Advice for a newbie

[silkman09]

Hi All,
I've just moved into my first house, with a small garden, and have purchased the timber to make two 4'x4'x8" raised beds. This is my first foray into the world of growing veg and i'm looking for advice. Firstly what should I fill my raised beds with - I've got a supply of rotted horse manure, would a mixture of should brought compost and manure suffice?
And secondly what sort of veg should I be looking at growing for my first attempt (I live just south of Manchester if climate makes a difference), does anybody have any sort of planting plans for small raised beds to maximise use of the space etc? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Alex

[Newbie]

... And secondly what sort of veg should I be looking at growing for my first attempt

I would say don't make the same mistake as me in my first year & grow things you & your family don't like just because they are easy to grow & are prolific! Make a list of what you like to eat & start from there, i found cut & come again lettuce, courgettes, beans (french & runner), potatoes, beetroot & outdoor cucumbers all quite easy in my first year.

Incidently, my new raised beds have been filled with a mixture of rotted manure, topsoil & Shop bought multipurpose compost - wether thats correct or not ...? But i'm sure someone more knowledgable will be along with some proper advice soon!

[royboy1944]

grow all that you fancy cabbage cauliflower,potatoes lettuce etc then see which grows best for your garden you have to try to see what grows best for you that is what i did my first year it is all a matter of trial and error dig plenty of manure in before planting i use chicken pellets keep the weeds at bay and pray you are a sucessful after the first year you can then access which veg is best for you ,i have a problem with carrots all the rest are ok

[Flummery]

With a small bed like that, space is at a premium isn't it? I have heard of a system called Square Foot gardening where you divide your beds up (with string and sticks will do) into sq ft patches and sow or plant into these - one broccoli plant in one, five lettuces in another etc. I think Alice has done it. You could google Square Foot Gardening and get some info I suspect. Good luck with it. My Mum and Dad lived in Macclesfield for many years. Good silk museum - is that why you've chosen that user name?

[bluemoon]

If you don't have much space then I'd suggest you forget the spuds and onions, which will take up a lot of room and can't possibly be grown in the quantities the average family uses without a couple of fair sized allotments. Instead concentrate on the things which taste better when newly harvested such as sweetcorn, peas and French beans. Buy a book called 'Square Foot Gardening', which, as the title suggests, gives good advice about maximizing space. Or try things such as the 'Three Sisters' which is sweetcorn with beans trained up the sweetcorn plants and pumpkins trailing around the base. There's a trial been going on at the RHS garden at Harlow Carr in Harrogate where they have been growing huge quantities of fruit and veg in minimal space. It relies upon having new plants ready to go in as soon as a crop has finished and, I believe, they've managed to grow sufficient for a family of four, year round, in a few raised beds (try googling to see if you can find the information). Other than that stick with the things you and your family enjoy, but don't feel you have to go mad, it's better to have a few fresh peas for a couple of weeks and really look forward to them every year than to grow enough to fill your freezer and then end up truly sick of them because you didn't have space for much else. And remember, NO ONE has enough friends to warrant more than 2 courgette plants.

[magz.mccarthy]

Ha ha blue moon I burst out laughing when I read your bit about the courgette plants. The people I work with must think I'm going nuts.

Best of luck silkman09. Maybe plant a few potatoes in bags outside the raised beds? A user gave a great tip about planting around 3 or 4 seeds spuds in builders refuse sacks.

[silkman09]

With a small bed like that, space is at a premium isn't it? I have heard of a system called Square Foot gardening where you divide your beds up (with string and sticks will do) into sq ft patches and sow or plant into these - one broccoli plant in one, five lettuces in another etc. I think Alice has done it. You could google Square Foot Gardening and get some info I suspect. Good luck with it. My Mum and Dad lived in Macclesfield for many years. Good silk museum - is that why you've chosen that user name?

Hi Flummery - yes I actually live on the outskirts of Macclesfield - the username name comes from my support of Macclesifeld Town FC (the silkmen).
Thankyou everybody for your advice.

[Sanjo]

Last year I had a new raised bed 1 metre x 1 1/2 metres so around the size that you are talking about. I forked over the turf (it went stright onto a little bit of lawn) forked in a mix of whatever was to hand, multipurpose compost, bagged topsoil and own compost. It wasn't as full as would have liked, in fact I had to section off one corner as I did not have enough.
However, I grew loads of lettuce, radish and sweetcorn. At the base of the sweetcorn I planted beetroots that I did not have space for anywhere else and also a few leftover onion sets. All did very well. As the summer progressed and the lawn started to get cut, I planted 3 potatoes, covered in a small layer of soil,cardboard and grass clippings in the corner that I had previously left. They were not even full potatoes as they were cut into pieces. I harvested around 3-4 lbs of spuds which was brilliant for the available space. I would follow the advice of everyone though and think carefully about what you actually like to eat. Good luck Silkman and welcome to the vine.