Hi there - Another veggie patch virgin...

[cropcircle]

Hello everyone,

I am planning my first ever veggie patch in my new garden. I will be building my raised beds this weekend and ordered some new top soil to go into them. Will I need to add compost to any of the beds. I have not made a planting plan yet but the general idea is this:

bed 1 - roots veggies - carrots, parsnips, beetroot, leek, onion, radish

bed 2 - cabbages, brussels, broccoli, spinach

bed 3 - sweetcorn, beans, cougette, cucimber

bed 4 - salads, spring onion, tomato,


I have a separate herb garden and I will be growing some sweet peppers and jalapeno in my conservatory.

I also have a flower bed against the wall that I can spill into. I have sown some of the seeds in trays already.

If you have any suggestions about moving some of my potential crops please feel free to dive in and tell me. I am open to all suggestions and look forward to reading around this forum a it to pick up some hints and tips.

[Mrs Dobby]

Hello Cropcircle, and a warm welcome to the madhouse known as the grapevine! Hope you enjoy it here as much as the rest of us grapes do!

The plans look good, but not sure you need to worry too much about a specific place for the salad crops, as most of them can be 'catch cropped' inbetween other crops or once something has finished!

[Earthbabe]

Hi cropcircle and welcome to the vine. Most things will benefit from some compost. sweetcorn etc will enjoy some manure as will spuds, toms and to a certain extent the brassicas (cabbage etc.)

I'm sure someone will be able to give you better advice than that (or at least clearer) but that is something to start with.

Enjoy your time here and your gardening.

[cropcircle]

Thanks earthbabe, I have two lovely bins full of homemade compost (a project I started last year, and my husband was shocked when I said I wanted to move them with me). Anyway, I digress, I'll dig it into the new soil to give all my veggies the best possible start. I also have some chicken manure pellets so...if I dig in compost do I need to put the pellets in too? Sorry about the stupid questions....

[mazel-bee]

[COLOR="Blue"]Sounds good to me, I hope you enjoy yourself!

[Hazel at the Hill]

Where are the beans? I love beans!! they just taste sooooooo good homemade.

In bed 3, mazel-bee, but Cropcircle has forgotton the peas in the same bed!! looooooove peas!

errr..... that makes sense now....not!

[madderbat]

Hi Crop circle, welcome to the vine. Hope all goes well for you, but I don't see spuds on your list - are you on a diet?
Look forward to seeing you around. Enjoy yourself here.

[yoanbob]

hi crop circle, welcome, plan looks good, sounds like your getting more work done than me at the mo.

[Snadger]

Welcome to the vine Cropcircle!

Plan looks good but if I was being picky (who me? never!!!) Radish is a brassica and should really be with the other brassica's. I know it isn't in the soil long and it's a salad vegetable but it would enjoy the alkaline (limed) soil usually given to brassicas!:

Must admit, I like my peas and tatties too!

Hope you enjoy your gardening and your time on the vine!

[phil the shed]

snadger
is there anything you don't like................................

[phil the shed]

sorry cropcircle welcome to the vine
you don't have to be mad to be here
but it does help.........

[greenmachine]

Hi
I am new to grow my own, you need to consider crop rotation and then manure some beds and compost others. Organic gardening is all about feeding the soil.
Make a large plan on some cardboard I have and I keep refering to it as we change where we will put things we had four raised beds last year and did so well. Let me know how you get on. Kate

[shirlthegirl43]

Hello and welcome to the vine cropcircle and greenmachine.

[cropcircle]

Thanks for your warm welcome. Don't worry about the madness - I have plenty of that so should fit in here just fine .

Snadger - thanks for that feedback, I'll move my radishes to the brassica bed.

How could I have overlooked SPUDS and PEAS!!! I think I'll put the peas in with the beans and then stick the spuds in Bed 4 (I don't think there will be any more space in bed 1. I'll move the salads into the flower border on the edge.

I'll definately do plan and keep a notebook to record my (hopefully) successes but also to sort out the crop rotation next year. I just seem to have bought so many seeds - I keep thinking "oooo, that would be nice" every time I see something on the seed rack that I haven't already got. I may have bitten off a bit more than I can chew but I will give it my best shot and see what happens.

[denise]

Good luck cropcircle - keep us posted. We like pics too hint hint. :-)