Browse Forums Landscape & Garden Design 1 Oct 11, 2010 12:42 pm Hi, We are getting our landscaping done this week and we planned on getting a 2x1metre raised bed for herbs and a 2x3m raised bed for vegies. As a novice, I have just heard about companion gardening. Would it be better to have both beds 2x2m rather than one bed and one small? Or doesn't really matter? Also, we are getting irrigation for $900. We only have a smallish front and back yard including a bit of instant turf at the back. Is it necessary? I do not have a good track record of keeping pot plants alive! Thanks Re: What size vegie/herb beds? Companion planting? Irrigatio 2Oct 11, 2010 12:49 pm I hear you. If you dont have a good track record for keeping pot plants alive - I strongly urge you to consider only in-ground plants. This way, if you forget to water them, at least they can search for moisture in the ground. AFAIK, companion planting is a great wya to keep pests and ward of diseases. IMHO, it would be better to plant your herbs among the veges to make use of thier companionship. Suburbia is where the developer bulldozes out the trees, then names the streets after them. Re: What size vegie/herb beds? Companion planting? Irrigatio 4Oct 11, 2010 8:28 pm Companion planting does my head in and is an area of great speciality in it's own right. Just get a book on it, easier It's so much more than a few Marigolds next to the tomato Avoid chemical fertilisers where ever possible, use organic materials and liquid composts, molasses etc and you will reduce the bugs more than you can imagine Then use companion planting and it goes off! Get a book though Or visit a companion planting forum for ideas and then post them here , there must be one somewhere. Re: What size vegie/herb beds? Companion planting? Irrigatio 5Oct 12, 2010 2:58 pm I'm nearly at the same point. I'm treating some herbs like parsley and coriander as veggies and they're going in with the others. 'Cos I eat lots of these plus they go to seed and die on me. More long lived things like thyme, oregano, mint, rosemary I'm planting among the rest of the garden a bit. The thyme and oregano are going under the citrus trees. Mint's going in a pot of its own to stop it taking over the show, will have to find a good place to stick it to avoid my usual habit of killing pot plants. (I actually killed a pot of mint. I left it alone and it drowned. Can you believe it?!?!) Rosemary makes a pretty hedgy bush so it may keep the jasmine company. If I were you I'd get 3 2mx1.5m beds then you can rotate stuff a bit, be eating out of one bed while another's seedlings and the other's dying off and composting. Plus you can reach everything. Not that I'm any kind of expert Re: What size vegie/herb beds? Companion planting? Irrigatio 6Oct 12, 2010 10:57 pm Coriander is going to love cold winters Don't bother growing it in summer, it bolts and seeds. Coriander = winter. Unless you are gifted $900 dollars in uncomfortably cheap. Yeah I know many of you just look at as , does it switch on automatically? Does the water come out? Good but I see is the water efficient? Is the controller programmed for efficient or wastful watering? Is the irrigation using a regualted emmitter so water isn't wasted? Is it watering evenly or in a core like old school drippers do? That makes for an unhealkthy root systemn and that means that your skills as gardener are going to be tested even watering and things are a bit easier. Do the pots use the cheapest mix you can buy? Get a good mix that meets Australian standards, add some clean sand and coir peat to it. It won't dry out and water will be absorbed through it far better Re: What size vegie/herb beds? Companion planting? Irrigatio 7Oct 13, 2010 12:02 pm Thank you for your comments. I went to uni yesterday morning, came home and it was all done. So irrigation seems to be done and veggie boxes are in. Yes, 2x2m is a bit large. Will struggle to reach the middle. The 2x1m looks better. Oh well, we'll see how we go! Re: What size vegie/herb beds? Companion planting? Irrigatio 8Oct 13, 2010 12:22 pm Better than nothing If they used treated pine please make sure you have lined the sides with builders plastic to prevent contact with the soil and timber. You don't want arsenic and cyanide etc in your food Re: What size vegie/herb beds? Companion planting? Irrigatio 9Oct 14, 2010 9:21 am Arsenic is no longer used in treated pine sleepers. Structural pine, yes, but not sleepers. It has been abolished years ago. People still refuse to use it because of the other chemicals to treat it. But i have read lab reports summarizing that no chemicals leech into soil. This being said, I still used red gum for my veggie garden. Re: What size vegie/herb beds? Companion planting? Irrigatio 10Oct 14, 2010 9:30 am Also, Here is a quick list that could assist. Planting carrots and onions in alternate rows will discourage the pests of both. Marigolds, onions, chives, petunias, lavender, or chrysanthemums will keep aphids away. Onions and marigolds will keep away snails and slugs. Peppermint keeps away ants, white cabbage moths, aphids, and flea beetles. Garlic repels aphids, flea and Japanese beetles, and spider mites. Nasturtium keeps away squash bugs, and whiteflies. Chives repel aphids and spider mites. Thyme planted with cabbage helps control flea beetles, cabbage worm and white cabbage butterflies. Borage repels tomato hornworms. Rosemary and sage repel cabbage moths, bean beetles, and carrot flies. Basil shoos away flies and mosquitoes and tomato hornworms. Marigolds can be used to keep away Mexican bean beetles, squash bugs, thrips, tomato hornworms, whiteflies, cabbage pests, and nematodes that attack tomatoes, potatoes, roses, and strawberries. Re: What size vegie/herb beds? Companion planting? Irrigatio 12Oct 21, 2010 12:28 am The width of bed sizes should be no more than 1.2m and as long as you like, hmm maybe break lenght if too long. Anyway sleepers having no arsenic I'm not so sure. 2 months ago purchased sleepers which clearly showed CCA treated. Copper Chrome Arsenic. Hardwood sleepers are great for termites. I would line with plastic for garden beds. Enjoy the vegies Pulpo Re: What size vegie/herb beds? Companion planting? Irrigatio 13Apr 27, 2011 2:10 am oohsam Arsenic is no longer used in treated pine sleepers. .......... According to The Log Factory, http://www.thelogfactory.com.au/treated_pine_chemicals.aspx you can indeed still get CCA sleepers ............... http://www.thelogfactory.com.au/categories.aspx?catid=48 P_D . Block settled 07 June 2011 Our little piece of the Interwebs on HomeOne....... viewtopic.php?f=31&t=48577&start=0 Re: What size vegie/herb beds? Companion planting? Irrigatio 14Apr 27, 2011 12:06 pm I am going to have raised garden bed using colourbond the ones they sell on ebay 1m wide x2m long x550 high suit my needs. Re: What size vegie/herb beds? Companion planting? Irrigatio 15Apr 27, 2011 7:27 pm pattycake4 I am going to have raised garden bed using colourbond the ones they sell on ebay...... Not convinced about the Colorbond ones.......... As I understand it, Colorbond is not "rated" for ground-contact ?? Wondering what their life-expectancy would be? On the bright side..."Eat THAT termites" P_D . Block settled 07 June 2011 Our little piece of the Interwebs on HomeOne....... viewtopic.php?f=31&t=48577&start=0 Re: What size vegie/herb beds? Companion planting? Irrigatio 16May 02, 2011 12:52 am Just use them, For the money they are fine. No diff to water tanks or the like. They wont last for ever but you sure won't be kicking yourself in 15 years when they need replacing. 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