Veggie patch or herbs?

[Testificateman]

Have recently moved and in my new garden I have a patch, set up by the previous owners, for a veggie patch.
It is about 4m x 1.5m.
Should I use it for veg or herbs and what and when should I plant?
Any advice welcome. Thanks.

What aspect, soil and conditions do you have?

Herbs: have a look at the thread 'Anyone built raised beds' for herb advice - much of what has been written there will be useful to you also!

Fruit: setting some of a plot to fruit is a great idea - it's incredibly easy to maintain, it gives some of the tastiest crops you can produce and it more or less looks after itself, bar an annual prune and an occasional weed. Things like rhubarb, strawberries and a currant plant or two could give you a nice harvest without too much work.

Veg: With a small area, one of the best and easiest crops is salad leaves of various kinds. With a bit of planning, you can have year-round lettuce and leaves, along with perhaps some chard, a few beetroot etc. Beans could be grown up a wigwam in the summer, or sweet peas for the house.

You could do a combination of the above!

I think it depends a little bit on whether you use herbs or not - strangely not everyone does, even if they have them :)
If you do, 4m is a nice long bed which can take just about everything you may want , though it would be best if its a sunnyish position. yy to looking at the suggestions on the other thread -
shove has covered the bases for you, agree about beans up a wigwam , maybe a courgette plant ( if you like them!) Most of the vegetables are planted out after the frosts have finished. Fruit bushes and shrubby herbs can be planted straight away .

It sounds like you could have both! That's quite a lot of room. Also have a think whether you could fit some perennial herbs in the rest of the garden - like a bay, some rosemary and some thyme. I use all of those loads and it's great having them in the garden and also they good looking plants too. Parsley is easy and good as an edging plant around veg beds.

Oh, and don't grown mint anywhere except in a tub unless you've got loads of space as it will take over completely.

Shove's advice - as ever - is really good.

Also, grow what you like to eat!

Thank you for the suggestions and advice. Think I'll go for half herbs and half fruit.
I enjoy cooking and strawberries are my favourite.
How easy is it to grow strawberries?

Very! almost weed like on my allotment Once you have a few plants, and they comfy get settled in, they will happily throw out runners for next year, and the year after, and the year after :)

Yep, strawberries are brilliantly easy. Just be careful what variety you buy - some of them are so tasteless and watery they are hardly worth growing (Elsanta, I am looking at you). I've just planted a load of 'snow white' strawberries - yes, they are actually white! - which are supposed to be the variety most favoured by Michelin star chefs for flavour!

Thanks again. I will steer clear of Elsanta then. Would feel weird having white strawberries but will look into that one. 😀