My Vegetable Garden - The Story So Far

We are now in June, and my vegetable garden is starting to take shape, even though a little late.  Here is the story so far........

We have so far made our 3 raised beds (not as high as I wanted due to finance restrictions, but these can be raised at a later date). 

We have grown runner beans (that seem to grow really fast when they get going, they literally grow about 2cm each day at the begining), lets hope we get some good runner beans from them.  We have also grown tomato plants, that were in doors to begin with, but are now being transferred into the new raised beds.

Luis (my 3 year old) has loved pottering in the garden, and we got him a great watering watering can and small garden tool set, that he loves.  He spends hours weeding (and sometimes I have to put back the odd plant lol).  He was next to the strawberry plants that I got free (from Homebase) when I bought the really nice strawberry pot (14.99), bit of an investment I hope, and hoping that they will produce some nice strawberries year after year, must remember to put them in the shed over the winter me thinks, just incase it snows like it did in January, dont want them to die off! lol.

I read that crop rotation was important, as its helps to reduce pests and can provide a great soil condition for next years vegetable, so I have divided the beds into Brassicas, Roots & Legumes (a great way to remember this is 'British Rail Late' lol)

Brassicas = Cabbage, Cauliflower, Calabrese, Broccoli, Brussel Sprouts, Kale, Kohl Rabi, Swedes and turnips.

Roots = Beetroots, Carrots and Parsnips.

Legumes = Peas, Mangetout, French Beans, Broad Beans, Runner Beans, Alliums (Leeks, Garlic, Shallots, Onions, Chives) and Salad Crops are all included here.

Potatoes need high nitrogen it seems, so they should be grown after Legumes, but you cant grow brassicas and potatoes in the same bed at the same time as brassicas need lime which causes a skin condition call scab in potatoes.

Marrows, cucumbers, lettuce and sweetcorn can be grown with any of the rotation groups.

So I have worked out that this year that in the first bed will be brassicas, then next year they will be roots and in the third year they will be legumes.  So this year the beds will be 1-Brassicas, 2-Roots and bed 3 Legumes.

So heres hoping that my tomoatoes (which are going in pots down the garage I think?????), cucumbers, courgettes, cauliflower, cabbages, carrots, sweetcorn, lettuces, chilli peppers, runner beans, french beans, sweetcorn, pumpkins (for Halloween and soup yum yum), and maybe the odd extra vegetable will grow well.  I am still thinking about potatoes, so watch this space.

My crop of vegetables will probably change next year, as never having done this before will determine what I grow next year.......it all depends on what grows and what crops the best, as this is supposed to save money!