Creating a vegtable patch

[molko]

Hi

Looking to build a vegetable patch in the garden, we have a section of the garden which is basically wasteland - its full of weeds, hardcore, glass etc...

I thought it would be a good idea to create something out of it - veggies

I've attached a picture of the area

basically I dont really know what to do? Its a nightmare to dig over, full of proper big stones (slabs of broken flags), the soil is really claggy from clay etc......How deep do i need to dig for a veggie patch ? Should i replace the claggy clay soild with something else ?

Just wondering if its actually worth it, and would it be feasible to kill off all the grass/weeds etc and chuck 2ft of soil and effectlivly raise the veggie patch.

Just want to bounce some ideas of you guys...

Maybe I should get a handyman in ?

Untitled

• molko
• 22 Apr 2012
• 1

Thanks[/img]

 

[r896neo]

this is partly why veg plots are so often raised beds, its easier to simply create a box and fill it with a foot of new compost and soil.

Depth is dependant on what you want to grow, larger root vegetables need more depth to spread into, but generally speaking depth will significantly improve yields and size of plants.

Of course the existing ground can count as part of the depth as long as you dig it over well and add some sharp sand/ leaf mould etc to improve structure.

 

[Susiejb]

Hi molko your veggie patch sounds like a great idea, it may be good to think about the actual size of it in relation to what you actually want to grow in it, I can't really tell from the diagram how big it is.
A raised bed sounds great, but as r896neo says it will have to be quite deep, I would certainly avoid using any kind of weedkiller, and would still do your best to excavate the patch as much as possible before building your raised bed and filling with good soil and some compost.
Growing veg isn't always as easy as you imagine, so choose a nice easy crop to start with as it will encourage you to continue.

There is more help here

http://www.thegardenhelper.com/vegetables.html

Good luck.

 

[enyam]

Just to to what Suzie has said,there is still time to get a main crop of potato's in,this will help clean the ground by covering the ground with their haulm thus preventing any weeds and if any that do grow can be dug out when harvesting.

 

[molko]

Thanks guys,

Some good info there...basically :

1) Dig over what i can, removing stones, weeds etc.
2) Apply sharp sand / leaf mould (?)
3) Box off and fill about 18inch of soil and compost mix.
4) Aiming to plant some pototoes.

Do you think it worth laying one of them black out things, the polythene that stops weeds growing through ?

 

[enyam]

Do you think it worth laying one of them black out things, the polythene that stops weeds growing through ?

I wouldn't because your plants have to have daylight to grow.

 

[r896neo]

Spray any vegetation with roundup before turning it over or you'll be picking couch grass out for months to come.

 

[Susiejb]

Do you think it worth laying one of them black out things, the polythene that stops weeds growing through ?

One good thing about potatoes is they are 'almost' fail proof
You will need to bank them up as they grow so no, don't use the polythene, but you could do that if you also decide to plant some smaller things like lettuce, just make a hole in it where you want to plant.
Weeds are your enemy, if you do decide to use weed killer obviously make sure it is safe to use round crops that you will eat.

 

[enyam]

Spray any vegetation with roundup before turning it over or you'll be picking couch grass out for months to come.

Lazy way,bend your back and get digging.

 

[r896neo]

Its the effective way, unless you want to remove all the perennial weeds and strands of couch grass individually by hand.

 

[enyam]

I don't disagree,just a different route than I would take.

 

[molko]

Do you think it worth laying one of them black out things, the polythene that stops weeds growing through ?

I wouldn't because your plants have to have daylight to grow.

I meant laying the blackout poythene under the 1ft of soil....i am going to dig the area over, remove all the weeds etc - well best i can, lay a blackout polythene layer and then dump 1 - 1.5 foot of compost/soil combo.


Does that sound like a plan ?

 

[enyam]

No,you will find that most weed's have shallow roots and are easily hoe'd,docks and dandelions have tap roots but by digging the ground over regularly in spring and autumn you can keep on top of these.