Raised Bed/Grow-Your-Own Newbie - advice/hints/tips please

[JandLandG]

Hi there

we moved into our place last year and inherited two nice-sized raised beds at the bottom of our garden.

the couple next door we're looking after them for the previous owner here, but now i've taken them on but haven't got a clue about gardening and growing in particular.

we ate some lovely potatoes from there last year that the others grew and so i'd very much like to see what i can grow this year - any tips/thoughts/suggestions?

it's a nice south-facing garden in the south west. beds left in good condition when handed over to us - what do i need to do and when do i need to do it?! what can i grow? pots? rocket? herbs? courgettes? dunno - what do people grow?

any help and advice much appreciated

I have four smallish raised beds in which I grow runner beans, rhubarb, parsnips, and courgettes/marrows. I also grow tomatoes and blueberries in big pots, and garlic in the flowerbeds.

Basically, the best tip is to grow what you like (to eat). If you haven't got enough room to grow everything you want to, then choose to grow the things which are more expensive to buy in the greengrocers, or which benefit from being picked and eaten quickly (e.g. peas, beans, and carrots).

I would suggest sprinkling the beds with fish, blood and bone mix in March, and then forking them over. Follow sowing instructions on the packets for when to sow etc.

Above all, enjoy it! Food you've grown yourself tastes SO much better!

I would definately echo everything that Vanillacandle said. Grow what you want to eat, find too expensive or something different that you want to try.

It's true, some veg, such as cauliflowers, take a little more nurturing but on the whole if sown or plant in a well prepared bed (which is where the fish mix or well rotted manure - which is what I use)comes in; you can't go too wrong. Simply follow the instructions for when to plant and harvest.

There are plenty of blogs and books around to help with plant pests and diseases etc. but don't let scare you off. The plants may grow fine and healthy.

I started growing my own last year with new potatoes. In the raised beds I grew: carrots, spring onions, elephant garlic, lettuce, corriander. Elsewhere on the plot we grew peas, strawberries and broad beans.

My advice; just pick a few things to try and concentrate on them. You can grow more next year or as your confidence grows. It's really quite easy and incredibly satisfying. Good on you for having a go!

wow...thanks for the responses - really positive thoughts so i'll definitely be having a go. good tip re march...i can prepare in the meantime...

thanks so much!

Have a look on the RHS website, they have really been promoting grow your own over the last couple of years and have lots of advice. I would mainly second what has already been said. Work out what you like, then work out how much of that you can grow.

I grow things that are expensive in the shops, asparagus (takes couple of years but worth it) and also soft fruit as the kids eat it so quickly I would have to be going to the shops every day! Also salad and herbs. Carrots are good and parsnips as you can buy certain types that you can leave in the ground for a while and just dig them up when you need them!

Hello!

COngratualtions on your new house and raised beds.

I received this book for Christmas and thofoughly reccomend... Its about £4 on Amazon at the moment.... look here

My favourite to grow are

carrots - no transplanting and faffing, pulling them up is wquite magical and they taste delicious

Spuds - though take up lots of space, we grow in pretty 'bags for life' with drainage holes in.

Lettuce - soooooooo easy and so expensive in the shops.

Strawberries - started last year and they were much easier than I tought.

Courgette - take up space but are very productive.

If I wer you, for first year, buy the plants rather than starting from seed. You wont need that many and buying 200 seeds might be too mcuh anyway! Wonder if your next door neighbour grows from seed and would let you have some of his plants......

Also, we;ve been growing sprouting broccoil which you can put in the ground when everything comes out, leave over winter, et and take ot in mrach before you nee the ground again.

Lastly, agree with starting 'easy' and with less types...but don;t be afraid to put a little room aside for and failure experiment or two...

hey thanks again for all this...looking forward to getting stuck in once we thaw out...will notify of any results!

We did outdoor cucumbers last year, Marketmore and a round one called Lemon crystal. Ours were left to sprawl on the ground but training them up something would be better use of space, kept us in cucumbers with very little effort one established.

Don't Runners unless you properly like them of know someone who does as they crop heavily and you start to wonder what to do with them! I'm sticking with French beans next year.

Beetroot is pretty easy and do are broad beans. Rainbow chard was our surprise of 2010, a fair bit has survived the snow and we will definitely keep going with that.

Main crop potatoes take a lot of space, we use the potato bags and am now miffed at spending £15 on them as mumblecrumble has pointed out that bags for life are equally as good... Best to grow salad potatoes if you are short of space.

Perpetual spinach, lettuce (lots of different kinds), carrots and tomatoes are a staple in our garden as these taste so much nicer than shop bought. Any type of Green Bean is a great addition as you can pick a handful every few days.

Herb patch is a must. Rosemary, sage and thyme grow forever and coriander and parsley are lush when freshly cut.

CQ's dp here. What a great forum. I started growing veg two years ago and I love it.
My advice would be to just have a go. Yes you will make mistakes and some things won't work out as planned (if my hand shaped carrots of 2009 are anything to go by), but you will learn as you go.

Also, I find a half hours weeding/planting of an evening is a great stress reliever and the food definitely tastes better than anything you can buy.

It's not only the excellent, if slightly 'unusual' produce though as CQ's dp says it's a great stress reliver. Just being there and seeing the whole process from seed to plate is very satisfying. Someone referred to grow your own as "digging for therapy" and it really is. When on the plot it's like being on holiday and it often puts things in perspective - relatively small things - like my messy kitchen :)

thanks so much again for these...will definitely have a look into this stuff asap