Help please for a complete novice who is planning a raised bed for veggies!

[ilikeyoursleeves]

Hi, I know absolute nada about gardening so I'd be really grateful for any helpful tips! I have just ordered a raised bed kit (2m x 1m x 30cm) for the garden to start a veggie patch. I plan on putting this straight on top of the ground- just now there are loads of stones / hardcore there as it will be covering our old driveway. Is it ok to do this? I tried to dig below the stones but it's clay stuff and blaze (?spelling) and not soil.

So do I the just fill up the raised bed with soil? I was going to buy this is this the right soil? Then can I plant some things or is it the totally wrong time of year? What can I plant just now? Do I need to wait for the soil to settle or anything like that?

Apologies for my ignorance! Thanks for any tips and replies :)

I think the hardcore etc will be ok if it's broken up, I would think it will mean your bed has quite good drainage.

I've never bought topsoil but that stuff says it's good for growing vegetables so I reckon it'll be fine. You might also want to get some horse muck, stables might charge for it, or if you can find a horse owner locally they might be happy for you to take it away for them for free.

I'm sure someone with a bit more knowledge will be along at some point, our raised bed is really DP's area.

Garden topsoil, mixed with, say, mushroom manure would be a good base, and your drainage looks good anyway. Animal manure should be well-rotted so as not to burn seedlings. all the soil will settles as it rains, so you may need to add more to your bed before planting.

As to planting now, google "veggie planting calendar uk" and you should get help there. My veggie planting calendar is Australian, so wrong for all sorts of reasons (and seasons):o A good example is DH planting garlic cloves in the middle of winter here, and they're three inches tall in three weeks: nothing ever quite stops growing. Especially the weeds.

We're preparing two veggie beds here - clearing the ground at the moment - so share your excitement.

Good luck with it all.

I have a similar raised bed but it's bigger- about 4 metres by 1.5. We dug up the patio ( slabs) and made the bed on top of the sand, filled it with bags of compost- John Innes no 2, and ordinary potting compost.
This is it's 3rd year and eachyear we take off the top layer and refresh with new compost. We don't use top soil simply because we can't find any!

A word of warning- if you have cats or your neighbours do, use netting until the seedlings have grown- otherwise it will be a cats' latrine.

Most years I grow beetroot, courgettes, dwarf french beans, carrots, cabbage, small tomatoes which hang over the edges, and some leeks. I have grown purple sprouting broccoli but it takes up a lot of space, as did the butternut squash. My tip is that you should try to have an on-going replanting - plant a small amount then plant some more a few weeks later.

Carol Kleins book on growing veg is good and gives some planting schemes for raised beds.