Building raised beds this weekend, suggestions please!

This will be my first vegetable garden. Started preparing the soil, adding lots of manure and making compost a year ago, but to no avail. Pure clay 6 inches down. Tried spring crops of radishes and lettuce, neither grew well. I think the radishes actually attempted to grow above the soil because it was too dense. Anyhow, will be building raised beds. I am thinking 2 or 3 beds 5 feet long and 2-3 feet wide. Already have a cucumber raised bed with trellis and a climbing green bean bed, so have to work around the raised beds I put in without thinking about it. I will be putting tomatoes and bell peppers, maybe carrots, in the beds so any special amendment advice is welcome. Would love to see pictures of your raised bed success stories. What are the specs on your raised beds? What do you wish you had done differently? What really works in your favor?

The picture is of all my growing seedlings waiting to go NOT into the clay pit, but lovely soft soil. ;)

Bunsengirl I have used my raised beds for 4 years. I used the lasagna method and I just add soil when needed.

I revamped them this year. I should say the whole area this year. I used old rabbit cages I cut down and lined with black plastic which lasted 4 years probably could of gotten another year out of them. But after I did the first one and found out how easy it was I finished them all. Large pots I added this year. Yellow one is a dryer drum but that only has flowers in it. I don't know what is in the paint on it! The small square pots I have grown tomatoes in. I think they are 12 inch pots.

Rabbit cages are 2x4 foot about 10 inches high. I rotate tomatoes peas,beans radish ,carrots,zucchini,lettuce and cucumbers. plant up as much as possible.

As you can see I reuse items as much as possible and when I set this up at first money was tight so used what I had or could find. The lg pots I bought end of season last year for $4 ea. The smaller ones I have had for 5-6 years.

Here is a closeup of the rabbit cage bed after being relined. Off to the side is our 2nd year of planting corn in that patch. I added some pototaes this year also. Love to grow potatoes.

Well here is a pic of my creation. It is made of cedar boards 5/4 x 8 which I bought at the Depot for around $17 for each 12 foot section. I had the material company drop off 5 cubic yards of topsoil/loam and 2 cubic yards of sand which I mixed together. In the Center is the strawberry pyramid that you can buy in almost any seed/plant catalog. I know that it's not necessary but I was a bit nostalgic remembering the one my grandparents had, so I wanted one of my own. Anyway, I chose cedar boards over pressure or green treated due to conflicting data on the safety of "treated wood" and soil contamination. If it were just for me I would have used cheaper treated wood, however, I have a young child and her cousins that will hopefully be eating mountains of fresh produce this summer and I didn't want to take any chances. And when the cedar does finally decompose it can be simply composted into the soil and that will force me the redesign everything all over which I look forward to because I already want to make changes. The outside dimensions are 20' each side and 12' on the interior with a 6 foot by 6 foot square in the middle for the berry pyramid. Any other questions just ask.

Here is one my wife took from inside the house during "construction". Gives a better view of the berry pyramid.

bunsengirl,
I am growing my garden in hay bales and tires. Actually they are straw bales. You can find more info on this forum, Vegetable Gardening. All of us that are using it are having the time of our lives. Go to the forum and you can see pictures.
God Bless.

Here is a pic of my raised beds.
They are 4 feet wide so can be easily reached from each side. They are different lengths- one is 14 feet long and that is way too long - bulged at the middle and we had to put 'come along's in to pull the boards back together!
I would not make the beds longer than 8 feet.
Mine are made from 8 inch spruce - two are 16 inchs high and one is 22 inchs - probably I will have to raise the lower beds in a few years but we left the posts in the corners high so all I need to do is add the boards.
I have cobblestone walks, 2 feet wide between beds - (wide enough for a walker should it become necessary!)

These are all lovely lovely beds! We made one 4 ft wide and 5 ft long because of space constraints and will probably build another soon. Pictures are forthcoming and I really appreciated the input! I agree that 4 ft wide is as wide as I'd ever want to go. It's still a good reach for this short midwestern girl (originally from Indiana, just living in Austin for the time being). I wish I had enough lumber to go 16 to 22 inches high but the soil cost alone would kill me! Looks fantastic fancyvan!!!!! I have seen some of the results of the bale gardening, lonejack, but don't know where I'd buy them. After they've been used one or two seasons do you throw them in your compost?

bunsengirl