Forum home› Fruit & veg
This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.

Hoping to grow a bit of veg

Digweed51Digweed51 Posts: 28
in Fruit & veg
Hi all.
I'm considering creating an area in the garden for trying my hand at a bit of veg growing.
Never had the pleasure of doing this but would like to give it a go.

Main question I have is how much depth of soil do I need to grow? Looking to create some staged bedding using scaffolding planks. Could the planks be set on loose pebbles and the framework filled with good soil? or is it the best policy to fit the staging directly onto earth then filled with good growing medium? 

Posts

  • purplerallimpurplerallim Posts: 5,287
    As long as it is free draining it's ok to put your veg bed on top. Line the boards with old compost bags or similar to stop them rotting. Make sure they are robust as it will have alot of weight to deal with. As for depth mine are tall as I wanted to plant potatoes 70cm , but anything from 30cm would work. Shallow for things like lettuce, spring onions, deeper for beetroot or carrots and deep for potatoes. Hope this helps.😁
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    We have always made our raised beds just one plank deep and put them directly on the soil.   The only extra depth came from any soil scooped out when levelling paths and adding well-rotted compost and manure over ths seasons to maintain fertility.

    If you want to grow potatoes, you need enough depth to allow you to earth up the rows as the plants grow as that gives extra tubers and also protects the tubers from sunlight.  Green potatoes can make you ill.

    Carrots need soft, well draining soil and protection from carrot fly which can only fly up to 20" 50cms above the ground so a tall, wide pot of good John Innes type compost will solve that problem for you.

    Brassicas need netting to keep off the butterflies whose caterpillars will decimate your crop so think about adding some supports for netting or making a netted frame you can move round with your crop rotation.

    Salad leaves need some shelter for the midday sun in summer, plenty of moisture to help them grow quickly and have tender leaves and protection from slugs.

    What are you thinking of trying?
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • Digweed51Digweed51 Posts: 28
    Obelixx said:

    What are you thinking of trying?
    To start with, just the usual common stuff, like carrots, lettuce, onions, potatoes, cabbage plus some small stuff like spring onions and the like.
    Just trying out to start with, would like to get a bit more adventurous with success and practise.
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    I find spring onions do better in a window box nearer the kitchen where I can keep an eye on them.

    You may be able to find plugs of small cabbage plants that can go in now if the site is fairly sheltered.   Japanese/over-wintering onions can also go in now and so can garlic.   Potatoes are for spring planting.  Carrots are for spring sowing and so are most salad leaves.  There are some that can be grown and harvested over autumn and winter but they need to have been sown back in August.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • purplerallimpurplerallim Posts: 5,287
    This is what the hubby did for me on the site of an old shed (actually the beds are made from the shed😁) in march so have just had my first growing year.

  • Allotment BoyAllotment Boy Posts: 6,774
    Obelixx said:


    If you want to grow potatoes, you need enough depth to allow you to earth up the rows as the plants grow as that gives extra tubers and also protects the tubers from sunlight.  Green potatoes can make you ill.


    According to the no dig guru Charles Dowding you can "compost up" potatoes rather than traditional earthing up (scraping soil up over the plants). He advises just pulling the plants up at harvest time. 
    AB Still learning

  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    That works but the year we did it we had reduced yields.  Might have been affected by rainfall being a bit low tho.   Certainly easier than earthing up the traditional way.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • bookmonsterbookmonster Posts: 399
    You may still find chard plants now, and broad/field beans can be sown now
Sign In or Register to comment.