Small vegetable plot advice

bandgeek

The wife and I are doing a bit of work in the back garden, and we've managed to eek out a bit of space for a small vegetable garden. I'm relatively new to this, I've not grown anything for about 15 years!


Basically, we have a space about 18' by 6'.


I'm asking you knowledgeable people 2 questions...


1 - Its a relatively heavy clay soil. This will need to be improved before I go any further forward. What is the best/cheapest way to improve my soil? Or would I be better building a raised bed?


2 - What would be a good combination of vegetables to fit in? I'm looking to maximise what crops I can grow in such a small space.


I'm going to make a separate herb garden with a few of the herbs we use a lot.


I look forward to some good advice :-)

RAS

Hi

The starting point is access; most of us can reach about 2 foot so can cope with a bed 4 foot wide. With a 6 foot space you need to be a bit inventive. If the space is accessible from both long edges, my thought would be to insert a single slab at 6 foot intervals on one side to improve access , making it look like a row of capital Es?

I would also look as Mel Bartholomew's Square Foot Gardening http://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/organicgardening/gh_sqft.php

The essential idea is that you grow something different in each space and re-plant as soon as that space is cleared. Although if you like you can use more than one space for a single vegetable.

For some things like runner beans (tepee climber) or courgettes you need to combine several squares (at least 4)

So you grow early peas, spinach, carrots, mustard and turnip and a single early potato in a few squares in March early April. Maybe designate one square for growing seedlings like leeks. Later you plant lettuce, swiss chard, beetroot etc.

After the last frosts add tomatoes (cordon), french beans, runner beans. and successional sowings of the previous veggies except potato and spinach.

When you pull up the early crops, replace with beetroot, cabbage seedlings, chicories and oriental greens etc.

Dizzy_Ditzy

I did something similar with my parents garden last year- I dug, dug and dug some more, then dug a little bit more to try and break it all up.

I dug in some manure and it all looked pretty fine. I left it to do its stuff, and it hasn't stopped raining since so I suspect that I'm back to square one again

I agree with the above advice though, and shall be taking done of it on myself

sobie

great advice given by RAS.

most important thing I was told is to only grow things we'd actually eat, no point wasting space on a crop to give away.
Go for crops that are expensive to buy, so cut & come again lettuce, salad potatoes etc or things that crop heavily like tomatoes, courgettes, cucumbers.

browneyedbazzi

The RHS website has some good advice about clay soils - and explains quite well why it's so difficult to 'improve' them.

http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/profile.aspx?PID=620

I also agree about growing what you will eat and growing things that are expensive to buy but grow well.

andrewf75

sobie wrote: »

great advice given by RAS.

most important thing I was told is to only grow things we'd actually eat, no point wasting space on a crop to give away.
Go for crops that are expensive to buy, so cut & come again lettuce, salad potatoes etc or things that crop heavily like tomatoes, courgettes, cucumbers.

do cucumbers really crop heavily in our climate? aren't they more a greenhouse crop?

browneyedbazzi

andrewf75 wrote: »

do cucumbers really crop heavily in our climate? aren't they more a greenhouse crop?

I've only grown cucumbers on a balcony in pots that I forgot to water (so not ideal) and they weren't brilliant but I did get a few cucumbers.

I wouldn't think they need a greenhouse here - my mom grows them in her garden in northern Alberta (Canada) and they produce tons despite a very short growing season. She always ends up making pickles and giving away cucumbers to everyone on the street because she can't get through them all.

Cucumbers are definitely on my list for my new garden because home grown ones are so much nicer than the watery, tasteless things from supermarkets.

DKLS

If your feeling fit I would add river sand, animal manure, seaweed and compost to the clay soil, basically any organic matter you can get your hands on. If your back isn't up to that I would go for raised beds.


A friend has recently bought a house from a woman who kept ponies and grew cut flowers. I am so jealous of her soil, as its had over 50yrs worth of pony muck added.


A gentle push on a spade is all that's needed I wasn't impressed coming back to my clay and builders rubble mix.

Mojisola

You need to make sure you buy the right seeds/plants. Some cues are bred for growing in greenhouses; others for out-door use.

JMFD

I was given one piece of advice for churning over the clay soil in my tiny plot at the back of my garden that seemed a bit odd - grow potatoes.

This came from a seasoned allotment holder, who said it was the easiest way to churn over the ground, alongside adding (but not digging in?!) a layer of manure before the winter hit. I've done that for this year, and am container-growing a few other things in pots until next year when hopefully the magick has happened!.

RAS

andrewf75 wrote: »

do cucumbers really crop heavily in our climate? aren't they more a greenhouse crop?

I had two plants in sodden Yorkshire last summer and was inundated with cucs. Most of the time I had two to pick, two nearly ready to pick and four followers. Gave them away, pickled them, ate them (thanks the infernal Whittingstall), and then stored the last 6 and used them over the next few months into December.