[needtoknowhow]

I know - I'm all about the questions!

want to make a curved raised bed and it'll be 55ft in total which allows for curves (35ft straight line). bed will be 10 ft deep in places so is fairly substantial. would like to do it myself - or supervise while he does it - and for it to look really classy. was planning on using gravity blocks but they work out quite expensive and he's not to sure about having the technical know how involved. anyway, on my search for ideas i came across a photo of a curved raised bed with the lengths standing vertically. he reckons it looks like curved wood is used rather than sleepers - don't want to try and post pic for copyright reasons. so am wondering if anyone had any experience or any advice on whether we could use 6 inch x 6ft round fence posts cut in half (lengthways) with 1ft buried and 2ft on show?we have used fence post mortar from homebase for a different project which works really well at keeping post level as has gravel in it, just add water, but if we were doing that size we'd probably just add gravel to a home made cement mix for stability. the posts would be packed tight together and would be pressure treated and would probably spray them with fence life or other such life pro-longer. i was thinking then that we'd staple plastic to the rear side of the posts before putting in soil to protect against moisture. seems like a more inexpensive option as I think we could get materials for about €600 in total from local Buckley's. is this hair brained or does it sound feasible? i think it would look quite nice but my ideas and logistics don't always add up!! any thoughts

And apologies that all i have is questions these days - some day i might be able to contribute to other people's questions!!!

[cooler]

sounds good, not too hairbrained. Two things that I would think about in this situation would be to get the best treated posts you can, as wood out side has such a limited lifespan. Second, I would create a "clean" strip approx 6 inches between the posts and the lawn using concrete, slabs, laid brick or whatever. This is because if weeds and grass are allowed to grow up to the base of all the nooks and crannys of the posts you will have an unsightly mess and a job on your hands.

[birdie]

needtoknowhow that should look well. seen a few beds done like that and they were very pretty. Plastic at the back is a good idea as I would say soil would normally wash out in downpours. Please post pics if you go ahead.

[needtoknowhow]

Thanks for the reassurance guys, yeah I’m really excited about the idea! Good thinking on the clean strip – was thinking of maybe a moving strip bout 6inches – foot from the wood and decorative stone in the middle for ease of mowing if nothing else! Do you think that 2ft high with 1ft buried will be enough to retain that amount of soil? I’ll definitely post picture when done – see if ye like. Will just have to ensure that I don’t create a run off into the neighbour’s garden!! Would drainage be required for 2 ft of soil? Thanks for your positive words and helpful comments.

[GPI]

needtoknowhow, It would be no harm to follow the advise in this post...... Retaining walls and drainage within the garden.

[needtoknowhow]

thanks GPI, good advice there! having trouble tracking these fellas down - just want flat top and bottom but only finding places who do them in long staked lengths and they're more agri use hence not too pretty. any one every use them or can recommend where to go about getting them? thought it'd be easy, not so so far