Veg growing combinations - total novice

[craftynclothy]

So dh & I decided we'd try growing some veg and almost have the sections ready to plant.

www.flickr.com/photos/45064085@N00/3414546857/ This is what it looks like and there'll be another 2 squares at the front iyswim.

So I was thinking of planting peas & mangetout in the long bit at the back next to the fence.

Then in the squares I was thinking of:

1. Carrots, onion, leeks
2. Cauliflower, Purple sprouting brocolli
3. Lettuce, Swiss Chard
4. ?

So will these combos be ok? Any suggestions as to what else I could plant - something that's easy to grow preferably!

Spuds?

or - my favourite, a pyramid of runner beans.

Or a courgette plant

Oh I could maybe do courgette.

We have spuds in a bag thing and strawberries in another (forgot to say that earlier - baby brain!)

What you need to think about is next year (!), because you want to set up a sort of rotating system and not keep growing the same things in the same spot each year, as this should help to cut down on pests and diseases in the soil. A basic system is:

YEAR 1: potatoes, tomatoes
YEAR 2 (same bed):legumes (peas, beans), plus carrots, parsnips, onions, shallots, leeks, garlic
YEAR 3: brassicas (cabbage family)

Other things should be OK anywhere in this so could fit in where there is space.

If you can't think of anything to plant in the last square, you can always put down a green manure to help add nutrients to the soil.

If you're doing courgettes, make sure you protect the young plants well as slugs are very partial to them! If you're doing beans, according to the rotation, they would be in the same group as your leeks/onions etc bed, so you could eiteghr have two beds for that part of the rotatin, or else perhaps grow some extra potatoes there instead?

If you are planning to rotate, then potatoes or beans/peas would go in slot 4.

The swiss chard is a brassica and should go with the cauli and PSB. You could put tomatoes with the lettuce instead (if growing beans/peas in 4) or beans/peas if growing spuds (tomatoes and potatoes are the same family and again shouldn't grow in the same space more than once every 4 years).

Swiss chard is not a brassica - it is the same family as beetroot, and usually gets grown with salad crops.

One of those squares is not going to be enough for carrots, onions AND leeks. Onions and leeks need space and you need quite a few of them to be worthwhile. Carrots are fussy - they will either grow happily in your soil or they won't. I'd try a row or two, with some onions OR leeks in most of the bed for this year.

Cauli and PSB together is OK - I find an allocation of one or two PSB per eater is plenty.

Don't let classic crop rotation drive you nuts or make you grow stuff you don't like or want - the basic principles is just not to keep planting the same kind of stuff in the same place every year but move things around. Alternative to rotation is just to jumble everything together - have a cauliflower, some carrots, a couple of leeks, some dwarf french beans, some parsley and a chili all in the same bed. Sprinkle in some marigolds and lovely!

I can't live without courgettes and beans - french and runner - so I'm with Donk,I'd go for one of those in the 4th bed.

Oh OK donk - I've always thought it was a brassica, but see you are quite right. Just as well I grow my brassicas and root stuff (carrots, beetroot etc) together really!

courgette can go with your peas and beans, you will only need one or two plants, they're prolific! this year I'm growing;
1; carrots, shallots beetroot and parsnip
2;potatoes
3;courgette, french beans, sugarsnaps
4;broccoli,sprouts, cavelo nero, pak choi
tomatoes on the side bed and some salad potatoes in thick rubble bags.
I decided on shallots as you get half a dozen to each bulb grown rather than the one onion. pak choi and cavelo as it's smaller than cabbage and not cheap in the shops. Am also doing mini lettuces, salad leaves and radish.