Raised beds

[kitty&eric]

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN.
Kitty & Eric are pleased to announce that this year we will start to grow our own veg.
i plan to have 3 plots roughly 8ft x 8ft each. Has anybody got any plans or advice on what is best to grow in each bed

[tootles]

My advice would be not to have 8x8ft plots!
The point of raised beds is not to walk on them - unless you have 4 foot long arms, this might be tricky!!!
However, brassicas in one, beans and peas in another and roots and onions in the third.
This doesn't allow for spuds though! (or courgettes - could go in with the beans?)
Rotation has always flummoxed me somewhat........
Happy gardening.

[zazen999]

That's a fair size plot - lucky you.

I'd definitely split it into separate smaller plots and decide what you like to eat mostly, and grow lots of that. Also decide what you like to eat that is seasonal and expensive, and grow some of that.

Rotation is easy - don't grow the potatoes or brassicas in the same ground for 3 years [more if you have the space]. There are various cycles of rotation but I use:
potatoes
then beans/peas
then brassicas
then onions/carrots.
then back to spuds.

[you obviously don't have to start each bed with spuds, just start the rotation with the crop and follow the same cycles].

You can swap the beans and brassicas around in the rotation, which I do in some beds.

Add manure if you use it before you put spuds in
Add lime if you use it before you put brassicas in.
Add other fertilisers depending on the individual crop.

All other crops can pretty much be dotted in/grown in other beds/areas as you need them.

[hamsterqueen]

I've used raised beds for the first time this year and am very impressed. You definitely need them to be narrower, max about 4 ft. I am just growing in teh garden at theh moment, but have 1m square raised beds a 1 metre square (ish) plot for runner beans and a triangular courgette bed. Don't have to walk on them at all , growing and harvesting has been much easier than previous years.

[Sunbeam]

I have had rotton luck with my plot this year (SLUGS!!) but people I know with raised beds have had a much better time of it! I will be putting raised beds on my lottie, I know they take up more space, but get the impression the results are better

[mythyme]

I, too, have raised beds and find that keeping on top of weeding is less daunting. I set off to the plot with a plan to weed a particular bed and have a huge sense of achievement when I leave a neat and tidy bed! Good luck to you Kitty and Eric, Happy plotting!!

[Snadger]

Permanent beds plus permanent paths = approximately 80% less weeding!