Topic: not enough room

[ACE]

Planning next years crops, Not having the room I had at the plot some will have to be left out. Keeping it to basics this time and see how it goes, Can't eat spuds and most root veggies so there's a saving. What crops would you use if you were cut down with space. I expect I'll need a few more raised beds in the end but I hear that there is a glut of sleepers to build them with. Rishi will be selling them now.

[Paulh]

Runner beans, (climbing) French beans, courgettes - they crop generously for a long period and don't need much attention.

My "luxury" would be sweetcorn and I would space it generously so that I could underplant it with butternut squash and/or cucumbers. Again, they don't need much attention.

Perhaps I should give up my plot and build four raised beds at home!

[tricia]

Runner beans, (climbing) French beans, courgettes - they crop generously for a long period and don't need much attention.

My "luxury" would be sweetcorn and I would space it generously so that I could underplant it with butternut squash and/or cucumbers. Again, they don't need much attention.

Perhaps I should give up my plot and build four raised beds at home!

Snap Paulh,  I have 4 raised beds in my small garden and always grow runner/french beans and squashes in two of them (permanent beds) and sweet corn and tomatoes (alternating each year) in the other two. A rockery was removed to make way for courgettes .

And none of them are root veg. ACE  .

Tricia 

[Obelixx]

I try to grow crops which I can't buy here, eg decent chillies, cavolo nero, PSB, or are expensive, eg soft fruits, broad beans, green asparagus, Thai basil.

I always find space for beetroot as it's such a healthy and tasty root and the leaves are good in salads.   I don't bother with potatoes as we eat so few and they take up a huge amount of space and don't do well in hot, dry springs and summers.

I grow squashes up supports so the fruit gets more sunshine and I can plant one per square metre and underplant with quick salads before the squash leaves get so big they cover the soil.

[Tee Gee]

I tend to grow Salad crops such as Lettuce, Radish, Carrots, Beetroot, Climbing Green Beans outdoors, plus Tomatoes, Sweet Peppers, Cucumber in 8x6 GH

Haven't had much success with Onions in containers.

I have 2 Apple trees, 2 Pear trees, 1Plum tree, 1Gooseberry bush, 12 Strawberry plants in hanging baskets, 4 Raspberry canes and one root of Rhubarb.

[Deb P]

If I recall correctly you are eating squash as a lower carb alternative to root veg so I would definitely explore as many vertical growing options as possible to make the best use if your space and consider the smaller acorn types that will scramble well and not be too heavy. They can also successfully be grown around the base of trees, sweetcorn and on compost heaps. Successional cropping can also help you make the best use of your more limited space, I try and have something ready to plant in newly cropped areas all year round but that means utilising our greenhouse and sowing most crops in modules with minimal direct sowing. The weather sometimes ruins the best made plans but your little island seems to do pretty well escaping the worst!

[Tulipa]

Ace you could Google 'square foot gardening' which would give you ideas for inter-cropping with quick crops in part of your beds, there are a few websites that have info. And Deb's suggestion of growing your squashes upwards is a good idea.  There are some small ones with lovely flavours, much nicer than butternut. I think there are a few of us growing at home now.