Get the best out of our veg patch

[alanw0]

We are just coming to the end of a year of our veg patch with some notable successes (tomatoes, sugar snaps, runner beans, chillies), some other items have not gone so well (peppers, courgettes, aubergines, garlic). We are in the process of deciding what to experiment with for the next 12 months and while we are improving and learning as we go and will persist with it, it would be great to get some advice.

What would people recommend as being good, easy veggies to grow in a relatively small space (2x raised beds in an enclosed urban garden)? We're not fussy eaters and it would be nice to struggle with this 'glut' problem that others seem to have!!!

[Durgan]

My comment is somewhat philosophical.

Utilizing the bounty of Summer for off season use is the aim. People preserve produce and the product is only desirable for short periods. I know a lady who has a basement with many jars of preserves that never get used. They preserve (keep) but are palatable in small amounts. For example, How much sauerkraut, dill pickles, salsa, etc. can your eat and is it sufficient?

After musing about this issue for some time I decided to experiment with juicing and pressure canning. I find the end product to be desirable and it is probably nutritional. I add nothing to the produce except water. Preparation time is minimal, since I basically take the produce as is and process. This year I have about 150 litres of wholesome food and ingest about half a litre or more per day.

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?DXAYD 6 August 2011 Making Vegetable Juice
http://www.durgan.org/URL/?UFAQJ 6 August 2011 Green peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers made into Juice.
http://www.durgan.org/URL/?SFCQC 10 August 2011 Tomato Juice
http://www.durgan.org/URL/?HZDXN 15 August 2011 Elderberry (Sambucus canadensis) Extracting Raw Juice.
http://www.durgan.org/URL/?BEGVV 26 August 2011 Elderberry Twenty pounds Processed.
http://www.durgan.org/URL/?SASIO 31 August 2011 Niagara Grapes
http://www.durgan.org/URL/?XLGIU 12 September 2011 Pear Juice
http://www.durgan.org/URL/?DKBJT 14 September 2011 Boca Noir Grapes
http://www.durgan.org/URL/?FPYQP 15 September 2011 Tomatoes
http://www.durgan.org/URL/?AZQUW 16 September 2011 Concord Grapes
http://www.durgan.org/URL/?WXDUB 4 October 2011 Ground Cherry. (Physalis Pruinosa) aka Aunt Molly Ground Cherry
http://www.durgan.org/URL/?AEYVU 27 October 2011 Apple Juice Processing

[Massey]

i would suggest cabbage, i'm in north east ireland, weather i;m sure is not a million miles diffenerent then your own and you can have cabbage early and late (as in now) and have plenty of time to grow something else inbetween on the same patch. mid summer you grow something else as this is the time i find my cabbage gets eatting by catapillers,

[Durgan]

i would suggest cabbage, i'm in north east ireland, weather i;m sure is not a million miles diffenerent then your own and you can have cabbage early and late (as in now) and have plenty of time to grow something else inbetween on the same patch. mid summer you grow something else as this is the time i find my cabbage gets eatting by catapillers,

I grow beautiful cabbage, early and late, but never juiced it. The Brussels spout were the substitute. Next year I will try a few heads.

[Davie Crockett]

I would recommend dividing your plots into four and going for a crop rotation system. This will maximise your soil productivity and minimise diseases caused by mineral deficiencies and repeat planting. It goes something like this:


Manure your beds before starting.

[Chickie2378]

How big are these 'relatively small' raised beds?

if kinda small then you won't get a glut of harvest you are hoping for unless you plant both beds the same, and preserve some.

Also for space saving, make a trellis. Cucumbers and other vines do very well climbing up saving space.

Little ground space required, vertical space used and wonderful produce! That might get you more 'extra' produce you are hoping for.

If these plots are smaller, then I would plant what I love to eat. Make a 'love to eat' list and plant that and enjoy.

Or you can follow the schedule of earliest things you can plant in cooler weather, like radishes which like a bit of chill in the air, early spring onions etc. Stop those as the heat kicks in thru summer and plant faster growing varities of summer produce and then fall plant some fall items to take you into winter. This will get you alot more variety.

hope some of that helps you.

[Keaniebean]

Hi AlanW0, I have a similar problem in that I have a very urban garden with only 4, 2x1m raised beds. What I have realised after 5 years of growing is that the best thing for me is to try and grow crops that are not only expensive in the shops but that I know will get eaten too.

I have also had to accept that some seasons have produced next to nothing too, as while some of the others on here with small farms/larger gardens can 'afford' ( I use that word in the loosest possible sense you must understand) to have a crop not do so well as others, if I loose a crop I more or less loose a years veggies from the garden. I have concentrated on things like raspberries, strwaberries, blueberries,beans,lettuces, kale,tomatoes, chard, garlic and other herbs as I have found that it is simply not worth growing veggies like carrots/cabbage/potatoes because of space limitations and financial benefits.

In the winter I tend to leave my beds bare just digging in some manure/compost and while I dream of what I desire, ie. 25 acres of prime farmland, not surrounded by hoards of people with road rage and pitbull type dogs ready to tear your calves apart if you look at their owners in the wrong fashion, I know that I can only ever do so much with such limited space.

As far as your comment about the 'glut' problem. I feel your pain

Anyway minor rant aside, I hope this might help a little.

[Chickie2378]

potatoes like new small reds do wonderful in containers. We farm and we have tons of old tires around right now. I stack. Fill with dirt and plant potatoes (I didn't have to do this cause I have tons of space, but I wanted to try this and) It works beautiful. Also a small kids pool filled with dirt produces wonderful root crops. If you have 'other space' use it other than the raised beds. Containers of all kinds can be used all over the yard, porch, etc.

[alanw0]

Thanks all, some good stuff there.

I like the idea of 'vertical growth' and defintely will consider more along those lines. Also considerations of relative cost in the shops is a very good point and probably it is worth focusing on what we love and what costs the most rather than stacks of spuds etc.

On the plus side, manure shouldn't be a problem, our chickens certainly produce enough!