what to grow in a raised bed

[JO,JO]

hi was wondering could people let me know what has been a huge success for them in a raised bed,my partner has just made and installed two in my garden for me to indulge in growing brassicas etc in.have sewn alot of seed but i thought i might get some good tips from you all as well.

anybody got any seed spare if this is the case.
any advice would be greatly appreciated

thankyou

[wellie]

JOJO Hey!

If the raised beds have only just been 'built' and 'filled in', Brassicas should not perhaps be your first choice of crop to sow in them. I only say that, because Brassicas DO love very hard compacted ground, or they won't 'heart up' too well (like 'blown' sprouts, and not well hearted cabbagies or caulies etc?)

So this year, until the ground settles a little, could you grow stuff other than Brassicas?
Ooh! SO much other veggies to choose from, you're spoilt for choice, no?!

Post back here again if you can, and we could help you choose alternatives, and maybe, if you don't have seeds for the stuff you could grow instead, we could send you some?

[Alice]

Hello Jojo and welcome to the Vine. I know the conventioal wisdom says brassicas want firm ground but last year in new beds I grew cabbage, red cabbage and sprouts and they hearted up fine (to my surprise) so it's worth trying.
Apart from brassicas anything else you want should grow. I had salad leaves, spring onions, red onions, carrots, beetroot, celeriac, parsnip, celery, peas, beans - all kinds, sweet corn, jerusalem artichokes, Pak Choi, leeks, strawberries, cauliflowers and more besides. In good raised beds the worlds your oyster. Go for it and enjoy.

[matt44]

Hi, I am at more or less the same stage as you. My beds got built and filled about 2 weeks ago. I am playing it safe this year and sticking to Carrots, Beetroot, Potatoes, Lettuce & Peas. Will sow at fortnightly intervals.

I am leaving one bed alone until next year for brassicas. And one will have herbs & maybe strawberries in.

[JO,JO]

well am gunna try the lot. a little bit of eveything got some cabbages ready to put in now,this year is a bit of an experiment as i dont know what will grow yet!

[Vegetarian Fox]

Given I am now in my second full year of veg growing, my one big lesson from last year for me was:

DONT PLANT EVERYTHING AT ONCE IN INITIAL EXCITEMENT

You will have too much of everything at once - much better to succession plant a row/half row of each which space your crop and also protects against disaster (late frost, bunny/slug attach etc)

have fun...

[queen of the cobs]

and check out the seed swap forum on this site - people are very generous and it means you don't get left with lots of seed for years (who needs 500 parsnip seeds!)

[JO,JO]

i will only be growing a small amount of things as there is only me and my partner,but there is alot of rather keen neighbours to donate to x

[areia]

my first year in the raised bed i became a bit to eager the the vegetarian fox and tried planting anything i had one turnip the size of a 50p oh and deformed carrots but they are always amuseing as they looked like males and females if you know what i mean hehe ,got loads of beetroot, and onion though and salads did really well along with radish, spring onion,and self blanching celery only just dug them up actually no longer at the ediable stage though, and runner beans well i find they grow in pretty much anything, this year im doing my research making sure i do crop rotation, but then the weather was a bit hit and miss last year as well,

[JO,JO]

i am open to suggestions as i have never done raised bed gardenning before, i grew courgettes in the flower border last year and got loads also loads of tomatoes, radish in troughs spring onion in troughs,peppers in the greenhouse which suddenly all the fruits just dropped off i was gutted, had a hard time with lettuce as well it just kept bolting and cucumber.apparently it was a bad year for veg growers so am looking forward to this year all your advice i greatly appreciate.so keep it coming as i want to try and grow something that will survive long enough to be eaten!