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Veg didn't do well in raised beds

I moved a year ago, inheriting several raised beds which had obviously not had much organic matter added to them for a long time.  I put in a few bags of farmyard manure from a garden centre and also quite a large quantity of alpaca poo given by a neighbour.  Despite this, apart from courgettes and runner beans, the veg - fennel, carrots, beetroot, were very small in size.  Any ideas about why this would be?  I did water in dry spells. 

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  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Recently manured ground isn't good for carrots.  :)
    I suspect you haven't watered enough - raised beds dry out very quickly. The depth of soil might be a factor too.  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • raisingirlraisingirl Posts: 7,093
    edited September 2021
    Fairy's right that carrots will never do well in recently manured ground (they tend to fork). And it could be watering, although if runner beans and courgettes did well, that would suggest there was enough water and richness in the soil. Possibly those two greedy, thirsty plants were taking it all and the rest was suffering, so perhaps you're growing things too close together.

    The weather has been really odd this year though, and has created some quite strange effects, so it may not be your growing conditions at all.

    You sound like you're doing the right things and you have had some success, so try again next year, space the thirsty plants a bit further from the more sensitive ones  - fennel, for example, is a difficult one to grow at the sort of size you see in supermarkets. Until you've got about 5 years experience, it's hard to distinguish what is a problem with your soil or microclimate and what is just weather.
    Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon

    “It's still magic even if you know how it's done.” 
  • Thx Fairygirl and raisingirl - I suspect I didn't water enough too - I have never grown anything in raised beds before - they probably needed watering more often than I did. The runner beans and courgettes were in a separate bed from the other stuff, but some leeks next to the beans and courgettes didn't do very well either.  I will water more in future years. 
  • Carrots and parsnips will do fine in manured or composted beds as long as it's not dug in. 
    I suspect they were too close. Just keep trying different veg over the seasons & keep adding compost or manure in late autumn/early winter - I'm biased toward the no-dig method so personally I'd just lay it on the surface. Also don't grow stuff you don't like to eat - sounds obvious but many do - and don't fret if you have disasters either. Everybody does.

    This may be of interest:

    https://charlesdowding.co.uk/
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Worth doing a bit of general research [ you can use this forum for that too ] regarding what each veg's requirements are @indigosky63, as that will help you get the best from your beds next time. 
    It can all be very confusing until you get the hang of each plant   :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • Thanks everyone :-) 
  • nick615nick615 Posts: 1,487
    If your raised beds aren't in good condition, you might consider whether or not you'll renew them, i.e. they weren't your idea.  Natural ground, in my experience, seems to require much less attention than RB's - which is why I'd never have them.
  • Thx nick - I'm certainly considering what you say. 
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