Thinking of a veggie border

The main restriction that I have is that the house is rented, so removing part of the patio for a raised bed would be a non-starter; equally, the grass area is used by my daughter and our dog, so I would be about as popular as a fart in a spacesuit if I suggested veg there.

The other thing, not shown in that picture above, is the fact that the whirlygig had has now moved onto the grass on the left, just behind the polytunnel/greenhouse area, and there is now a table and chair set sat on the patio. EDIT - oh, and there is a 10ft trampoline at the back of the grass area on the left now too!

I 'might' get away with suggesting a few more of the reusable growbags against the wall between the patio and the lawn, but again I expect that to be met with a negative response.

 

Only a concrete area about six foot square - ours is one of only two houses in the street that sits pretty much on the pavement

 

An allotment would be great, but around here the waiting lists for them are said to be horrific (20+ years!).

I've had the compass out, and the border is definitely north facing, so I am probably barking up the wrong tree, despite it being generally quite bright out there - the sad bit of it is, this also means that my greenhouse is going to have a cool/shady end - however, this doesn't seem to have bothered my cucumbers and stuff in the polytunnel this year.

Its just a shame I can't get a day that is sunny start to finish so I can take some photos of where the sun is hitting and where it isn't.

Looks like I will just have to maximise what I grow in the re-usable grow bags, and maybe even look for deeper ones.

 

Or................

I could make something out of wood?!?!?


Ooooh, I feel a wee challenge coming on......

 

Now that might just be a solution! Thanks

 

Right, had a bit of an idea that shouldn't cost the earth, yet should hopefully let me get some produce from the garden whilst not carrying out any major surgery; if this proves to be successful, then I can think about seeking permission from our landlady to build something deeper and more permanent (something that I doubt she would object to, in fairness); again, I apologise for the poor diagrams, but hopefully they will be enough for you all to see where I am thinking of going with this?

The border I was looking at is looking increasingly like a non starter, so I have decided to make try and make the best of the sunny side, whilst blending it in a bit so that it doesn't look too bad - as follows:​

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I already have 8 giant, re-usable grow bags (5 of which are not in use yet); although not the deepest things on the planet, the current ones have managed to grow me beetroot and carrots (albeit the smaller varieties), as well as lettuce, radish etc, so I am hopeful that they will be sufficient. To lessen the visual impact, I thought I would surround the bags with 'log roll' edging, and then put trough style hanging baskets on the fence above with flowers in to 'pretty' up the area a bit.​

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In addition to the above, I intend to try some of T&M's potato bags, and these will be sited under the kitchen window, which is almost directly below where this photo was taken from. I already have next years courgette seeds, and they are a patio/pot variety - the intention is that they can sit in front of the outdoor tomatoes. ​

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I am deliberately intending on keeping potatoes and tomatoes apart - thinking blight really, whether it will have any bearing on things or not, I have no idea.​

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As for the shady spot, I might throw some rhubarb at a bit of it, and the rest I will whack some perennial plants in and let them do their thing.​

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I've attached a pdf file with my planned sowings (essentially lettuce, radish, spring onion, onions, leeks and sprouts - I have one bag already given over to strawberries), and the rough dates to sow them. I'd be grateful for some learned eyes looking over them to see if I am being sane/sensible?​

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Over to you guys to tell me where I'm wrong!​

 

Sort of - I have 8 giant re-usable grow bags that are approx 1 metre long, half metre wide and abou 6 to 8 inches deep; each bag has straps across the top which naturally divide them into three sections, whilst not restricting root or bulb growth. By siting all the bags together, I can then corral them with the log roll to make them look a little less agricultural.

The tomatoes and courgettes will be in pots as they are this year, and the potatoes in deep potato bags from T&M