Complete novice veggie gardener- what do I do in March?

[ilikeyoursleeves]

I have a raised bed 1m x 2m at the bottom of the garden. It's full of sandy loam soil plus a bit of homemade compost. Ive also got two bags for growing potatoes, tried to do this last year but not even one grew!

I don't have a greenhouse etc and ideally I just want to pop some seeds or plants in the ground and hope for the best. Is this possible? I have no idea what I'm meant to be doing just now. I'm in Scotland and its still been a bit frosty some mornings.

Thanks!

[rhihaf]

Hang on a bit yet before planting anything out, esp in Scotland! I'm in Wales and we still sometimes get frost in April...

If you want to direct sow (rather than buying/raising small plants) then focus on getting ur soil as good as possible, with more compost if u have it, well-rotted manure etc, then when things warm up, you'll be ready!

For nwo, you could try rocket (they're pretty hardy), Welsh onion (like a hardcore spring onion, but comes back every yr and can withstand snow etc over winter) and if you like it, rhubarb. Rather than buying crowns from suppliers, find out if anyone has any near you and ask for a chunk, then just shove it in with plenty of well rotted manure. Gardeners world website has some good info on dividing plants

If ur soil is sandy, use well rotted manure in ur potato bags - no need for any soil - but it has to be well rotted. If u don't have access to this, just use multipurpose and feed it when u water. What potatoes do u want to grow? If they're first earlies they can go in over the next few weeks :)

Good luck and keep us posted!

[nickelbabe]

you can plant seeds in the greenhouse or on the windowsills.

if you want to do outside stuff, you can put in raspberry canes, and potatoes.

you can dig your soil over again and put more fertilizer on.

[ilikeyoursleeves]

What kind of fertiliser should I be putting on? I bought both first and second early potatoes last week and they are chitting on the windowsill just now :)

[nickelbabe]

chicken poo will be fine.

potatoes sound good :)

[ilikeyoursleeves]

Um, how do I get chicken poo?

[nickelbabe]

you buy it

big tubs for about 7quid called "chicken manure"

[TheSlug]

or horse manure from local stables?

[nickelbabe]

I think horse manure is too strong for march - it would have been better in november for overwintering.

he best thing about the chicken pellets is that they're already matured :)

[ilikeyoursleeves]

I got some blood fish and bone stuff yesterday, it said it was for veggies. Is that ok? Also got 2 big bags of compost, do I just chuck it all in and mix it up?

[nickelbabe]

yes, that's good.
it's protein and nitrogen and other goodies, so very good for the soil.

yep, you can do that with the compost.
I would only do it with one bag, though, and use the other bag for your potting up seeds.

[ilikeyoursleeves]

Would one 60 litre bag be enough for a 1x2m bed?

[nickelbabe]

yes, it's got loads of nutrients in it.
have you already got soil in there, or will it all be compost?

if the latter, then you need to tip it all out and see how far it goes - tip it in and rake it over without stepping on it, and bash the clumps with the back of a spade.

[ilikeyoursleeves]

I've got a tonne of sandy loam soil plus some homemade compost (not much though). I ended up chucking both compost bags in cos I wanted to cover the whole bed, I also sprinkled some blood fish bone (boak) on top, it was so windy and was scared in case any blew in my face!!!

What now? Do I just leave it til say April til I plant anything? Should I water it?