starting out

Hi Vonade... Hic. I think we're all a bit pickled, hic, here, it being Saturday night. I'm sure you'll get some good advice in the morning. Hic.

Thanks hope so eager to get started

Vonade, I'm just starting out too so I'll watch this thread with interest. I'm almost disappointed my family are coming to us for sunday lunch as I'm itching to get going! I've got LOTS of seeds to be getting on with but might save some for next year. I've grown a few things in the past but only half heartedly so this year I'm going to really go for it and hopefully get my toddler really involved in it too :-)

Hi, vonade and Pickle, welcome to the Vine. Keep your eye on the weather. If you 're sowing seed at the moment you may be taking them to bed with you to keep them warm! I'm considering planting early potatoes next week but most things are in the planning stage at the moment. I think Easter is a good time this year to think about actually growing things, otherwise warm airing cuboards come to mind for germinating seed.

Hi Vonade and welcome to the Vine!

I would lay out your plot with beds across, 4m long x about 1 to 1.2m wide, with paths of about 60cm between - approximately 8 beds. Don't be tempted to make them any wider, or you'll have trouble reaching the middle - soil is much better and healthier if you're not constantly treading on it.

If the plot has never been used for veg before, it'll benefit from being dug over once, so you can find out what the soil is like and remove any deep-rooted weeds. If it's really poor and stony, you might want to consider raised beds, otherwise simple no-dig beds with paths between should work fine. You just keep piling on organic matter every year (manure, compost, etc) and leave nature to work its magic

As for what to grow, it really depends on what you like to eat! Your best returns will be from things that are expensive (or unobtainable) in the shops but relatively easy to grow at home. Maincrop potatoes, for example, really aren't worth the bother: they are cheap in the shops and take up a lot of space. The following are all worth considering:

* Lettuce and other salad leaves
* Onion family - garlic, shallots, spring onions, leeks
* Beans - French, runner or broad
* Carrots - grow a stubby variety if your ground is poor
* Beetroot
* Spinach and chard
* New potatoes
* Courgettes - baby ones are very expensive, and you could get dozens off one bush!
* Winter squash
* Sweetcorn
* Purple sprouting broccoli
* Kale - picked young and fresh, it really is delicious!
* Soft fruit - raspberries, strawberries, gooseberries, rhubarb

There's plenty more, but those are the ones I've found to be relatively easy. If you're not very experienced in raising plants from seed, things like leeks and broccoli can be bought very cheaply on ebay, ready to plant out in late summer. As for when to sow/plant - just keep an eye on this section of the forum (and "New Shoots" as well) for discussions of individual vegetables!

Hi Vonade,
I have divided my main plot into 4 beds which I rotate. Each bed consists off:

Legumes: Peas, Beans also sweetcorn and squash
Potatoes: erm for Potatoes
Brassicas: Cabbage, Cauliflower, Brussel Sprouts etc
Roots: Carrots, Onions, Leeks, Parsnip, Swede etc, (some of these are Brassicas but classed as Root).
I then have a "few dedicated spare beds" (when I can get away with it) for things like Raspberry, soft fruits etc

What have you done to your plot at the moment because this will help decide what and where you can grow, for instance if you have manured it then this could cause problems for carrots and onion planting, also dont forget there is container growing and I plan to grow quite a few tomatoes, potatoes and peppers in containers.

Thanks to everyone for your suggestions

I have not done anything with the plot at the moment
I doubt very much that it has had any vegetables or soft fruits grown there before

Will start turning it over in the week

If nothings been grown there before, it doesn't really matter what you grow this year, because I expect you're itching just to grow. If you have the time to work out a system, all the better though.
I didn't have a plan for winter veg last year, so don't forget to add them in your plan.
Also dont forget you can grow up as well, with trellis or something similar, and in pots.
I'd grow beans of any type because they're easy, courgettes(take up a lot of space), spinach or beet spinach(can be used for salad or as cooked, so cut and come again), peas, new potatoes(can be grown in buckets), carrots, tomtatoes if you have protection for indoor ones, or outdoor tomatoes, cucumbers, salad leaves (any type), rocket, herbs in pots.
I'd suggest making a list of what you really like, what you're garden does, eg south facing, protected/exposed, work out what type of soil you have, work out how big you want your growing area to be, whether you want beds or you're happy to plant in rows, where you can site a compost bin, where you can site a greenhouse type structure if you're having one. Once you get the biggies out of the way, you'll have more of an idea.

The only thing you really have to plan ahead is perennials like the fruit - it's going to want to stay where it is for several years, so once it's in you're more or less stuck with it (though rhubarb can be moved without too much trouble, I've found). Pretty much anything else can be moved if you change your mind - I'm currently about halfway through changing my six beds into eight, as the original ones were a bit too wide!