Your choice really - pressure treated timber will last a few years, untreated/new railway sleepers look lovely and last forever..... The thing to avoid is creosote, it can poison the soil touching it. I personally have never had a problem with it but that is the advice given now.
If you make the bed from sleepers, go two sleepers high - I know it costs a lot but it gives a border edge you can sit on! And trust me, everyone will want to! Try and make the beds no wider than you can comfortably reach to the middle of from the side. 4' to 4'6" internal width. Then you shouldn't need to tread on the soil too often.
Soil is fine - you might like to add manure since you will have the barrow out. Several supplies exist who will deliver top soil and/or soil mixed with manure and/or manure assuming you don't have a handy supply.
Remember that you will need to tread the soil down - about every 4" layer - or it will be too fluffy for most crops and expect it to settle a good few inches, despite the treading, over the winter.
Last edited by TPeers; 02-09-2007 at 10:38 AM.
Reason: missed an 's'
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