Growing my own

D3PO

Right so Ive finally built some raised beds out the back to grow my own fruit and veg.

Could the more knowledgable on here tell me what i should do in terms of preparing these beds now for veg. What do I need to add in terms of soil, compost etc ?

also what is good to start growing at this time of the year

thanks

Callow Man

Good quality top soil and well rotted yard manure if you can get hold of some should do the trick.
Not sure if anything would grow outdoors at the moment, its still getting down to -6 here at night. Hopefully things should be good to go by the end of the month.

D3PO

ok thanks callow man and do i mix the manure and topsoil or put in the manure first then add the topsoil ?

Callow Man

Depends on the method you are using to sow, if you are sowing in sets or drills.
If its sets place the manure in first and cover with 4 or 5 inchs of topsoil

If using drills place the topsoil in first and make your drills placing the manure in the center of these and back fill the topsoil on top of the manure creating a new drill to sow your seed on top of.

Have never mixed the two but probably can be done that way also.

I sow cabbage and onions in sets and carrots, parsnips, scallions etc in drills.

wildlandscape

You could grow mustard seed as a green manure and dig it in in a month or so, whenever you are ready to sow your veg. Green manure adds nutrients to the soil and is good for preparation in raised beds. Its handy if you can't get manure.

lucylu

Dont sow carrots or parsnips (root veg) on freshly manured ground as they will fork instead of producing straight roots.
Carrots like a light sandy stone free well drained soil.

Graces7

Because of the weather, every available indoor surface is filled with pots and trays of seeds. Broad beans, peas, cabbage etc. And flowers.

Easy then to plant out etc IF the cold ever eases

D3PO

lucylu wrote: »

Dont sow carrots or parsnips (root veg) on freshly manured ground as they will fork instead of producing straight roots.
Carrots like a light sandy stone free well drained soil.

This is where it gets confusing for a noob like me. I built 4 beds because I read I should rotate diff types of veg and only have the same family in a bed once every 4 years to prevent disease.

So how wil lthat work if I have to have the beds configured in different ways

so how about this

I have 4 beds what should I look to plant in each bearing in mind Im a noob ?

And whilst Im on a roll I have a lovely mature plum tree down the back of the garden it bears loads of fruit every year only problem is 99% of it ends up pecked at by birds how do I prevent that ?

lucylu

take a look at the diagram on this allotment link it maybe helpful to you

http://aberaeronallotments.org/basics_preparation.htm

The last few diagrams look as if they are from
"The Vegetable and Herb Expert" by D.G. Hessayon is probably the best vegetable growing book. It can be got in Woodies, homebase, Amazon and many book shops.

looksee

Don't get too hung up on 'ideal' circumstances. Carrots do indeed prefer light sandy soil, but we have grown carrots on soil that, while it is not heavy clay, at the same time is not at all sandy. If you have half-decent soil, and continue to improve it over time, you will grow most veg ok. Potatoes are a good way of using a bed first time, traditionally spuds were always grown in a new garden.

Graces7

Bird netting over the tree...

D3PO

Graces7 wrote: »

Bird netting over the tree...

ok thanks never heard of bird netting before time to go google search

fodda

Never had much bother with birds and plenty of woodies around here aswell, i just put lots of tin foil on string across the beds when they are coming up that deters a lot of animals i think.

But dont plant out yet as we dont know if this frost has gone yet and that will do more damage than the birds.

MeerKat17

I grew my own veg for the first time last year, build a raised bed 5 ft by 3 ft and planted lettuce, scallions, red onions, white onions, broccolli, carrots. courgettes and spinach all in the same patch. Now its year 2, do I have to dig up a new patch to rotate crops, or what do I do?! As you can see I'm a noob at this!

fodda

No not really the first year is the worst as you are digging your vegetable patch for the first time but after that just make sure you dont grow the same veg in the same spot of soil the following year, in other words plant totally different veg in that raised bed this year.

MeerKat17

Thanks guys! I spent the day digging up another bed anyway, I'll grow what I grew last year in the new bed and put garlic, courgettes and something else in the old bed.... any suggestions on what else to grow? I was amazed at how easy and how fast courgettes were to grow!

fodda

Spuds are a good way of really breaking the soil up in a new veg patch.