--harassed mother-- gardening novice starting a veg patch this week

[lifeofdino]

I have been told that we have have 'good soil' in our garden! I also need a (cheap) reason for the DC's to be outside more and we have fenced off space that I have been meaning to turn into a veg patch for a while.

I keep seeing 'simple gardening' articles but they turn out to involve things like raised beds which would not be so simple for me, I was just planing on taking the turf off the top, digging, raking, planting in rows (with labels on sticks) and watering...

Would that be a good start? Even if we just put carrots and sprouts in I would be happy.

Any tips and advice would be very welcome!

[Ferguson]

It's a bit late to grow from seed now, but it you can buy small plants that are already growing that might work.

Yes - dig and rake, put in manure or compost or leaf-mould, and maybe a general fertilizer - a small amount of 6X or blood, fish and bone, and keep well watered after planting.

Courgettes are easy, and the plants grow VERY BIG. But maybe children aren't so keen on eating courgettes!

[lifeofdino]

I like courgettes so they would do, I could hope growing them would encourage the DC's to like them. We have a place near to us that sells veg plants apparently so I should go and look. I will add the other things to the list as well thank you for the advice.

[bookbook]

hello!
are you planning on doing this now? Its not a problem but may take a bit of effort , thats all. Definitely needs proper digging over before planting.
And there is plenty you can be doing now . Definitely go and see what veg plants are available - This is the time for planting winter vegetables - chard, leeks , kale, cabbages
you can sow or plant lettuce and carrots .
Fruit is also very popular with children - maybe strawberries for next year, or if you have enough space raspberries

[ClarkL]

I tried carrots but really struggled because I didn't dig well enough, very short stubby and mainly odd shaped carrots came up!
I would say if you are starting now aim for your winter vegetables, plant periodically and dare I suggest plan what you might like for Christmas? That way the kids could go out and pick their own veg for Christmas day.
My ultimate favourite is sweetcorn, a nice sunny spot is all you need, they shoot up so quickly and the babycorn I grew was so sweet none got cooked as we kept picking and eating it! Another good one for next year is mangetout as kids can pick and eat direct from the garden.
I like runner beans and depending on the age of your kids you could grow them up a teepee and leave an entrance for them to have a hideaway.
Also think about a few flowers you can grow, nastergums and violas can be eaten and look pretty to

[lifeofdino]

Ah ok, so perhaps a day digging before we head out to buy anything.

I did wonder about Christmas veg like sprouts and parsnips. I also quite like the idea of kale and all the DC's like sweetcorn so that would hopefully get them interested.

Raspberrys next year would be good, I notice my parents are very good with fruit so I might see if I can rope them in later on.

[bookbook]

Is it a big area? If so, take the digging steadily - its much harder work than appears at first glance. You are a bit too late for planting for this years Christmas sprouts and parsnips - they should be growing away now, but you may just manage some sprouting broccoli for spring :)

[traviata]

if you are going to take turf off and sow underneath, watch out for leatherjackets - they are voracious and will eat your veg. If you had plenty of time you could leave the ground for the birds to peck over, but otherwise just keep an eye out and remove any you see.