Raised beds

[Konrad]

I want to build some raised beds using wooden sides for vegetables. Does anyone know which is the best of the DIY places to get these boards/scaffold planks.

[Tony F Dordogne]

I've never seen the sort of scaffold planks we used to use in the UK.  I use the roofing boards/soffit boards that come in 4m lengths and cut them as needed.  They do need to be treated tho. 

[dragonrouge]

Dear Tony hope you have had and will continue to have a good gardening summer. It has been difficult here. Tony please can you kindly pm me with details of the DLA web site.

rdgs

[Konrad]

Tony

What thickness are they? I want something that will last and was thinking about something of the thickness of railway sleepers, although I know they are not generally available in France.

[Clair]

Used railway sleepers can no longer be sold or purchased because of the various chemicals they contain.

New railway sleepers can be bought from wood yards (scieries).

[woolybanana]

They can be procured in Belgium, however![6]

[pachapapa]

And I was looking at some last week installed into a concrete border to a lawn with steel dowels, obtained locally.[:)]

[Mik from LA]

You can make your raised bed walls from car tyres as I have done. They are free, require no treatment, are very strong and last forever. The tyres are placed on top of each other horizontally in pile of two or three depending on wall thickness and height desired. The beds thus formed are filled in the normal way, as are the insides of the tyres. I keep the tyres for perennials such as strawberries and herbs.. The only downside is they are not pretty to look at (but then neither was my original plot) but once stuff starts growing it does not look too bad.

[Grumpy]

Now I am confused.  We can buy used railway sleepers (traversée du chemin de fer) in all our local Agria/Point Vert shops in Lower Normandy!

Grumpy

[pachapapa]

[quote user="pachapapa"]And I was looking at some last week installed into a concrete border to a lawn with steel dowels, obtained locally.[:)][/quote]

Whilst not expecting you to rush to Parthenay, you might search locally on "Le Bon Coin".[:)]

http://www.leboncoin.fr/annonces/offres/ile_de_france/occasions/?f=a&th=1&q=traverses+chemin+de+fer

One punter in 88200 has got 170 on offer @ €1000 but price negotiable.

[IMG]http://193.164.197.30/images/087/0874398800.jpg[/IMG]

Ne oubliez pas..une traverse peut cacher une autre!

[pachapapa]

[quote user="Grumpy"]Now I am confused.  We can buy used railway sleepers (traversée du chemin de fer) in all our local Agria/Point Vert shops in Lower Normandy!

Grumpy
[/quote]

Very interesting! Have the "traverses" been recovered from a "traversée"?[:)]

[Clair]

Re used railway sleepers, see this translated article.

[pachapapa]

[quote user="Clair"]Re used railway sleepers, see this translated article.
[/quote]

 ces traverses ne peuvent pas être utilisées « pour les terrains de jeux, dans les parcs, jardins ou autres lieux récréatifs publics situés en plein air en cas de risque de contact avec la peau... 

Hardly a general ban but a sensible measure to protect children et al.

[Clair]

Konrad,

I plan to make 6 beds (1.3 x 2.6 m) and I have just ordered a lot of 20 new sleepers (untreated, industrial grade, i.e. 2nd grade) from the local scierie at 12€ each inc. delivery.

[Hopalong]

Loved the bit about arsenic in the telegraph poles!

[Clair]

[quote user="Clair"]Konrad,

I plan to make 6 beds (1.3 x 2.6 m) and I have just ordered a lot of 20 new sleepers (untreated, industrial grade, i.e. 2nd grade) from the local scierie at 12€ each inc. delivery.[/quote]

Delivered this AM

[IMG]http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q296/clair46/DSCI0002.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q296/clair46/DSCI0001-1.jpg[/IMG]

[John87]

Hi Clair - this is exactly what we were looking for..

What sort of wood are they as a matter of interest ?

Also did you order them as "traversée du chemin de fer" or just specified the dimensions you wanted them sawn to?

I suspect every wood yard is different but its always useful to go armed with as much info as possible.

 

 

 

[Clair]

They're called traverses.

They are made of untreated oak and come in bundles of 20.

The local wood yard makes them for the SNCF regional depot and they are available in two widths (24cm high x 14 cm wide x 260 cm long above being the smaller width) and two grades (the above are industrial, i.e. 2nd grade).