Good veg to plant in sandy soil then forget until harvest time?

[Phobos]

I'm a first time gardener looking to grow my own veg and thought of asking here while I did my own research would be the way to go. Where I live has pretty sandy soil and while I can grow in pots, I would also like to plant a some what shady area at the bottom of the garden.

I'm looking to keep it pretty simple and then expand on what I grow each year and make more use of different skills, but for the moment I'm looking at just the basics of dig the garden, plant and then eat a few months later give or take some pest control.

[Mr Bones]

Hi Phobos and welcome to the Vine.
If you haven't already seen it there's a recent thread here about growing in shady places http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...bed_92291.html. Good luck with planning a crop that doesn't need tending from planting to harvest. Not something I've personally managed to achieve but I have seen it on television, the stuff even came out the ground with only the barest smidge of composty muck too. Maybe it was just made-for-television trickery but one thing's for sure, even if your home grown veg is half eaten by bugs it'll taste far better than anything you can buy in a supermarket and the taste and satisfaction of growing your own more than makes up for the effort it takes to grow it.

[Phobos]

Thanks for the reply.

I wasn't thinking perfect TV gardening, I was hoping for more along the lines of just planting the seeds and they take care of themselves to start growing. Many guides I read ask for pre-planting in trays and such.

[Scarlet]

If you start off in trays, and plant out when the plants are sturdy enough to withstand a slug attack you will have more success IMO. The plants have a head start on the weeds, you can't plant a crop and not expect to weed it until harvest.

I'm not very good with a hoe, I often chop the small seedlings in half...carrots, parsnips and beetroot are the only veg I would sow seed in situ...but you will need to go back and thin out.

What do you like to eat?

[bario1]

You could try carrots and parsnips, they're generally sown direct, and they'll grow well in sandy soil. Don't expect whoppers if they're too shaded though, and carrot fly might be a problem.

[Penellype]

As others have said, it depends on what you like to eat. If the soil is very sandy you are going to have a problem with plants drying out unless you water them, although mulching thickly can help.

My previous veg garden was very sandy, with a number of fruit trees at the bottom creating a space that would probably be similar to yours. I used that area mainly for nettles and comfrey as it was inclined to be invaded by nettles, ground elder and grass from next door, but one thing that grew well there and needed almost no attention at all was rhubarb. This is a large perennial plant, so you might not want to use your space for something like that.

The next suggestion would be potatoes. If you mulch them well with compost they should soon grow big enough to suppress weeds but if the weather is dry they will need water to form a decent crop.

[burnie]

Hmmmmm, I think a shady area is not going to produce much in good soil, so if yours is thin and sandy(like mine), then you really are taking on a tough job. Decent crops require decent amount of work and soil preparation, I think you may struggle without putting in a fair amount of effort.

[Jimmy]

Grow bags work well for many crops.
Courgettes, bean and lots more
Jimmy