Kitchen Garden

[Alice]

I've got a new area for a kitchen garden underway And need help from everybody - please . I'm not trying to grow big crops for storing, more just to give us our summer salads and a bit of something for all year round.
The first raised bed is just about finished 15' x 4' and planning another same size asap. I'll make an area for square foot gardening and raspberries and fruit bushes later. Can do that while things are growing and get it ready for next year.
But first of many questions
In a raised bed, how much will I have to firm the ground for Brussel sprouts and Savoy cabbage - just round the plants or pack an area down. If anybody wants to make any suggestions about anything, I'd love to hear them.

[Geordie]

For the sprouts I would firm the ground to as wide as the planting distance apart, so if you plan to allow 1' between sprout plants, firm the ground for a foot around each plant. As for your cabbages...depends a little on how big you want them to grow. It may be an idea to grow them between the sprouts as long as you pull them before they got too big. This may help you get more from the bed.

Firming down a raised bed seems to go against why the raised bed was created in the first place. Depends how many sprouts you want to eat but, could you not dig a trench about a spades width wide parallel to the new bed but in the ground, prepare it, put the sprouts in and firm that instead?

Good luck anyway.

[mandyballantyne]

Hi Alice,

Sorry I can't help on the firming other than reading on another thread that all brassicas need to be firmed in.

Just wanted to say wow, that was some days work yesterday. They look great.

Mandy

[Alice]

Hello Geordie, thanks for that. I'm trying to grow baby veg - mini sprouts and cabbage. I know what you mean about not firming a raised bed - defeats the purpose. I was just wondering if I don't firm it if they will blow, or will it be allright for mini veg. I cant really plant into that ground there. It's solid clay and I'm not about to start to it !

Thanks Mandy, it wasn't all done in one day. I've been working away at it. As you see, plenty still to do to make a kitchen garden.

[Geordie]

Hi Alice, If you didnt firm, cabbages would most likely be ok but sprouts good chance of being blown. If you dont firm sprouts make sure you stake them so they dont suffer from 'wind rock' ie blowing about in the wind, as this can also lead to blown buttons!

Hope that helps

[Two_Sheds]

I've read that sprouts like the ground v.v.firm, ie they'd be happiest growing in concrete

[Alice]

Thanks Geordie and Two Sheds. I think I'll be allright with my baby cabbage, but might need to rethink my baby sprouts plan. Hmm !

[bramble]

Alice, you're raised bed is looking really professional. Don't know if you like white turnip or not but last year i grew the minature one (Snowball) and it did great with little or no looking after.
i also grew parsnip also minature (arrow) and while it did'nt do as well as the turnips it was a great success.
All veg for small garden or containers.

[Alice]

Thanks Bramble, my husband is doing all the wooden construction for my raised beds, I'm doing the muck shifting and barrowing. I've literrally got tons of compost from my compost "heaps" where I've been dumping stuff for 20 years. I always said it was for the kitchen garden !
I've got seed for mini veg, I think the parsnip is Arrow, and I've got Protovoy cabbage, leeks, baby sprouts - Noisette, mini corn, mini cauli, dwarf beans and peas, as well as regular salads, toms, cukes etc. Better get on and get that other bed built !

[pigletwillie]

Alice, my first plot is raised beds and after working with them for three years now have agood idea of what works and what doesnt.

I will go through the things I found that didnt work well and why as there are really very few of them.

Brussels sprouts, a big no no. as the soil just isnt compact enough and you end up with small blown efforts.

Fruit bushes, again not for me as there is potential for root damage when harvesting crops nearby and competition for nutrients and water. They just did not thrive.

Raspberries, they will do their best to colonise the whole bed so in my experience, not good for a raised bed.

A point to remember is that you can plant at much higher densities with raised beds, my baby leeks are transplanted 2" apart, beetroot 4" apart and things like french beans can be grown at 6" spaces all around and thus self support (dwarf ones that is).

[Alice]

Thanks for that Piglet. I think the brussel sprouts will be my problem - need a rethink. I wasn't planning to grow the raspberries or fruit bushes in the deep beds. I will make a separate area for them. I had hoped to get it ready at the back end last year ready for this years planting, but my husband was ill and nothing could happen. I'll just have to work on now, and get a really good place well ready for next years rasps and fruits. The sprouts ? Hmm? Got to have them !

[wellie]

Alice,
I grew my sprouts in the flower border last year and they looked great !
I'd started them off in 3" pots, so when they were ready to be planted, I took a 'core' of soil out of the border with a hand-held bulb planting tool, popped the pot in and firmed around it with my foot, sticking a stake in behind and tying it in as it grew.
I was delighted with them, and we certainly had a healthy crop of buttons for the table!

[lyndap]

Alot of vegs can be grown as mini-veg even if not stated on packet. You just plant/sow closer together than normal.This works well with alot of brassicas.I've never grown sprouts so cant help with that one!

[Alice]

Thanks Lyndap and Wellie. I think the sprouts might be going into one of the borders Wellie. I'm not short of space here, it's just finding a good place to put them. I'll have a look around with fresh eyes.