VEGGI BED REBIULD

[TerryKoi]

Hi,
I rebuilt my veg bed a few months ago , and thought I'd be sure I was happy with it before I put it to you all .
Well this is the original shown here.
[img]http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m302/wet ... GP2683.jpg[/img]
this grew some good plants, here its a crop of Deanthus or monkey flowers these grew in shingle which was fine at first but after a year or so all sorts of rubbish was building up in the six to eight inches of chippings,
[img]http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m302/wet ... GP3200.jpg[/img]
and I was getting a few problems with the fish.
so I decided to strip it out and start again .
as you can see it was choked with root and dead plant material .
[img]http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m302/wet ... GP4410.jpg[/img]

had some help to remove all the shingle.

[img]http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m302/wet ... GP4529.jpg[/img]

next the baffle plates were removed . these where originally installed to force water to move all around the bed to reduce dead spots ,

[img]http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m302/wet ... GP4723.jpg[/img]

the holly rock was adjusted to my liking , water is pumped into the manifold and then flows through the three pipes to different holes in the rock.
you can see the bottom drain which is controlled from the pump house , the white building on the left.

[img]http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m302/wet ... GP4724.jpg[/img]

next the fibre glass was touched up and sealed.

[img]http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m302/wet ... GP4755.jpg[/img]

I had some old trays from a skip which I cut down and supported the middle of each with large pebbles so they could hold some weight.

[img]http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m302/wet ... GP4911.jpg[/img]

Next flat rocks and pebbles where placed on top , the idea being to create a void below so its easy to wash down any sediment build up by opening the bottom drain and hosing down the whole bed.

[img]http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m302/wet ... GP4920.jpg[/img]

some plants were in pots with large cobbles to help them stand up but the majority were just placed and help between rocks.

[img]http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m302/wet ... GP8728.jpg[/img]
[img]http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m302/wet ... GP8734.jpg[/img]
[img]http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m302/wet ... GP9197.jpg[/img]
[img]http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m302/wet ... 000165.jpg[/img]

and this is it now, maturing nicely, just how much good it does towards reducing nitrates is debatable but in my case its more an extra addition to the water garden and an attractive addition to the pond and garden .If I can keep it with out harm to the fish then it will stay.

[img]http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m302/wet ... 000530.jpg[/img]
[img]http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m302/wet ... 000547.jpg[/img]
[img]http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m302/wet ... 000545.jpg[/img]
[img]http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m302/wet ... 000521.jpg[/img]

I'm posting this mainly as there have been a few posts regarding veggi beds and they get a lot of negative vibes but I think I've got a good method of keeping it clean,if things change i'll let you know.

[Gazza]

Hi Terry,

Thats a nice touch and very well done and i am sure that now all the old waste is gone it will be much better than before and it looks great

[B.Scott]

Do an ORP reading now and again over 6 weeks. I would be interested to see what the difference is.

B.Scott

[TerryKoi]

thanks Gaz its much easier to maintain now you just have to keep removing flowers and leaves as they die bake seems to work so far

Scotty I had such a headache with my orp tds and ph probes and monitors I turned them of some time ago and just left them . turned them back on this morning (had a day off ) just for you although they have not been cleaned, they have now settled down and the orp has settled at 297 I'll let you know how it turns out.
( that is I turned them back on just for you not had a day off )

looking through my book it use to average about 250 but as I say they have not been cleaned ..