[onemanorthree]

HI All,

It's my first year grown fruit and veg outside a greenhouse and I'm looking for some advice on which plants I should plant together in the same beds.
I am used to growing tomatoes and chilies with decent success.

Outside of the greenhouse I have have two raised beds, approx' 1 meter by 1 meter that I'v filled with a mixture of homemade compost and
store bought general compost. I plan t grow about 6 different varieties of veg in these: Onions, leeks, fennel, broccoli, lettuce, peas, & herbs.
I am stuck on which to grow beside each other and am worried about crop rotation next year.
I also plan to plant potatoes in the small amount of plantable garden we have and grow carrots in containers.

I'm growing fruit and a few other veg in pots and containers around the garden. Currently I have courgettes, garlic, broad-beans,
raspberries, gooseberries, Blueberries, strawberries, a pear tree and two settled production apples trees (inherited from previous house owner).

My first question, and there may be many, is which plants should I plant beside each other in the bed?
Should I plant the leaks with the onions and fennel? Are there plants I should grown beside each other this year & in the other bed next year for example?

I have pics of garden if that would be helpful. It's south facing and gets lots of sun.

Thanks in advance

omot

[dormouse]

It sounds like square foot gardening would be good for you. Do some research on that, there's a lot of information out there as it is very popular.

[Blowin]

Someone started a similar thread last year and the conclusion was to NOT attempt to grow multiple varieties as you'll only have space for minimal quantities of each AND most of your seeds will be wasted/unused.

Runner beans can be bought as plants in local markets etc and will provide loads of cropping from one of your 1x1 beds.

Planting a variety of salad crops in succession in the other could prove useful. Planting a few lettuces/radishes/spring onions etc at a time can produce quick crops, followed by further sowings rotating where you plant the subsequent ones.

Onions would work well from sets but I wouldn't bother with leeks as they normally benefit from greater depth than most raised beds afford.

Another 'cut and come again' crop is spinach beet (perpetual spinach), as is Curly Kale (Borecole) which will last right through winter with regular pickings. We're still picking from last year's sowing.

The basic message, though, to avoid disappointment is to rotate your one or two crops each year, e.g. Beans and Salad this year, onions and spinach next year etc.

[Lius]

Dormouse is right, Square Foot Gardening is the best way to plan / plant veggies in a small space, the book is very good see:-

http://www.squarefootgardening.org

Also inishindie has written a book on Raised Vegetable Beds see:-

http://www.gardenplansireland.com/forum/about5632.html

[tippben]

If you want climbing beans, try growing them in containers. We grow runner beans in old buckets full of Hortons compost, up a string attached to a little masonry nail on the wall of the house (south facing). They consistently outperform the ones we have planted "traditionally" in the soil, and they add a splash of colour where there would otherwise be none, and also leave space in our beds for a different crop.

[onemanorthree]

Thanks guys.

I went with a lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, onions and a few other fruit bushes, and very happy with the result.

Tanks for the input.