Hoops and Raised Beds - help!

Please can you help/advise me..... When I first saw your raised beds ideas I started singing their praises to members of my family. I'm glad I did, because I am getting a  birthday present in the form of two 4ft x 2ft x 1ft deep raised beds !  

I'm getting on a bit in age nowadays, so it will be great to have these all put together for me. Lovely - but am concerned now because I can't work out what hoops I will need to use for fleece and the insect-proof netting. (Both of which I will need as the garden birds, including collared doves and wood pigeons, are daily visitors and I am planning to grow carrots, lettuces, onions, perpetual spinach, courgette and some herbs in the raised beds.)   Am also planning some early potatoes in containers nearby.

Please can you advise on the sizes of the metal hoops I shall need for each of the two ? Was thinking that it would be easier to use the round clips to fix netting/fleece - is that right ?

I do hope you can help....  

Regards,

June  

Many thanks for your recent message regarding our raised beds and your efforts to extol the virtues of these products to your family – we’re exceedingly grateful!   As your beds are quite small (4ft x 2ft equates to 1.2m x 60cm in metric) you will have to place your hoops along the 4ft side - the smallest hoops we manufacture are 36” (or 92cm) in width. You will only require 2 hoops per bed and I’d suggest you go for the Fitted Hoops made for a 4ft x 4ft bed. These hoops measure 42” (108cm) in width and stand 41” (104cm) in height, giving you plenty of growing space, and are supplied with brackets which simply screw to the inside of the raised bed.   Alternatively, you could decide to build a frame from the Aluminium Tubing and Build-a-Ball components we supply. We have various lengths of tubing available which you can trim to fit the size of bed you are receiving, and using the build-a-balls enables you to join the tubes together – then you simply drape the netting over the frame you’ve constructed!   It might also be worth considering using our Anti-Bird Netting to cover your hoops or frame if the biggest threat you anticipate to your crops are birds. The insect mesh netting is perfect for keeping tiny pests such as aphids or whitefly off susceptible crops – it’s particularly good for preventing carrot fly attacks when used as a barrier – but it does restrict the amount of light (around 20%) and rainfall available to the plants underneath, as well as completely excluding beneficial and pollinating insects.   Fixing the fleece and whichever netting you decide upon is simple, and the Plastic Hoop Clips you mention are certainly the best option. If you decide to use the aluminium tubing, then the Swivel Connecting Clips are just as adept at securing the netting; simply twist and separate the clips and push them onto the netting and tube. The net can be fixed to the soil with our Steel Ground Pegs,   Fleece/Ground Cover Pegs or if you don’t want to make holes in the material, the Cling-On Clips are ideal.   I hope this information is of help and has answered your queries, rather than thrown up a few more for you to consider! Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you’ve any other questions, many thanks for both your message and your valued custom, and best wishes for a successful year in the garden!                   Martin