Having already taken out 2 raised beds, I am about to start removing a third one. This one has been the least productive of all of the beds and it is going to be a challenge. The first job is to dig out the beds and expose the blocks so that they can be split and removed. It is my hope to recover at least half of the blocks for re-use.
Digging out the first corner required the removal and re-potting of a gooseberry bush, then the removal of the soil. This proved to be a hammer and chisel job, as the soil was so hard and compacted. I have placed 2 marker pegs in the section, the upper one marks the start of a hard-pan layer and the lower one marks the point at which I started to find earth worms and wire-worms in the soil.
Having dug out one corner, I started on the next corner. Using a heavy duty screwdriver and a tub was the easiest way of digging out the hard and compacted soil. The idea was to dig down to the base of the blocks and expose everything that needs removing.
Having weakened the middle soil bridge, that was easy to chop out with a spade from the edges.
A strip has now been exposed along one side of the raised bed and it is ready to start the removal process which will involve a disc cutter, lump hammer and set of cold chisels. As the vertical joints are staggered, each block will have to be cut out individually. The solid block to the top left of the image is the corner blocks of the last bed to be removed. They will also need cutting down to 3 individual blocks.
Time for lunch! ............
Once this bed has been removed (The third in a row), the ground can be leveled ready to sow grass and return its use to lawn.
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