New Brassica bed - Advice needed

[Freaya]

Hello all

In spring I decided to give the whole veg growing thing a try and now to my surprise I have a few trays of brassica seedlings which have actually made it despite slugs and my incompetence to the point where they actually need to be planted out.

I know I am already pretty late so I am looking for advice for what to add to the otherwise unprepared soil for immediate transplanting of my little plants.

I have Cabbage (savoy), PSB (early), Sprouts (evesham special) and Dwarf curly green kale.

There are several stables locally where I am sure I can get muck (hopefully partially rotted already). I also have some completed compost in my composter but probably not enough for two 4x8 beds.

I know that if I added really fresh muck it would 'burn' my plants but would I be okay with partially rotted and then forked in? Would I be better with pelleted fertilizer such as growmore or pelleted chicken manure? (Though I would obviously prefer free stable muck being poor)

What would you do to create a brassica bed for immediate planting?

[teakdesk]

You don't say what the bed was before you turned it over to growing brassicas.

I would avoid manure unless it was very well rotted.

I'd give a good dose of dried blood out of preference and if the soil is known to be poor add blood, fish and bone (BFB) or growmore as well.

I'd also rake in an application of garden lime and add more to the planting hole when they go out.

Good luck!

[Freaya]

I'm sorry, I thought it would be clear.

New gardener + new bed = weeds as the previous occupant!

[roitelet]

Brassicas like hard ground. Plant them without too much digging and then mulch with old manure, when they are big enough, if you can get it. Make sure that the ground is wet before you mulch.

I grew the best cabbages I have ever grown last year in un-dug ground. You can add a little dried blood to boost the nitrogen.

Best of luck

[zazen999]

I'm sorry, I thought it would be clear.

New gardener + new bed = weeds as the previous occupant!

Was the old bed clay, sand, loam? Were the weeds deep perennials or light annuals?

What I would do is:
If there were perennial weeds such as docks or dandelions, I'd dig those out, and hoe off any annual weeds.

The I'd put cardboard down, and soak the card overnight with a good watering can of water.

Then I'd dig a hole for each plant through the cardboard [I use a bulb planter myself], add a handful of eggshells and/or chicken pellets, pop the seedling in, fill the hole back up with home made compost. Firm the soil down as much as you can as they like it nice and compact.

Then I'd mulch the card with more home made compost.

Any manure, put it to the side, let it rot down and do a test for Aminopyralid before you use it anywhere on your crops.