New Vegetable Patch : Help Needed
RickBrown
Posts: 2
Good afternoon people.
I'm not sure whether this should be here or in "garden design", but i'll try here, and see what responses i get 
I should also mention, I have ZERO experience in gardening, but TONS of enthusiasm!!
Ok.. I have a small, raised vegetable plot (1.5m x 2m). Its a walled end of a garden, so have 3 walls to allow for climbing veg, but may result in limited sunlight hours due to shade. I think the area will receive summer sun shine from 9-10am thru to 3-4pm. The back garden is on the east face of my house.
I have dug through the plot, removed as many weeds/roots etc that my back can handle 
and mixed in a small amount of compost (only half a bag that i had in the garage).
I am wondering whether mixing 50 litres of manure and 50 litres of compost into it, is the right thing to do next?
Then some suggestions, of what to plant in this plot. I'm hoping for things like : potatoes, cabbages, onions, carrots, maybe lettuce, tomatoes etc. I do also have a clear plastic greenhouse that I can use for starting these vegetables.
Am i on the right track? Or does anyone have any better suggestions for this plot?
Thanks in advance..
Posts
Hi rickbrown, sounds like you have a good head start with your veg plot, i'm sure the others will be better to advise but why not utilise other things for some veg like potato bags, pots and collapsable raised beds for the likes of salad leaves, i've just invested in some of those from marshalls, i thought i would try growing salads in those. I do have room for a few potatoes and I personally always grow charlottes, maybe a cucumber to train up the wall? so exciting for you ?
It's up to you what you grow. when people ask me I always say grow what you like to eat! That said with a relatively small plot like this I would concentrate on crops that really benefit from being harvested and eaten very fresh, & or varieties not widely available in the shops. Salads, Toms, Peas, Beans (all types) etc. Home grown new potatoes are a taste sensation BUT they take up a lot of room, though you can follow on with other crops after harvest. Cabbage etc similar to spuds but they tend to be in the ground a long time 12-14 weeks at least. It's not easy but try to plan to follow on with another crop as soon as first is harvested. Use protection, fleece, cloches etc to extend season.
Good luck happy growing
^^ defo
thanks once again guys.. i'm thinking i might write a blog about the transformation from "backyard" to "farmyard"
.If you are a bit short on sunlight hours on the plot, Lettuce tribe and cabbage tribe plants better tolerate less sun.
Also, my favourite is strawberries. They always seem to do well providing they get some direct sun sduring the day even if shaded the rest of the time. They fitr in well between other plants and are easy to move if you need the space for other stuff
Spuds in tyres works well.
4 stacked tyres should do it. Make sure the soil is very rich and add another tyre and more soil when the potato shoots start coming.
Sounds as though you are on track with your veg plot.
My own tips are:
Only grow what you and your family love to eat
With a small space it is more important to grow those things which are either impossible to buy squeaky fresh (eg peas) or are expensive to buy and which you would like to use a lot of. For me that is a nice mix of different salad leaves and fresh herbs which I can then cut by the handful whenever I need them.
Some crops will give you more value. eg young beetroot leaves can be harvested as a salad or stir fry crop while the beet is developing. Tender young pea / mange tout shoots also make a delicious addition to salads or stir fries and can be picked before the pea pods develop. Many salad leaves are 'cut and come again' - ie you can cut off leaves and leave the stem in the ground which will reshoot for another harvest. This can be done 2 or 3 times per plant.
Fresh potatoes are delicious but are better grown in bags or tyres as suggested above if space is limited.
Enjoy!
Forgot to say I would train fruit up the walls. Raspberries -always more expensive to buy than strawbs for some reason. Easier to grow & personally I prefer the taste too. Blackberries, Loganberries and other hybrid berries all great too can still grow your salad & veg in front.