What to do? - 9' x 6' Plot

[Dave]

Hello!

It's a Sunday morning and I feel like getting my hands dirty! I've got a 9' x 6' plot to fill and I don't know where to start...



I was thinking about building a raised bed (or 2) in it's place.

What would you do?

[Capsid]

Sow some tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and aubergines for the greenhouse. Then you could pick from anything which needs sowing now, so what do you want to grow?

Why a raised bed? The soil looks quite dark and in good condition.

[HayleyB]

I'd deffo go the raised bed route but then that'd be for my back........
and I'd plant up that handy looking tub on the right hand side with carrots

[Dave]

Cheers for the replies... I'm concerned that although the soil is in really good condition, it's littered with stones...

I've currently got a couple of propagators on the go with Tomatoes, Peppers, Cucumbers, Parsley and Carrots - I also intend to grow Sweetcorn and Cabbages a little later this year.

[Flummery]

Stones won't be a problem unless you're a carrot freak! Most things - even spuds - just push them out of the way. I wouldn't bother putting carrots in a propagator - they are very difficult to transplant successfully. With your soil I'd put them in a pot, sown thinly. Corn and cabbages would be fine out there. I couldn't resist a few early spuds either. But I love spuds. How about a few dwarf french beans or peas? You could get a good successional thing going there if you followed early crops like peas and beans with leeks, spring cabbage or PSB.

Go on - get your fingers dirty!

[HayleyB]

Or kale

[FionaH]

Perpetual spinach? But plant lots it cooks down to nothing

[Dave]

I got time over the weekend a finally put together the raised beds!

Here's the new and improved garden!

[SarzWix]

That looks really nice

If it was mine, I'd have one bed planted up with sweetcorn, in 2 blocks of 5 (like a dice spots), then round the edges have dwarf french beans on the sunny side, and lettuces in the shade (so they don't run to seed in the heat).

Then in the other you could put your cabbages - are you having summer, autumn, or winter ones? You could probably fit some other things in too if it's winter ones, because you can start them off in cell trays and only plant them out after you've harvested an earlier crop, like new potatoes, or peas.

[FionaH]

Looking fab

[Jillyreeves]

Very smart :-)

[RobintheBobin]

They look lovely and ready for some plants/seeds. I would suggest that cabbages aren't the best for a small space. Instead I'd go with lots of lettuce/salad leaves, set up a couple of frames for beans - to use the vertical space. Leeks would be great, perhaps some garlic dotted around the edge and then maybe some kale (something tall like RedBor) and some PSB for over wintering.

Try a climbing courgette for some fun - I grew Tromboncino last year and it was great.

[Flummery]

In limited space you can grow something bonny - a few Bright Lights chard will give you food and something nice to look at. Dot a few marigold around too.

[Dave]

Well... it's a few month's on now and I though I'd share a few pictures from the garden with you all...

I decided to shrink the project a little and grow 'only' cabbage, carrots, rocket and onions outside. Inside the greenhouse I have watermelon tomatos (3 varieties) and cucumber!





You can view more pictures here.

[Flummery]

Very nice. Where's the chickens?