probably wrong time of year!forward planning.veg patch.

[moljam]

how to for a beginner!whats easiest to grow,where to start,when to start?help!

[lulu25]

when to start = when it's warm enough to prepare the ground

what's easy = potatoes. radishes. generally parsley and coriander, but i couldn't get any to come up this year (too wet?). pumpkins/squash.

not much you can do at the moment, i don't think. i didn't finish digging my patch before it got cold, and now the ground's too hard.

[Wisteria]

I do stuff in the summer but am a bit rubbish in the winter - really posting so I can keep it on my threads (making chutney at the moment).

[moljam]

ok thanks.any good books,websites you can suggest?

[prufrock]

Delia's/Gay Search's book is excellent - as is an archive search on here - lots of people have asked this before.

I have a spreadsheet for my veg garden planning - it's not comprehensive and has a distinct lack of large amounts of green veg as my dh doesn't eat them, so I've tended to plan to grow stuff I know will be used. And it's obviously planned for my garden - 3 raised beds and a couple of areas within the flower beds. If you want to see a copy e-mail me at prufrock at hotmail.co.uk

[prufrock]

I am growing:
Potatoes (charlotte)
Potatoes (maincrop)
Peas
Mange tout
Courgettes
Raspberries
Sweetcorn
French beans
Butternut squash
Strawberries
Bed 1
Carrots
Garlic
Onions
Red Onions
Shallots
Bed 2
Spring onions
Cauliflower (Serac)
Cauliflower (snow crown)
Calabrese (kabuki)
Bed 3
Leeks
Sprouting broccoli
Rocket
Lettuce
Spinach
Chard

But all that i am doing at the moment is sowing cauliflower seeds inside for successional planting out in March. You've left it too late to get in overwintering things like Carrots and onion family now, but you can get prepared for March, which is when things start to take off.

[moljam]

blimey!!!!what king of things for march?and what sort of preperations?from your list,i like sound of trying-
Potatoes
Peas
Courgettes
Raspberries
French beans
Strawberries
Carrots
Garlic
Onions
Spring onions
Cauliflower
Sprouting broccoli
Lettuce
Spinach

but obviously for veg patch virgin realise this is far too much!!!!!

[prufrock]

IN March I will be:

Chiting potatoes
Planting onions, red onions, shallots,
Sowing spring onions, calabrese, spinach
Planting out cauliflowers.

All of those should be possible - last year was my first and I bought most of my plants from the garden centre rather than trying to grow from seed. The only seeds I did were carrots and spinach, which are very easy.

You do need to prepare your ground - but I didn't as my beds were part of the landscaping of my garden. BBC have a good online gardening page

[moljam]

you are fantastic!!!!thankyou!