Gardening Raised bed and root invasion

[gardengrl2230]

I have a raised bed (12" high) that I have to clean out every year due to these red roots that show up in large amounts. They are depleting my soil also. Will building a taller bed help with the issue or what options do I have?

Very frustrated.....

 

[Mandy Onderwater]

It's very hard to help identify your issue without any pictures. If it is what I think it is, check this page out.
Perhaps your bed is already depleted or struggling and the red/pink roots are a sign of this happening. Which were/are you trying to grow in it?

Pink Root

Onions, chives, and garlic plants with pink roots are not happy. This disease rarely causes significant problems in garlic but can shrink your onion and chive harvests by quite a bit.

www.thedailygarden.us

 

[JP 1983]

I concur with Mandy - there's a lot of missing information here. What's growing next to the bed? Are the roots invading from outside or are they the remnants after a harvest?

Hugelkultur may help with the former, because the logs will create a barrier at the bottom of the raised bed and prevent outside root invasion (and save you some soil, which you can use for potting or another bed!)

 

[Mark]

I have a raised bed (12" high) that I have to clean out every year due to these red roots that show up in large amounts. They are depleting my soil also. Will building a taller bed help with the issue or what options do I have?

Very frustrated.....

You can get root barriers or weed mats for the base of raised beds that will allow water through but not roots. Root barriers are usually made from recycled plastic and are long-lasting. Put the mats or liners in the base of the garden bed and then backfill.

The other thing that can work to an extent depending on the trees and the root systems is rubble in the base of the bed. A heavy rubble rock will allow drainage and make it difficult for the roots to grow up but you might need to make the beds deeper to allow for the extra fill.

 

[t4ms]

You can get root barriers or weed mats for the base of raised beds that will allow water through but not roots. Root barriers are usually made from recycled plastic and are long-lasting. Put the mats or liners in the base of the garden bed and then backfill.

If you don't have the cash I recycled an old bit of shade cloth that I discovered in a bin. I recently moved that bed and all the kikuyu underneath was dead. The bed had a good 5 cm of shade cloth on the outside to prevent anything snaking in from the corners etc.