Brand new to veg growing

jimali

HI,
I have an area down the side of my house about 2x3 m that I want to put some raised beds in to attempt to grow some veg. It gets a bit of sunlight in the morning but is mostly shady, though it does get quite warm. Is putting raised beds here a good idea and what could I grow in them ? And any other tips/advice for a complete newbie ?
Thanks!
Jill

twopenny

What do you like to eat Jimali? You need recs on stuff you are going to harvest and make a meal of not what we'd like

Farway

I'd also add the common tip, grow what is expensive to buy or not easily found in shops.

For instance no point of growing loads spuds if space is limited as these are relatively cheap & readily found in shops

To my mind soft fruit like raspberries would be good to grow, always expensive in shops because it has to hand picked

Brambling

Runner beans are easy to grow, this time of the year you can plant your seeds directly into the ground, you will need a wigwam or something for them to climb.  I find they taste so much better picked young that the large beans brought in SM and if you keep picking usually produce a good crop. You can mix climbing french beans in with the runner beans if you want a variety or plant bush french bean plants, both will freeze well.  

Depending on your tastes for your first year seeds like salad leaves, spinach, chard and kale are easy crops just protect again slugs.  As are turnips, beetroot, radish and carrots

NB - depending on the size raised beds can require a lot of compost to fill 

-taff

And protect brassicas against cabbage white butterfly! Bloomin' things, they're number 2 on my hit list after slugs.

trellohell0

Firstly, what sort of vegetables do you like to eat? Its pointless me telling you to plant turnips if you would rather stab yourself in the leg.
Secondly, what do you like thats expensive? I love Pak Choi, but its a nightmare to find for less than £3 a bunch round where I live, so I grow it instead. On the flip side, I like carrots too but considering I can get a kilo of carrots for less than £1, its not space and cost effective to grow my own (as much as I love seeing their little tops popping out).
Thirdly, consider the season you're growing in as well as the space. Some vegetables, like a lot of root veg, are brilliant to grow in autumn and winter, whereas a lot of the more fragile plants, like tomatoes, won't grow well in autumn (in my limited experience).

If i can give one recommendation for a newbie, its watch youtube videos, and make sure that they're specific to where you live. If you live in North West Scotland, don't want youtube videos made by gardeners who live in Florida. I made that mistake once and it cost me about four seed packets worth of time, energy, compost and money.

greyteam1959

-taff said:

And protect brassicas against cabbage white butterfly! Bloomin' things, they're number 2 on my hit list after slugs.

I have an old tennis racket that I use on cabbage white butterflies.
Very effective, cheap & environmentally
friendly.
But the neighbours think I am nuts !!
😁😁

newlywed

We built a raised bed at the end of last summer. Seeds are cheap (free if you save hem from the tomatoes you buy) so I have had a put it in and see what happens theory.  

When the tomato plants grew to 3 foot, I did watch some video tips on pruning them to keep them healthy. Other than that... rocket was a slow starter but I left it in all over winter and now it’s mad and won’t stop growing!  Radish are easy if the slugs don’t get them, and only take about 6 weeks so Good if you are as impatient as me!

Just try it... what’s the worst that can happen?