Raised beds, growing veggies, tomatoes, carrots etc etc blah blah

[gensetsteve]

If anybody wants a few trailer loads of soil and live nr Andover Hants give me a shout can load with bobcat. Half my processor dust goes in the incinerator the other half composted. Mixed together produces bright green giant veg

[Steve Bullman]

Cheers for all the helpful replies

[Chris Gagen]

steve, try and find out if you have any small scale aggregate suppliers, i got a load of topsoil for my garden, was "cleanings" from bury beet factory, top stuff!

[Steve Bullman]

I know a local guy who ive bought hardcore from before...pretty certain he'd let me go and collect a pickup full from his yard if i ask.

[openspaceman]

Make sure you buy "top soil as dug"

 

I bought some "screened top soil" from a supplier and what I got was the shite that had fallen out of the screener, it looked fine till the rain got to it and it showed brick dust and all sorts

 

Good point, I have a skip depot just up the road from here, they reckon to redirect most skips containing just inert brick rubble, soil etc and screen it into hardcore, the fines do get mixed in with soil and sold as top soil. The give-away is the musty smell as you rake it in.

[likeitorlumpit]

Some years we do some. Some years dont bother. as slack said dont over do it straight away as if it gets away from you can be a pain. I tend to plant stuff that we like and costs alot to buy. spring onions, courgette, toms, carrots cos you cant beat the taste. Potatoes same reason. We cant grow brassicas round here. Always in raised beds dug with bobcat . Raised beds are easy to weed on the back and keep the rabbits out. Keep the carrots high keeps carrot fly out especially if you grow with spring onion. Ask local growers what does well in your area and stick with that. My veg garden always looks overgrown with weeds low budget but always produces large amounts of fantastic tasteing veg

 

Spot on:thumbup:

Theres a lot to growing vegetables- much more than can be explained in a quick post.

Scruffy veg gardens are not necessarily bad gardens. They are allowing more eco stuff. Not for your military types though!!

By the way carrots like sandy soil and don't manure as you'll cause forking.

[TRADITIONAL LOGGERS]

We use large black tree planting sacks as these retain moisture (as can be moved unlike raised beds) and fill with a mixture of soil/horse muck/rotted leaves and have been eating well from them all. Carrots/Potatoes/Herbs..........

 

I have some current pictures and will post this evening.

[gensetsteve]

I will get a pick of mine but its not going to win any prizes at a Landscaping contest so be kind I keep mine on pallets so I can move them.

[John Barleycorn]

Raised beds have transformed veg growing in my plot on heavy weald clay. Large quantities of composted woodchip have worked wonders when mixed with the clay. Best to mix the woodchip/sawdust with grass cuttings (or other high nitrogen sources such as pee, dead rabbits,squirells stc). It must be rotted untill it looks like soil & you can no longer see wood. Adding lime/chalk/limestone will help if the soil is too acid. Compost any green material (including kitchen vegetable waste) you can get hold of, mix it with "browns" such as cardboard of wood chip as above.

[face cord]

There are actually serveral disadvantages as well as the advantages of raised beds but they seem complusory nowadays due too the fashion for them. I do have them but sometimes they annoy me.

 

What type of soil have you got as it makes a difference on what stuff you need to add to improve it.