Vegetable beds in SMALL yard!

dave_eire

Hi all,

Firstly thank you very much for taking the time to read this and any advise, comment or criticism will be greatly appreciated.

I have a very small yard at the back of the house (9ft * 6ft of useable space), while this is a small area, it gets reasonable sun and is quite sheltered (all white walls too, for a bit of bounce).



I have successfully grown tomatoes, lettuces, herbs, courgettes in pots over the past 2 years. This year I would like to build beds in the yard. My plan is to build an L shaped bed (or 2 beds) along the existing walls, 1: 6ft * 3ft and the other 6ft * 1.5 ft.



By my calculations, this should be room for 4 - 5 tomato plants, a good amount of herds and salads (planted every 2-3 weeks). Does anyone think that this is unrealistic - there's only me and the wife.

I am planning on building the beds quite crudely... I am going to bolt some timber to the walls and then run lattes across this (top and bottom) and attach a "wall" of planks to the lattes:



I then plan on filling the "box" about 4in with large stones DIRECTLY onto the existing concrete slab of the. I then plan on putting a few layers of pebbles on top of these and then fill up nearly all the way with compost. I was thinking of getting stones from the beach - would this be a problem? I plan on making to boxes with about 14-16in of compost (I grew my toms last year in 12in deep pots).




Does anyone see anything wrong/ bad/ better way to achieve what I am looking for?

Also, is there anything I could build in to hamper the slugs and snails - past years has been a touch in the evenings!

Thanks a lot,

D

artieanna

Sounds good, but in the overhead view I notice that you are boxing the beds in with more lats than is necessary. I would box the bed (rectangle) then put a lat in the middle for strength but no more and you will not be restricted to sowing within the square section. Some plants need more space than others, this will leave you with larger working area...

Good luck with it!

MayoForSam

Beer traps for the slugs (of course you will need to drink the rest of the can )!

dave_eire

Thanks folks,

I agree with overhead - i will see what is needed supportwise as I am building it. Would you recommend any cheap planks? Or just normal ones in the hardware store, treated with a fence treatment?

Thanks for the beer trap suggestion, although unlesss I can find a way to hide the slugs/ snails inside, its a no go, the wife FREAKS over slugs!!! Ill have a think about this!

Thanks again!

Also, on a completely unrelated note, any idea where I can find a garden center to buy a rosemary plant (preferably southside dublin)? Mine dies over the winter, sage and thyme survived though!!

Thanks!

D

Reyman

Be careful what you use to treat the planks. Some of those anti rot treatments are pretty toxic to plants (and humans). Stay away from railway sleepers if you're growing vegetables (carcinogenic)

artieanna

Reyman wrote: »

Be careful what you use to treat the planks. Some of those anti rot treatments are pretty toxic to plants (and humans). Stay away from railway sleepers if you're growing vegetables (carcinogenic)

absolutely right, you don't want to end up eating chemicals!!:eek:
I don't really know what works best for raised beds, I use ridges for my veg as I've plenty of space;).

As for the slugs for green veg (cabbage, lettuce etc) sprinkle hydrated lime (reg building lime) around the plants, don't touch the plants with it as it will burn them. The slugs won't cross it or touch it, then just top it up from time to time.