Gardening: Bedding down can make for a more comfortable experience

Planting in purpose-built allotment beds can mean less weeding, less digging and better care for the soil. That was more than enough incentive to get me started on building them recently.

There are already some older beds on my plot, but most are too large to be worked on from the path side and the soil ends up being trampled on.

New beds are made only wide enough so you can comfortably reach the middle from the path. The theory is that as there's no need to step on the soil, and so compact the structure, there's less need to dig and planting can be closer together to reduce space for weeds.

There's rarely just one way or right way to do anything on a plot and it's often a case of gathering information and just giving it a go. The best advice I got was from a fellow plot holder's father, Eddie. He had built some fine, wooden- edged beds for his daughter's much-admired plot so I had a standard to aim for that I could see.

The wood I found for free from industrial sites, skips, a neighbour's old pine bed and the remnants of a friend's house extension. It was bargain-hunting at its best.

To make the wooden frame I needed no less than a four-inch depth of clean wood. Six-inch is better but it's been more difficult to find for free.

The length of beds will vary, and smaller pieces of wood can be joined together, but it should never be so long that you walk on the soil rather than go round to reach from the other side.

The wooden frame is secured in place by 2in by 2in stakes of about a foot in length, with the ends sawn to a point to make them easier to fix into the soil. I am almost finished my beds now and will secure the stakes to the wooden frame by nails. Screws can be used, but I find it easier to hammer.

I doubt it was my courgette cake that did the trick (glut of courgettes courtesy of plot-holder Dave who was about to go on holiday), but there's been no lack of generosity and help on the allotment.

Eddie offered to cut and saw some stakes, for instance. I then cut several practice stakes and used them to secure the edge of one of the common paths.

The final step will be to fully assemble the frame "off bed". I tried hammering in each stake first then nailing it to the wooden frame, but the stakes were wobbly and sloped. This time the frame will be assembled upside down, with the corners of the frame held secure by the nailed stakes. Holes will be dug into the soil, at the exact point the stakes are to go in. The frame will then be turned the right way up and hammered into place so the bottom edge sits just on top of the soil. A spirit level is a must - few plots are flat. Unfortunately many days of wind and heavy rain have postponed the final assembly. But I'm quite confident this is the start of something good.

• Lorraine Corbett, from Leith, has been a plot holder at the Ferry Road Allotments for nine years.