Seed list for next year.

[burnie]

Starting to think about next years seeds already but this will be different to usual. Next year I will growing pretty much everything either in containers/growbags or in new raised beds. I will be starting the raised beds at a lower level to start as I don't want to import top soil, so it has occurred to me that for the first year or two, before the depth builds up, I will have to grow shorter rooted carrots and parsnips, something I don't normally do as I have sandy soil being very close to the coast.
I really like to grow for flavour above anything else, so for a year or two some of the heritage varieties will have to wait, unless I go down the show growers route of using deep barrels.
Should anyone be in front of me and already grow root crops in containers and would like to pass on their experiences, that would be great.
The intention is to have three main raised beds, roots, brassicas and "others" on rotation, the roots being primarily carrots, parsnips and beetroot. Brassicas to be summer and winter cabbages, Romanesque and Swedes with Brussels grown elsewhere in the ground. The others will vary every year, but will include staples like peas and French beans and maybe a dwarf broad bean. I have followed my dads old plan of growing something different every year and the "others" is often where this experiment happens. I have tried and failed to grow bulb fennel in the past and intend to try again next year.

[Jungle Jane]

I grow carrots in a huge plastic pot every year,I put polystyrene at the bottom so don't need a ton of compost. Carrot fly,fly low,thats my reason for the pot. This year I grew peas amongst it for the first time,they were finished before the carrots are ready,it works well.

[Penellype]

I grow my carrots in 18 inch square pots which are about a foot deep. I tend to grow the stump rooted Nantes types and have had some decent roots from both Marion and Nantes Frubund Fastcrop this year, the biggest being about 8 inches long. The main thing with container carrots is not to let them go short of water. I stand my pots in a drip tray and try to make sure they always have something to drink. Also sow them thinly - the thicker the sowing the smaller the carrots.

I've not grown parsnips or beetroot in containers so I can't help with that, but Hispi is a cabbage that grows well in pots for me, and I have had good success with dwarf bean Purple Teepee in pots this year.

[burnie]

I hope to do a bit of companion planting too, salad crops in particular and maybe peas too, thanks for that idea. I also suffer from carrot fly and I am hoping the raised beds will go some way to curing that. I love fresh carrots and will aim to grow several varieties to find my favourite fresh eater.

[Jonnyt]

I grew beetroot in 17L potato bags this year, around 9 beets per bag and had a fantastic crop with all three of the varieties I tried, Bolthardy, Detroit and Choggia.

[Penellype]

Cover the carrots with enviromesh or debris netting to keep the carrot flies out.

[SusieG]

I've grown carrots successfully in potato grow bags. Sown thinly in several bags, kept well watered AND no carrot fly!

[cristalfiona]

We recently switched to proper bins for recycling, so I still had some of the old boxes in the garage. A few holes in the bottom and I planted carrots in each one with garlic round the edge. The garlic didn't do much as I stuck it in a bit late. Some of the carrots bolted but mostly I had good results.

I'll be doing the same next year, maybe trying parsnips as well as they don't like my raised bed.

[vixylix]

I have a small raised bed so lots crammed in there - but courgettes, chillies, baby corn, herbs, strawberries, tomatoes and lettuce all grown successfully in pots this year - with potatoes in grow bags. You just have to be a bit more creative with space!

[burnie]

Thanks for the ideas, hope to start the build soon, couple of crops in the way so can't complete the job yet. Ordering the railway sleepers(not real ones) next week.