Quote:
Originally Posted by Wyrdlight
Hello!
I am after some advice in regards to growing vegetables and other tasty morsels.
I have spent a some time over the last couple of afternoons digging over and clearing a patch in my parents garden to use a veggie patch. The patch is south-facing with a fence on the north side and tall shrubs on the east and west so the position is fairly sheltered though it does get a goodly ammount if sun. The soil is on the acidic side though is rich and dark from the 3 large sacks of manure enriched compost i dug into it last year. It also contains huge number of earth worms which i assume is a good thing?
|
you're looking for soil which clumps together when you squeeze it, but then falls apart without much effort. ph is is critical in my experience - having it more than 0.5 either side of 7 starts to cause all kinds of problems with nutrient 'lock out' - invest in a decent ph metre and work from there with various ph altering agents, be aware that some of these also contain plant nutrients. compost will have added nutrients as well as more raw soil components which will is all good. you might want to think about adding a mix of slow and fast release nutrients to the soil - there are plenty of choices here, both organic and non-organic - personally i try to stick to organics.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wyrdlight
The plot is only small, around 18 sqaure feet but i do have at my disposal a large patio with enough space for a large number of grow-bags and assorted pots.
I tried to grow veggies last yeah on the patch described above, spring onion and salsify but they failed miserably, mostly due to ( i think) the mini bio-degradeable grow-pouches i planted the seeds in to give them a head start, they turned out to be not so bio-degradeable and served only to strangle the plants and prevent root growth i will never buy such a product again!
|
small can still be productive if you put in the hours and do your research. patio space is still free light
and ideal for those not so hardy crops you might want to have your parents bring in at night
what kind of 'bio-degradeable grow-pouches' were you using? i have used peat pellets since day one without a single complaint - bar the questionable sustainability of the peat source. they have a cotton mesh which just rots if i remember correctly.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wyrdlight
My question is... what should i plant in the veg patch?
Idealy i would like something fairly easy to grow, yield is secondary to flavour.
I have decided to grow beans on the patio in grow-bags, can anyone suggest some good varities? What else would you recomend i should grow on the patio?
I am reluctant to grow tomatoes, the ones i grew last year bore many fruit, but the fruits were tough-skinned and almost completely tasteless.
|
like david says, plant what you want to eat
