First time vegetable patch/garden

longwalks1

We've got a strip of garden spare, approx 1m x 8m along one fence, and its gets sun from 8am til 4pm. We'd like to use it to grow vegetables, ideally chillis, onions, carrots, tomatos etc. But dont know where to start.



Any pointers or tips greatly appreciated

-taff

Whats your general area in the country?

longwalks1

Sorry taff I should of said, Hertfordshire just north of London

-taff

Plenty warm enough then to grow things outside.
You can either dig it over and rake it finely and sow direct [for carrots/radishes/lettuce] eating any thinnings as you [read the back of the seed packet for spacings between plants] or try no dig which is a lot kinder to knees and backs. If you want to try square foot gardening, you can cram a lot more in.
Dont forget the eventual size of plants, a tomato can take up to a meter square depending on what typ you decide to grow, probably best to stick to a cordon tomato for now, gardeners delight performs well outdoors.

Maybe jalapeno or some other tall chilli will be fine, you can always grow chillies in pots, the root being contained forces them to fruit more - don't water these to much either, they like being badly treated.
Onions are so cheap to buy unless you have a very large space it' not really worth doing, you could take up your whole bed and only produce enough to last a couple of months [ depends on how many you use]
Have a think about what's expensive [ like salad leaves, you could grow cut and come again or rocket which grows like wildfire] and what you like to eat and then work out what you'd like.
Go to a GC and have a wander round, quite a few have already got veg plants in, but I wouldn't recommend buying any bean plugs, they're just so easy to grow yourself, and for the price of two or three plants you can buy enough seed for a couple of eyars woth [ unless you only want to try out one plant to see how it goes]
You're not to late to sow anything really, or buy anything [ apart from apsaragus - needs a lot fo room, not recommended, or artichokes, ditto] so do a bit of research for a week to crystalise what your intentions are and then return and ask more questions
Also get an alllotment book from the library and have a read, they usually tell you what you can plant each month so you'll have a better idea of what's imminent and what can be left for a bit.
Also don't forget you can grow up as well as along the ground so a climbing frame, or poles, or a pallet will also come in handy.

Farway

Use the fence to grow along / up as well
How about a cultivated blackberry? Or just train runner beans, or peas up it

For a bit of effort, train some type of currant or other fruit along it, "espalier" is the word you need to Google