Complete novice - hi and help!

[Flutterby]

I'm really hoping that some of you more experienced gardeners can help me out! I have wanted to grow my own veg for years - having fond memories of helping my Dad pick veg for Sunday lunch as a child. Well, at last, I've decided to go for it this year. My husband has helped me plan an area in our garden to place some raised beds, the kids have given me a long list of all the veg they'd like to see grown and I've ordered a starter potato set from Dobies (tubs and 3 varieties of potatoes) but now I feel a bit stuck. I don't want to start off in the wrong way, spending money on things I don't need but missing out essentials, so I guess what I need is advice on making the raised beds and what else I need to get going.

Lots to ask I know but please help!

[mandyballantyne]

Hi Fluterby,

Welcome to the vine, and congratulations on starting growing.

I remember a post recently on raised beds and some good pictures, just put raised beds into the search and it will come up.

I am sure some grapes will be along soon with great ideas.

Good luck and have fun, Mandy

[Mrs Dobby]

Hi Flutterby! (nice monika!)

A warm welcome to the vine and congrats on starting to GYO!

There's loads of advice already on the vine, so doing a search may be of some use, but other than that, you're request is a little vague as to what advice you are after, to answer it fully would take a book or two!

Take a few deep breaths, list what you want to grow, then look at when they need to be planted, make a list by month and that will give you a planting plan. Then look into where each veg is going, you should split it into 4 or 5 groupings, Brassica (cabbages / broccolli / etc), Legumes (Peas and Beans), Tatties and Root Crops (carrots, parsnips etc) and possibly another 2 for Alliums (Onions) and salad crops.

Once you've decided where each veg is going, then look at the soil requirements, some crops are heavy feeders and like well manured ground, others can find this a disadvantage.

As to what you need to get started, ask every single grape and you'll get a different answer, but for me, a good pair of gardening gloves, wellies (or rigger boots), good quality fork and spade, a hoe, rake, some hand tools (fork and spade), and some warm comfortable clothes! A wheelbarrow is useful, but not entirely necessary to start with.

I'd also look into starting a compost heap asap. This could be made from salvaged pallets, or if you contact your local council they may be able to provide you with a dalek style bin very cheaply!

Other than that, remember, you are doing this for enjoyment as well as for crops, so dont kill yourself trying to do too much at once, take it slow and steady, a bit at a time and it will soon be where you want it to be!

Good luck and let us know how you get on!

[Alice]

Welcome to the Vine Flutterby, you might want to look at this thread on square foot gardening, and especially the post by Jaxom. There could be enough information there to get you started in a manageable way. Good luck and do let us know how you are getting on.
Square Foot Gardening

[Flutterby]

Thanks for all the suggestions. Have ordered a compost bin thru the recyclenow website and am awaiting delivery. Like the idea of square foot gardening in raised beds so am off to plan my area now. Just one quick question - I have an area 7metres long by 2metres deep that I can use for my veggie patch. Would it be better to have 3/4 smaller separate raised beds rather than one or two large ones? The area is at the side of the garden next to a fence so I guess my other query is how close to the fence should I go?

[sewer rat]

Hi Flutterby and welcome.
On the subject of your raised beds, the general concensus is that they can be any length you want but not more than 4ft wide - this means that you will be able to reach the centre of the bed from both sides without having to stand on the soil at all, thereby preserving it's structure.. Of course, if your beds are up against a boundary such as a fence, then narrower would be better as you will only be able to access them from one side.
You also have to remember to take into account the area taken up by any paths. - You could have a path up either side and then divide your bed into sections lengthwise - the added advantage of this is that you wouldn't be tempted to take a shortcut acros the beds at any time.
Good luck with it, whatever way you decide to divvy up your area.

[shirlthegirl43]

Hi and welcome to the Vine Flutterby (love the name). I started growing last year and just had a go at everything I like to eat. Some stuff worked, others didn't but on the whole I learned a lot. Will have more success this year as I now know what gets scoffed by the wildlife and such.

My main suggestion would be write everything in a good notebook - keep the most irrelevant information - guaranteed you will want to refer back to it later. I have found it superb for checking how long things took to start growing and such.

Most of all - enjoy yourself