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Wooden raised bed for vegetables

Updated: 21 October 2026

You have the timber, and you are about to order soil as if the wall height were the root depth. A wooden raised bed for vegetables only works if the crop matches a real soil depth, then a frame that can hold it. The RHS uses about 30 cm for salads and strawberries, and 45 cm or more for most other plants. None of these seven kits reaches 45 cm. Prices stay on the [wooden raised bed comparison](/hub/raised-beds-greenhouses-and-compost/raised-bed-wood). Peter F. checked the listings on 20 October 2026. No grow-out. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You have the timber, and you are about to order soil as if the wall height were the root depth. A wooden raised bed for vegetables only works if the crop matches a real soil depth, then a frame that can hold it.

Our top picks

Eco Wood Fuel Eco Wood Fuel pallet-wood bed

Best overall

Eco Wood Fuel Eco Wood Fuel pallet-wood bed
7.9/10about £44.99
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Quickcrop Quickcrop 4 ft starter bed

Rank 2

Quickcrop Quickcrop 4 ft starter bed
8.2/10about £39.95
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Conka Garden Conka 60 × 90 × 30 cm

Rank 3

Conka Garden Conka 60 × 90 × 30 cm
8.0/10about £51
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Depth by crop
  2. 2.What to put in the frame
  3. 3.Open soil, clay and paving
  4. 4.Paths and reach

Depth by crop

External height is not fill depth. Leave about 5 cm below the rim, so a 30 cm kit holds less than 30 cm of mix. On open soil, roots can continue downwards. On paving, the wall is the whole root zone. Which? says you want at least 30 cm on a hard surface because roots cannot leave the frame. Do not borrow Which? kit scores. Eco at 120 × 60 cm, Conka at 60 × 90 cm and Conka at 90 × 90 cm are the clear 30 cm walls, plus the Conka row that may be 60 × 120 cm. None reaches the RHS 45 cm line. Quickcrop is 17.78 cm and two Conka kits are 15 cm. Those suit low herbs on soil that is already a bed. They are the wrong buy for carrots on heavy clay.

What to put in the frame

The RHS mix is seven parts topsoil, three parts organic matter and two parts horticultural sharp sand, to about 5 cm below the rim. Compost alone slumps, so you must add soil. Raised beds dry faster than in-ground rows. There is no litre-per-week figure in the sources used here. Listing litres are seller claims. Eco states 216 litres. The 180 × 90 × 15 cm Conka states 243 litres, which is area, not depth. A rule of thumb, because internal sizes are missing: length × width × fill depth in metres, times 1,000, plus settling. For Eco, 1.2 × 0.6 × 0.25 m is 180 litres before settling. That sits below the 216 litre claim, so label both. One UK review cites three 60-litre bags for the Quickcrop square.
Eco Wood Fuel Eco Wood Fuel pallet-wood bed

Testsieger

Eco Wood Fuel Eco Wood Fuel pallet-wood bed
7.9/10about £44.99
View offer

Open soil, clay and paving

These frames have open bottoms. On clay, water can leave and roots can try the ground, but a pan under the bed still holds winter wet. The clay does not become a raised bed because you stood timber on it. On a well-dug allotment, a 30 cm wall plus the soil below can carry more than salads. On paving, 30 cm is the crop list and 15 cm is herbs. A drainage hole on the 90 × 90 cm Conka still describes an open frame on soil, not a boarded trough. A liner is weed control, or a barrier if you painted preservative yourself. It is not a floor. Creosote sleepers are a legal no, not a way to buy depth.

Paths and reach

The RHS stays under 1.5 m so you can reach the crop without stepping on it. A 60 cm bed leaves a generous path. A 90 cm square is comfortable from all sides. Quickcrop’s 122 cm square is still inside 1.5 m if you can walk around it. The Conka listing that prints both 60 × 120 cm and 120 × 120 cm is the row you must not path-plan until one figure is true. Buy the frame that matches the depth you actually have. The criteria page is the wooden raised bed buying guide.

Common questions

How deep for salads versus carrots?
The RHS uses about 30 cm for salads, strawberries and dwarf bulbs, and 45 cm or more for most other plants. Carrots want the deeper band, or open soil under a 30 cm wall. None of these kits is 45 cm. On paving, treat the wall as the whole depth.
Can the 7 inch Quickcrop bed grow herbs and lettuce?
Yes, if you accept a shallow mix, or if the soil below is already improved. It is 17.78 cm externally, so fill depth is less than that. It is a poor first bed on paving or on raw clay if those leaves were meant to be a full vegetable plot.
What mix should fill the bed?
Seven parts topsoil, three organic matter, two horticultural sharp sand, to about 5 cm below the rim, from the RHS. Compost only slumps. There is no watering timetable in the sources we used, only the note that raised beds dry faster.
How do you estimate litres?
External length × width × fill depth in metres × 1,000, as a rule of thumb, plus settling. Internal sizes are not in these files. Eco’s 216 litres and the 180 × 90 × 15 cm Conka’s 243 litres are listing claims. The 4.05 cubic feet line on the small Conka is a conflict, not a conversion to follow.
How wide a path on an allotment?
About 45 cm if a barrow must pass, about 70 cm to 1 m in Ealing’s public note, and about 1 m if a wheelchair is the design case. Measure the path before you pick a 122 cm square that needs walking space on all sides.
What changes on paving?
Roots cannot continue downwards, so wall height is the crop list. Which?’s public line wants at least 30 cm on a hard surface. The 15 cm kits become herb strips. Water also runs onto the paving, which is a neighbour problem as well as a plant one.

Related pages

How to assemble a wooden raised bed

Treated or untreated raised bed timber

Wood raised bed

Best wooden raised bed kit UK: the job you need now

Wooden raised bed buying guide: height, then timber

Sources

Public UK and manufacturer sources, last checked on 20 October 2026.

  1. RHS, How to make a raised bed (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  2. RHS, Growing veg in raised beds (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  3. RHS, Using sustainable materials (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  4. Wood Protection Association, Treated wood and raised beds (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  5. BSW, Specifying, buying and installing UC4 treated timber (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  6. Creosote (Prohibition on Use and Marketing) Regulations 2003 (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  7. House of Commons Library, Creosote and telegraph poles (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  8. Wood Protection Association, Buyer guide to preservative-treated wood (retrieved 20 October 2026)