Now what do I do? Beginner needs help.

[phleeps]

Hi, I am a total beginner to veg growing and am a bit bamboozled by all the (sometimes contradictory) advice I get from the various books etc.

Basically it's like this.

I have built a small wooden raised bed (1mx1mx30cms deep) in my back garden. It will get sunshine pretty much all day from mid-morning onwards until teatime and is reasonably sheltered from the wind by a fence next to it. I filled it with a mixture of 2 parts compost to 1 part good quality topsoil, plus a little bit of manure a few weeks ago. I have also laid a thin layer of manure on top and it has been covered with black plastic for two weeks to keep warm. I live in Northern Ireland so our weather isn't always the greatest, but we do generally get good sunshine in late March/April/May, hence I want to get cracking.

I want to grow the following:

Carrots (in 2 or 3 rows after one another for a good supply)
Onions (maybe 2 rows, from sets)
Leeks (I have already started these in a seed bed and the shoots are starting to show about 1-2ins. Hopefully I might get a couple of rows).

I'm really a bit confused about how much I can squeeze into my raised bed. For example how much room should I leave between the first row of carrots and the onions next to them? Ditto the leeks and carrots? Can anyone give me a centimetre-by-centimetre breakdown of how I should plant/sow them beside one another?

Am also growing some early round carrots in a tub and hoping to plant potatoes in a growing bag this weekend (weather permitting).

I know there is someone out there who can help! Thanks.

[TEB]

Hi phleeps,
Carrots are not recommended on beds that have recently been manured as it can cause forking. I also heard that manure and onions dont go but that will need verification.
For spacing then the guidelines on the seed packets are generally close, but you can grow closer especially on the carrots if you start to pull some early and have baby carrots. For carrots I tend to sow thinly (yeah right) and then thin to about 3" per plant leaving about 9" between rows, for onions I grow 4" between sets and 9-12" between rows.

for carrot container growing then check out this thread http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...ers_28938.html especially reply No 12

[piskieinboots]

when you do get around to thining out the sowings - I've heard (from the great Medwyn I believe) that it is better to snip the spares off at soil level rather than pulling them up - thereby reducing the smell that attracts carrot fly and also to reduce disturbance to the ones left behind.

Makes sense to me - just ensure you have a steady hand

[phleeps]

If I simply lifted the manure from the top of the bed, do you think I could then sow carrots?

[TEB]

I would hate to say yes and then it all went pear shaped, it isnt something that I have done, hopefully someone else will come along and clarify.
Sorry

[Alice]

Welcome to the Vine Phleeps. You'll get as many answers to your questions as people you ask.

As I see it
You don't have a lot of space there and carrots just fork in recently manured ground.
Carrots do well in containers. I would be inclined to grow the carrots in long tom pots and raise them up on something to escape the carrot fly. I'm the kind of fuss pot who takes the time to plant the seeds 1" apart each way then there's no thinning to do.

Your onions and leeks will be fine in your bed.
You can plant much closer than the spacings given on packets as these largely allow for the space you need to walk between rows to remove weeds and gather crops. In beds you only need the space the plant needs to grow and for your hand to grab weeds or crops. I reckon that's 4 - 6 inches between onions and leeks each way. You do need to keep them well fed and watered.
Hope it all works out well for you.

[phleeps]

Thanks

Thanks Alice, that's great advice.

I am a massive carrot fan (could eat them all day), so I might have a crack anyway in the bed, just sow one or two rows to the side and do the rest as onions and leeks as you suggested. I will try and remove most of the manure from the top - I didn't really use that much either on top or mixed in to the main bed itself, so maybe I might get lucky. At least I know for next time!

PS Are 'forked' carrots actually OK to eat?

[faerieprincess]

when you do get around to thining out the sowings - I've heard (from the great Medwyn I believe) that it is better to snip the spares off at soil level rather than pulling them up - thereby reducing the smell that attracts carrot fly and also to reduce disturbance to the ones left behind.

According to "The Kitchen Gardens at Helgion" thinning was probably carried out in the evening when the carrot fly was less active in the air, and the thinnings swiftly removed from the rows. Now they use a biological control which is a nematode which lays its eggs inside the carrot fly's grub, or just cover the whole crop with horticultural fleece.

carrots just fork in recently manured ground.
Carrots do well in containers.

Again, according to "The Kitchen Gardens at Helgion" they fork because there is too much nitrogen in the ground, and they go in all directions looking for it. So if you plant in pots, make sure you don't add a nitrogen rich fertiliser.

[piskieinboots]

PS Are 'forked' carrots actually OK to eat?

perfectly fine, it's just that they don't 'look' pretty

[IgglePiggle]

perfectly fine, it's just that they don't 'look' pretty

Cut them up and no one will notice Good to know they fine to eat, might try growing some in my stone soil, so I get double the carrots

[Eyren]

just sow one or two rows to the side and do the rest as onions and leeks as you suggested.

I would sow the carrots between blocks of onions - the smell of the onion leaves is supposed to confuse the carrot root fly. I did that last year on the lottie, and the carrots that escaped the dread slugs were indeed nice and clean

[JennieAtkinson]

Garlic around a carrot bed also works as well - apparently. I say apparently as I always do that, but have never experienced carrot fly (thank heavens), so I don't know whether I am keeping them away or they don't come this far north.

[thecornflake]

A good tip I read a while ago was to make deep holes where you want to sow the carrots and then fill in the holes with a finer soil/compost so they follow the easier route down and are more likely to stay straight.

I grow mine in containers with spring onions around the edges and never had any carrot fly issues.

[glut]

last year was my first year and I squeezed in as much as possible just for the joy of it! Certainly my carrots, spring onions and leeks (and everything else) were over planted but everything grew and i just picked stuff as I wanted to eat it, the supply lasted for months!
So I would not fret too much. Some things will work better than others, but it is all part of the fun of learning what works.