Running out of room...

[SlugLobber]

...to sow new crops. I want to start on kohl rabi, carrots, turnip etc, but now I think I need to move onto the flower beds. I do have a few gaps in between roses etc. Am I ok to just sow anywhere? Is there any particular plant I should avoid sowing near, e.g. thirsty ones which will sap moisture?

Or is this a stupid idea which I should lay to rest?

[marigold007]

I'm growing several things in the flower bed. I've got shallot and garlic next to the roses, beetroot in a partial-shade section where nothing else grows well, runner beans growing up the same trellises as the honey suckle, and Autumn rasberries in the back of the border spaced about 2 ft apart. The shallots and garlic are almost ready to pull up. I've heard that beetroot does well with carrots, but I haven't been able to get the carrots to germinate in that area yet.

Marigold Memoirs

[janeyo]

Hi I have chard, psb leeks, spinach beet, rhubarb in my flower beds. I also have squash, pumpkin and couregttes only among the flowers and not in veg beds. This was mainly a weed supressing excersize as it's a new garden adn new beds and I didn't have enough flowers to fill it!

I did have more psb, kale and cabbage, but as I couldn't really net amongst the flowers the birds got the lot.

Something to think about if you can't net things that might be attractive to the birds.

janeyo

[SlugLobber]

Never even thought about putting the courgettes in the flower bed! Should have done that this year, d'oh!

Thanks for the replies. I'll start preparing this weekend!

[lynda66]

why not just dig up the flowers and put them closer to each other ..... then start on the lawn lol ....... so far my back lawn is safe, cos i've dug up the front one ..... but if i don't get this allotment soon, then i may lose the back lawn in spring ..... i've got exotic fruit growing in with the palm trees, and peas and beans growing in with climbing flowers. so far it looks ok, dunno how it will look when everything gets bigger........ it is saving me a fortune in flowers though lol.

Lynda xx

[SlugLobber]

Oh I would, Lynda. It's just the time factor!! This year has been all about sorting the neglected garden and seeing what comes up after weeding. It seems that it's been neglected for quite a while, plus the soil condition is appalling. It's more like builder's rubble. I'm getting more compost this weekend, so plan to dig that in and sow straight away. Good idea about getting rid of the lawn...I have a useless small patch at the front, which is far too much hassle. That might go...

[lynda66]

yeah, i understand the time factor when you want to get everything in and growing, it's taken me 3 1/2 years to get mine in a state where the soil is fit to grow stuff, and even now i'm adding compost as i sow,

the soil was horrendous when i moved in, full of clay, bumpy lawns full of weeds, and less than a foot of top soil on top of bricks and crap (i think it must have been a brick works or something at some point) so i started from scratch, dug everything up, covered it all in weedkiller, put a new back lawn down, dug up the front lawn, and it's finally all coming together

[gojiberry]

Even after to many years gardening I still regard it as a trial and error thing. May be due to the fact that I am always filling spots with whatever has to go in next, and I can't even remember what grew next to each other last year let alone 40 years ago. My motto is always 'give it a go'.


Ian

[lynda66]

lol, sounds like my garden ...... i bought a load of seeds, came home planted them, then read up about rotation and stuff ....... gonna be flipping difficult for the early beds, cos i've got a bit of everything everywhere, though i got more organised in the front garden, dug 3 trenches for potatoes, 2 for broccoli and cauli, stuck spare seedlings in the soil that was under last years compost pile, and am currently spreading seeds over 1mx1m beds, it's so much less hassle than making rows, and can also get more of the same veg into the same area, if i plan right for next year, i can have about 35-40 of these, so should have enough for everything, and the back lawn gets to stay then i've just got to work on the chickens, and fitting a greenhouse in

[Winged one]

The bed beside the patio in my back garden looks lovely and full, but is actually full of veg rather than ornamental plants. I have a mix of clumps of cos lettuces (a pinch of seed in a single module, all planted out together), a few tomatoes, some climbing beans and sweet peas at the back, a summer squash (that just got eaten), beetroot, gem lettuces, corn salad and the very edge of that bed has some night scented stock.

And on the other side, the fence is covered with mangetout vines, and there are a couple of lettuces in front, with a courgette plant to the side and starting to be productive.

[SlugLobber]

Well, I took your advice and prepared the spaces in the flower beds for seed. I tried digging the soil but kept impaling bulbs!! So, after weeding I shoved loads of soil improver compost on there and sowed carrot, kohl rabi and kale. I put some peas into seed trays and will plant those out if the weather stays nice, otherwise they'll be greenhouse plants!