built my raised beds out of breeze blocks … will outlast me 🙂



  35. dawn lambert on September 21, 2021 at 11:33 pm

    Hi Tony where did you get your hoops from ?



  36. Trần Thị Duyên on September 21, 2021 at 11:33 pm

    Vườn rau nhà anh Tony rất đẹp.tuyệt vời lắm ạ



  37. SORANN Farm on September 21, 2021 at 11:34 pm

    thank you very much for good share



  38. Tony Cross on September 21, 2021 at 11:35 pm

    Great video. I’m building my raised beds now and this is great advice.



  39. Fat But Fun on September 21, 2021 at 11:37 pm

    Making all these mistakes:-
    1. Making them in July – because I dismantled a climbing frame and had the wood.
    2. Positioned them at the south end of the garden near trees, because it’s away from the kids play area.
    3. Ordered too much topsoil of unknown provenance which arrives tomorrow.
    4. Beds are 35 yards away from the water source.
    5. Beds are too close to one another. I might be able to resolve that one before the earth goes in.



  40. Gwen Scoble on September 21, 2021 at 11:39 pm

    Hi Tony, one of the issues with raised beds is that people think the level of soil/compost has to be raised at the beginning. Year by year as plant roots decay and mulch is added, the level will grow. If you don’t have enough good compost or well rotted manure, just grow with what you have. Adding stones, rubble and weedy soil will give the right look but be a nuisance in the long run. I have 4 raised beds, concrete gavel boards and cut down concrete fence posts, 6ft x 3ft. I can stand on the edges for access to high things but fixing frames for climbers and brassica cages is not easy. Also raised beds add to the height of your crop. In windy situations your 6ft runner beans are 7ft above the path and get that much more wind. It also makes tying on and picking more precarious. As you haven’t fluffed up the compost in no dig, the soil structure can stand your weight and putting a foot on it is not deleterious. It is the corners that you have to get your wheelbarrow around that is difficult to visualise. Thanks for a thought provoking video Tony.