New and need lots of help.

[JasonBruce]

Hello there.

I'm totally new to garden and probably a young snapper compared to most weighing in at 25years Young. So let's get in.

Me and my partner recently purchased our first house the garden unfortunately was forgotten about. Since we moved in we have completely striped the garden of weeds, overgrown bushes and trees and rotten fences. I've been told I have a small area I can do whatever I want. Say an 8ftsquare area. And being a chef I vote VEGGIE PATCH but have no idea where to start. I need advice on cheap materials for a raised bed (as if it doesn't work out they will be ripped up) and when the latest I can plant my crops. I'm looking at growing some leaves (chard etc) and maybe some potatoes or tomatoes as these are the things the other half uses the most.

Any and all guidance would be amazing.
Kind regards and many thanks in advance

Jason.

[dilettante]

Hi Jason,

Congrats on your first house and being allowed part of the garden.

I'm only 27 so you're not the only yoof. Do you know how much sunlight your patch will get? If you can get your hands on pallets that's a cheap and easy way to get materials for raised beds. Ring up a builders' merchant or similar and ask if they've any they can give away. You don't necessarily need raised beds, but some people find them neater. You could just give the area a good digging over and add some compost.

You might still get away with planting some maincrop potatoes now. If you want to keep things easy for yourself this first year you can get plug plants (pre-grown seedlings) from a nursery or garden centre to plant out into your garden to grow on. Not spuds, but tomatoes and lettuces certainly, chard if you're lucky.

I hope that's a helpful start.

DO you have any specific questions you want answering?

[maverick451]

Hello Jason

Have a look into square foot gardening, its a great way to start, specially with raised beds

[JasonBruce]

Hi Jason,

Congrats on your first house and being allowed part of the garden.

I'm only 27 so you're not the only yoof. Do you know how much sunlight your patch will get? If you can get your hands on pallets that's a cheap and easy way to get materials for raised beds. Ring up a builders' merchant or similar and ask if they've any they can give away. You don't necessarily need raised beds, but some people find them neater. You could just give the area a good digging over and add some compost.

You might still get away with planting some maincrop potatoes now. If you want to keep things easy for yourself this first year you can get plug plants (pre-grown seedlings) from a nursery or garden centre to plant out into your garden to grow on. Not spuds, but tomatoes and lettuces certainly, chard if you're lucky.

I hope that's a helpful start.

DO you have any specific questions you want answering?

Going with a planter as I've been given strict instructions "if it doesn't look neat and tidy blah blah" Got some in the yard at work shall pinch them and as for sunlight the area I am looking at using is pretty much in sunlight all day the garden is an upside down L shape so the sun passes over the house leaving the bottom in constant sun. What would be best to start growing I aim to get the bed up by the end of this month at the very latest. I know I need to dig the ground a bit and then do a mixture of soil and composite in the top?

[Bigmallly]

Hello Jason & welcome to the Jungle. As it's your first year, I would divide the bed into a 4ft x 8ft & use that for your spuds, then a 1ft path between leaving a 3ft x 8ft which if using the Square Foot method will give you 24 individual beds to try different crops.

[Guest]

Hi and welcome to the vine.

lots of great advice, it is your first year try whatever takes your fancy as you will have successes and failures. The first year is the biggest learning curve. Just keep asking here there is so many knowledgeable and helpful peeps

[Cadalot]

If its got to look neat then get economy decking boards for the raised bed at the moment Wicks are selling them and £3.99 for an 8ft 2.4m lengths they look better and will last longer than pallet wood. Deffo follow Big Malllys advice about how to divide the plot and the square foot gardening.

[muddled]

Hello Jason, welcome to the vine!

Chard is really easy to grow. Garden centres do a packet of seeds called 'bright lights' or rainbow chard that gives you a mixed selection of colours...really vibrant ones that look amazing.

[JasonBruce]

Thanks all for your quick and very helpful advice. Will get myself up to wickes this week and look at them boards. Are they already treated? And as far as my first year growing goes I'm going to go with 4x6ft and just do spuds to start then potentially put a 4x6ft next to it ( with a ft gap as a path) later in the year that way the rest of the garden will hopefully get done. Hopefully (fingers crossed) here are 2 images of where I plan to do this. These were taken at 9am and stays in the sun all day.

[JasonBruce]

Hello Jason, welcome to the vine!

Chard is really easy to grow. Garden centres do a packet of seeds called 'bright lights' or rainbow chard that gives you a mixed selection of colours...really vibrant ones that look amazing.

Funny you say about rainbow chard. The Mrs bought me a "funky veg kit" last year (small box) this has purple carrots, yellow courgettes, red Brussel sprouts and multicoloured bright lights (Swiss chard) all in seed form its all in German and no instructions so haven't done anything with them lol

[veggiechicken]

Hello Young Jason and welcome to the Grapevine
You need something neat and "pretty" to keep the OH happy - and you're a chef. My thoughts are:-
Clear a foot or so at the base of your fence and grow some climbing beans against it. Some bean flowers are as pretty as sweet peas. Maybe a few climbing squashes too.

Grow lots of herbs in pots - again they can be very attractive and you can move them around as you clear the garden.

and, of course, your raised beds!

Happy gardening - and don't be afraid to ask us questions, never mind how daft they may seem. Some of us are very good at daft answers too

[muddled]

chard is dead easy.
Bung the seed in a little pot or cell tray with some soil or compost.
When it gets a bit bigger plant it in your beds. Done

[JasonBruce]

Thanks muddled. So this is the little pack I have do I put them in those pots or use these and then I have this little box I thought I could put it in until I get the beds set up

Thanks all for your help. I have a basis of what I want now m I like the idea of growing beans up the fence so I think I'll have a 1x6ft against the fence for beans with a 3x6ft for spuds and then later a 3x6ft for which is I'll split up for everything else. All with little paths between

[Bigmallly]

Perfect................a fence to grow your peas up..................

[SarrissUK]

Hi and welcome Jason! Sounds like you have a good handle on things already
I'd sow the purple carrots directly into the ground, but sow the courgettes, brussel sprouts and bright lights in to pots first, so that you can protect them from the cold and nasties like slugs.

It also allows you time to dig the beds over, and leave them for a couple of weeks before planting. This allows all the unearthed weed seeds to germinate so you can deal with the majority of them before you plant anything into the beds

oh and you might want to update your profile with your location - that way it'll be easier to help with advice, as it's a big difference between Essex and Scotland in terms of frost etc.