Show Us Your Veg Patch - You Know You Want To!! (Merged Thread)

skintscotslass

Hi folks :wave:

I had hoped to join you last year. Mrs M was very helpful re tomatoes. I've since moved house and have now made a start. My BF has been v busy making a raised bed today. I have brought some pots with me, containing mint, lemon thyme, basil, rhubarb and an unidentified herb. I've planted out some raspberry canes which my Dad reckons will grow like weeds, here's hoping lol. I've also got strawberries which I'm planning on putting into half moon baskets on a sunny wall.

Looking forward to seeing everyone's patches this year

hathor

dcurzon
When you're planning, be sure to take account of where the sun will be and where the shade will be, so that you have the right plants in the best area for them. Salad-y things are quite shade-tolerant, but tomatoes, for example, really do want the sun. Don't forget you can use your walls as well as the floor area to increase the number of containers/plants you can fit into a small space. Simple point, but true: square/rectangular containers will make better use of the space than round ones, but round ones fit will into odd "corners".
You can also grow bush or dwarf varieties of veg instead of taller/climbing ones if you want to. I have "shorter" versions of french beans, dwarf beans, courgettes and toms on my balcony. I hope to have strawberries and 2 types of tom in hanging baskets, too; I'm not allowed to attach things to my wall, and I've got a lovely sunny patch of wall just crying out for some containers. It's so frustrating!

Lotus-eater

What sort of wall is it, you could either make or buy some pots that could fit over the top of the wall and that would work. Sort of like those things you can get to hang things on doors without drilling a hole.

hathor

Nice idea, Lotus-eater. Skintscotslass may be able to take advantage of it, but sadly, mine is the wall of the building, not a boundary wall, so the only way I could "use" it would be to find a structure to give me a sort of free-standing shelf above the containers on the floor.
Thanks for the thought, though; this is such a friendly forum: people really try to help & support one another.

Lotus-eater

hathor wrote: »

Nice idea, Lotus-eater. Skintscotslass may be able to take advantage of it, but sadly, mine is the wall of the building, not a boundary wall, so the only way I could "use" it would be to find a structure to give me a sort of free-standing shelf above the containers on the floor.

I did wonder that after I wrote it tbh. Shame about your wall. What I would do is try to build some kind of short stairway out of scrap stuff, starts at a low level and gets higher using the vertical space, sort of like a football terrace,

carole.uk

or how about a tall thin old shelving unit or bookcase

CandyB101_2

I'm about to take on my auntie's/uncle's vegetable plot (DD (4) is very excited). They haven't grown anything in it for about 5 years and tomorrow we will be tackling it with a 'rotavator'.
Although I've had years of experience growing in the greenhouse and in pots/containers, this is quite new to us.
Can anyone tell me ..... do we need to add any fertiliser etc. once dug over. I know my uncle every year used to add manure, but my auntie really does not fancy the smell this year. From the patch that we've already dug .... it's totally full of worms, so hopefully this is a good sign ... or is that just an old wives tale???

Lotus-eater

No, worms mean it's good, Should be full of organic stuff.
Hang on with rotovating it for the moment, what weeds has it got in it? Dig down with a spade, if it has lot of white roots that break when you dig them up, please don't rotovate, you will only make it worse.
What soil do you have? What kind I mean, is it clay or sandy or just normal stuff ?
Whatever kind you have I'm afraid that manure is really the best thing for it, however...... it shouldn't smell at all, well rotted manure smells of nothing but earth.

CandyB101_2

Lotus-eater wrote: »

No, worms mean it's good, Should be full of organic stuff.
Hang on with rotovating it for the moment, what weeds has it got in it? Dig down with a spade, if it has lot of white roots that break when you dig them up, please don't rotovate, you will only make it worse.
What soil do you have? What kind I mean, is it clay or sandy or just normal stuff ?
Whatever kind you have I'm afraid that manure is really the best thing for it, however...... it shouldn't smell at all, well rotted manure smells of nothing but earth.

I think after years and years of of growing veg, it really is good soil, not sandy or clay.
For the last 5 summers my uncle has been digging out weeds, the plan being to grass it over. His knees and shoulders are not what they used to be so it's hard work for him now.
The weeds are mostly clumps of grass, with the odd dandelion here and there.
They really used to enjoy growing their own, so we thought we'd help them, and sow enough for all of us.
I don't think I've seen my 4 year old have so much fun, she's so excited at the thought of growing her own carrots and brocoli !!

I take it I could buy the manure in bags from garden centres? or is this an expensive way.
How long would we have to leave it for, before planting anything?

Lotus-eater

Well buying manure from a garden centre can be very expensive, has by any chance your uncle got a source, as he's grown there for many years?
Tbh, I didn't realise he was still alive, just do what he says, unless you want to do things differently....... which of course you do and that's not a negative comment. Trawl the forum on here and http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/grapevine/index.php you can get loads of good advice,

Grass could be couch grass, ask the uncle, if it is, rotavating it will make it worse.