Fruit and Vegetables: Grow Your Own

Re: Raised bed advice

Granger — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 21:37:08 GMT

I bought myself a raised bed last year and grew a lot of the same things you are planning to grow you can see how I got on here http://www.vegdork.com/growers/budgie Raised beds are great, so much easier to sow seeds and keep weed free, no bending down! Wish I had more room for more beds. I filled mine with top soil then added compost to just one end and left the other with just top soil. I sowed root veg and onions in the top soil side.

Re: Raised bed advice

madmuncher — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 07:23:03 GMT

All those veg you mentioned are fine to grow together..they are classed as 'salad' stuff so no problems with competition in there. Fennel can grow bit larger so give it more room.

I would say with your size beds..one of two beds should yield plenty of 'salad stuff'' for several people so you have plenty of room to explore other veg too...how about some dwarf (bush) 'french' beans for half a bed and other half some 'container' cherry tomatoes..you could fit quite few plants in that space and yield loooads of small cherry tomatoes..that type of varieties are many listed on cataloques and shops.

And you still have room for much more...

As for the the bed filling..soil is good..too much compost will shrink away from the edges of the bed when it dry out and re-wetting can be bit trouble..so any of those crops mentioned added compost into beds is suitable..but mix it well into soil. You don't have to get the compost in deep as salad crops don't have very deep root system. They will benefit its presence in few top inches of the bed.

I would use soil as the 'main' incredient and think any compost/manure as 'soil conditioner'..bit like butter on slice of bread..to make it all that more nicer and palatable.. If you don't have access into home made-garden compost, shop bought will do. Any manure would need to be 'well rotted' as fresh will be too strong for many plants and result burning their roots before they have chance to grow...and with salad stuff that is eaten uncooked it is better not to use it nearby when freshly added anyway. Some pathogens may lurk in it to spoil you food. Once manure has been in ground for while it safe and don't do any harm. Potatoes will benefit with lot of well rotted manure..and by the time you dig spud up..manure has been in ground for months and you don't eat potatoes raw neither so there is no health issues involved.

Good luck with you 'venture..may the crops be plentiful and weather on your side this coming season..

Don't hesitate drop some more questions if you are not sure of something..once you've done it first time..there is no going back and it is much more easier there on. You've done the hard bit now with creating the growing space..enjoy!

Re: Raised bed advice

NRB — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 12:56:38 GMT

The best compost is either home-made, or that which you can get for free from a local recycling centre - otherwise you'll be paying more for compost than the value of the crop which you will grow in it.

Just recently, we brought back over 1000litres (15-20 sacks of 50-75litre capacity each) of compost to fill three raised beds of 1.5x1.0x0.25m. The retail cost of such compost would have been £50-£75.

Re: Raised bed advice

rhiannon — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 07:57:16 GMT

Forgot to say the bed is only 20cm higher than the surrounding ground. It's already partly filled with soil but would also like to know what the best type of compost to put on it is.

Re: Raised bed advice

rhiannon — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 07:52:55 GMT

Thanks for your reply, I was thinking of doing radishes, lettuces, fennel and spring onions as these are things I eat a lot of. Do these things work together? I was also thinking of doing garlic or onions but was hoping to do those over the winter. Would that work?

Re: Raised bed advice

madmuncher — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 20:37:22 GMT

How about posting list of fruit and veg that you would like to eat..then it is easy to start grouping plants together that like each others company and are realistic choices to grow on raised beds.

How high are your beds? It is good that you haven't rushed to fill the beds yet..once you have growing plan together you can then prepare the soil for each crops needs.

Raised bed advice

rhiannon — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 19:15:27 GMT

I am new to vegetable gardening and have just spent several days preparing a raised bed. It's 3m by 1m and in a sunny spot. I haven't added any compost or manure yet but have turned over the soil and removed lots of big stones! I am looking for some advice as to how to get the best out of it, what to grow and what grows well together. We are 5 people so ideally would like fruit or veg that will provide a lot! Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you.