Amateur advice - raised vegetable bed project

[Jay22]

Did the square foot gardening thing for the first time last year...with a little help from BM and others on the vine. It was very successful. Going to add a new bed this year. Kids will love it!

[Bigmallly]

With such a small area, SFG is the way to go IMO.

[Martin H]

I would not cover the bottom of the raised bed, I would want my vegetables to be able to put their roots down and seek out moisture and minerals.

[Matty1985]

I would not cover the bottom of the raised bed, I would want my vegetables to be able to put their roots down and seek out moisture and minerals.

What about the weeds that were there before?

[Martin H]

What about the weeds that were there before?

It's a tough old weed that will fight through a foot of soil to get to the light. Not many are strong enough to do this! But I would try and fork out the worst of any deep-rooted perennial weeds (docks, thistles, bindweed) before filling the bed.

The shallower the raised bed the more you need to prepare the ground, obviously.

[Guest]

Hi and welcome to the vine. I should imagine your head is swimming after all that info. Good luck

[Kristen]

I wouldn't grow spuds in a mixed bed for a couple of reasons, first you will have to earth them up as they grow, second to harvest them you will have to dig them up both the above could/will disturb the other planting.

Just to add to that Potato "tops" are quite bulky, and will hang over anything planted next to / near them. I too would skip them in a mixed bed, and grow some First Earlies in a container - to get New Potatoes when they are dear in the shops, and tasty because of their Sugar content (which turns to starch later in the season). Potato foliage is susceptible to frost, so if a late frost is forecast you can just carry the container into a shed / garage / kitchen?!! for the night

What about the weeds that were there before?

Adopt the old saying "Never let them see a Sunday" - just hoeing off the tops will kill any seedlings, and weaken pernicious weeds such that they are weakened and will eventually die. Don't leave it long though, they regain their strength very quickly and you'll be back to square one. There's a good reason, sadly, why weeds are so successful.

[Potstubsdustbins]

Just to show what Kristen means, these are 85ltr domestic plastic dustbin and 40 cold water storage tank, it will give you an idea what to expect.

[maverick451]

Id grow the potatoes and tomatoes in containers and use the bed for other things.

I started with square foot gardening, theres lots of videos on youtube, this for example
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2FxJimob84

Theres even an online planner now

Kitchen Garden Planner | Garden Planner, Square Foot Gardening in Raised Beds