Beginners veg patch?

[Playduh]

I've been reading the veg plot thread but it's a bit advanced for me so I thought I'd ask for advice separately.

I have the below plot. It's clay, gets a fair bit of sun but not all day. It's pretty sheltered from wind etc, I'm in the south east.

Until very recently it was all gravel so I had to make do with strawberries in big pots, which other than a few slugs did pretty well.

Can you wise women recommend some beginners fruit / veg for me to try?

[Playduh]

Sorry, forgot to add that it's ever so slightly alkaline.

[GrouchyKiwi]

I am a beginner also and spend a lot of time in the Allotment thread here. The advice is brilliant. The best thing the experts on that thread said was grow what you like to eat! I also google a lot of things, mostly terminology.

This is my first year with a vegetable patch. I've grown

• broad beans: a bit late for those now, but think of them for next year if you like them because they grow brilliantly in my very similar soil.
  
• spinach: the wet, warm weather made it bolt very quickly but it was delicious while it lasted. I've got some more little seedlings coming up now and hopefully they'll last a bit longer. You should be able to get some going now. Apparently spinach doesn't like to be transplanted so just direct sow it.
  
• carrots: I added sand to a section of my soil and the carrots are growing well.
  
• potatoes: they romped away and I had to take them out this week a bit early as they were crushing other plants. You might be able to put some main crop ones in now.
  
• lettuce: grows brilliantly, DH loves the taste (I don't like lettuce). You'll definitely be able to grow some now.
  
• peas: they're just about ready to harvest now and taste yum. I think you should be able to sow some now.
  
• spring onions: they grow very quickly. I put some more in about two weeks ago so I think you could do them now too.
  

I also have strawberries, courgettes, raspberries, nasturtiums, marigolds, borage and beetroot in my garden, all of which are growing brilliantly.

I think most vegetables/fruit will grow in an alkaline soil. Blueberries definitely need acidic soil, though.

Good luck and have fun with it! And definitely check out the thread I linked above. I've learned so much from it.

[Playduh]

This was exactly what I wanted - thank you!

[bookbook]

Grouchy has covered it beautifully!
But I do hope we don't put people off asking on the thread- we love helping newbies.
There is still time to buy some plants if you want to get going. I was at a garden centre on Saturday, and they had loads of different plants just begging to be bought, beans/pak choi/ cabbages etc , so that may give you a bit to harvest this year.
Might be worth a look at local markets too . One of my favourites, which is so easy is kale - you can pick it all over winter ( mind you DH and I really like greens - not everybody does!)

[FarsleyLass]

When I started growing I tried to go for fruit / veg that I liked but was expensive or not avaliable in shops.. first thing was two gooseberry bushes.

[freetrampolineforall]

Broad beans are great - nice flowers and they put goodness back into the soil. Spinach - I used to pull leaves off for lettuce on my butties and then off to work.

[LIZS]

We've just redone our veggie beds which had been overtaken by weeds, only salvaging a few strawberry plants. What is worth planting now please?

[bookbook]

LIZS - still time for beetroot/carrots/spring cabbage , even leeks if you can find some plug plants ( There were some in my local garden centre ) baby leaf spinach.

[funnyperson]

A lot of watering will be needed

[OnyK]

I've only just found this thread.

I have 2 new raised beds, surrounded by gravel, after trying to grow veg in the garden and realising I was just feeding the local slugs and snails.

My top tip for salad lovers is to buy a pack of 'living salad/lettuce' from the supermarket, splitting them up and replanting. Plus sow a row of rocket seeds every couple of weeks. I haven't bought any salad leaves all summer, since growing my own and we eat quite a lot of salad!