WoodBlocX Raised Bed

I was thrilled to get a chance to review a raised bed from WoodBlocX. I'd seen different WoodBlocX kits reviewed on Sue's Our Plot At Green Lane Allotments blog and also Mark's Veg Plot blog so I had an idea of the type of raised beds the company supplies, it was just a matter of working out which size would work best for me.

The beds are delivered it kit form and there's so many different variations on size and design, in fact, the company don't only supply raised beds but also ponds, retaining walls, seats, planters and many other things too. Do take a look at the website.

I decided that the raised bed I was to review would be installed at the allotment, I thought it would be great for growing my root vegetables in, meaning that I could control the growing medium with it being contained in a raised bed, no more stony soil which makes the roots fork, and with a raised bed size of 2250 X 1125 X 450mm the depth would be ideal.

I was impressed with the speed of delivery and with the delivery company. The kit arrived on a pallet and the driver brought it right to where I wanted it. It was well packaged and I could see that the instructions for construction were included.

Now I'm not one for DIY so the construction of the raised bed was left to Mick. He decided that he'd start building it on the patio, getting the corner pieces sorted out before moving it all down to the allotment.

He was very impressed that it was so easy to build, very much like building with lego, a piece at a time.

Mick thought the instructions were very good, though Mick being Mick, he didn't follow them to the letter but still managed to build the bed without any trouble at all.

Once the corners had been dealt with, Mick decided he'd move everything down to the plot to finish it off in situ. He found it easier to barrow the pieces from the site gate to the plot, which is at the other end of the site. Notice our smart new wheelbarrow, the old one finally gave up the ghost.

The area where the raised bed was going to be positioned was dug over, prepared and levelled and then it was on with completing the construction.

The corner pieces he'd already put together were laid out and then further pieces added to start building the height.

Plastic dowels, which are hammered in to the pre drilled holes, hold the pieces together.

Mick kept an eye on the measurements throughout the build to ensure it was all going together correctly and squarely.

It's obviously important that the bed is level so a spiril level was employed to make sure that everything was straight.

It didn't take long until each level had been built up and then it was time for the capping to be added.

More dowels were added to the top layer of blocks.

The dowels then needed to be sawed to size.

The last job was adding the capping and then the bed was complete.

Some of the compost from our plot compost bin was emptied in to the bed.

We'd saved all the old buckets of compost which we'd grown potatoes in last year so that too was added to the bed.

The bed's now full and waiting to be used.

As you can see, it's a very smart raised bed for an allotment site, but it should do the job very well. I'm expecting great things from my carrots and parsnips this year.

I'd definitely recommend WoodBlocX, right from arranging the delivery through to completing the build, it's been plain sailing. The bed itself looks very smart and I'm sure it will last years, the wood is very good quality and should stand up to plenty of wear and tear.

The price of a bed of this size is £261.32 but it was supplied to me free of charge. I have not been paid for writing this review and all opinions are my own and Mick's.