Topic: veg seeds

[greentomatoes]

Think I may have gone mad buying veg seeds. I have built 6 raised beds all same size 4ft by 6ft.
 And bought all these seeds to grow in them, will I have room ?? to grow all . ???



Cabbage: Greyhound / Golden acre / Savoy: resolution F1.
Carrots: early Nantes 5 / Autumn king 2
Perpetual Spinach – leaf beet
Applause Sweet corn
Musselburgh Leeks
Broccoli Purple sprouting
Parsnips Lisbonnais
Bedford-Fillbasket Brussels sprouts
Courgette F1
Ambassador Peas
All year round Cauliflower
Boltardy Beetroot
Best of all Swede

Potato’s: Sante / Yukon gold / Arran pilot

Onions / shallots and garlic


any help and advice welcome  :-[

[Tee Gee]

The best bet in my opinion is to plan your bed layouts on a piece of paper.

This is how I do mine on the computer, i.e. a spread sheet where each column is a bed. http://tinyurl.com/3ddpbf

You could even expand on this and have spread sheet per bed if you want.


Just a tip on sowing don't sow the whole packet most of the seeds on your list will keep for a year or two so only sow enough to meet your needs, there are a few ideas here; http://tinyurl.com/yy5xkl

[greentomatoes]

 :) Thankyou TeeGee, will try put a plan together using the spread sheet  and what to grow in each bed.
Your The Gardener's Almanac page is fantastic.
 :D

[springbok]

Hiya, I am in the same boat as yourself.

It was suggested I do Square foot gardening.  So i have divided all my beds into square feet.

If you google square foot gardening there is a great website explaining it all, and also how many of each can go in each square foot.

Hope this helps.  I have planned mine like that now with lots of help from folk here :)

[greentomatoes]

Thanks springbokgirlie, just been on and looked at the Square Foot Gardening site and it looks good, I’m going to do a layout plan and workout what veg to plant and follow some of the planting guides and do small amounts at a time keeping an on going crop of veggies all year round and working on the scale of the square foot garden it looks easy to do. (fingers crossed) hope you have a good success good luck and happy planting . :)

[manicscousers]

hiya, greentomatoes..welcome to the site..sounds like you have a plan..happy growing  ;D

[Tee Gee]

will I have room ?? to grow all

The following might save you time and space.

Seeds that will require pre-germinating;

Applause Sweet corn (soak prior to sowing)
Courgette F1 (sow on edge)

Cabbage: Greyhound* Golden acre*
Bedford-Fillbasket Brussels sprouts*
All year round Cauliflower*

Varieties marked thus* can be sown in one large tray divided into four sections. i.e. a section for each variety this will save you space as these all want the same conditions to germinate.

The following can be sown quite a bit later i.e. when you have more space available as these are late cropping varieties.

Savoy: resolution F1.
Musselburgh Leeks
Broccoli Purple sprouting


Seeds that can be sown directly into the ground  when soil has warmed up.

Parsnips Lisbonnais
Carrots: early Nantes 5 / Autumn king 2
Ambassador Peas
Boltardy Beetroot
Best of all Swede
Perpetual Spinach – leaf beet ( sow a little often)

Look in my alphabetical index for sowing times.

[Rob the rake]

You may have to reconsider growing the Purple sprouting broccoli. It takes up a lot of space, and occupies the ground for 9 months out of 12.
On the other hand, it is fairly slow-growing and can be intercropped with faster growing veg which will be out before the broccoli needs the room.
A couple of plants will supply a surprising amount of spears over a long period, and they are ready at a time when other veg are in short supply.
You'll not easily find it in the shops either, and the flavour (IMHO) is far superior to that of Calabrese.

Sprouts are also in the ground for a long time, and need at least a 2 foot spacing to do well, but can be intercropped in the same manner.

Ensure that the taller crops are on the Northern side of the bed, so they aren't shading the shorter ones.

Your choices are pretty good. Some of them are fast-growing, which is what you should be looking for given that space is limited.

Best of luck for 2008. :)

[greentomatoes]

Thanks everyone, I’m going to try plan my veg layout on paper first and see what will grow with what and the time of harvesting them, grow most seeds in Jiffy Pots and transplant when I get space, buy some large tubs to grow carrots & peas in and grow bags for the Courgette. Grow potatoes in compost bags and give it my best shot.
Do you think the Purple sprouting broccoli will grow ok in a large tub?  :-\
Sow all these in the ground when soil has warmed up, Parsnips Lisbonnais
Boltardy Beetroot, Best of all Swede, Perpetual Spinach – leaf beet (small amounts at a time)
Oh I can’t wait to get started that alphabetical index for sowing times is fantastic thank you  :)