help with planning !

Hey guys am in the mindd frame for setting up my patches for next year !
My plan is three large beds 2 m * 1m and inbetween 1 and 2 , 2 small patches each 1m*1m and
Same again for inbetween 2 and 3 so all in I'll have 7 . I've got a gd idea of things I want to plant
But dnt know what's best to plant next to what lol and help or tips would be great

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Colin

 

Also my beetroot about ready to pull what's best to do with it not had it plain be for always pickled lol

 

Any one got any ideas ??

 

Is that the best use of space? I had 4ft by 4ft raised beds, but we've just started work at replacing them with 8 or 10ft by 4, as long as I can reach across them without stepping in. Also, how much space do you need in between the beds? Do you want to kneel or crouch? Will you use fleece or enviromesh to cover them as this may impact the width of your beds.

 

You can boil beetroot with the skin on, and push it off when they are cooked, to have with a salad. You can make cakes, soup eg borscht, roast them, I've seen them in the packs of vegetable crisps. What about this...
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1203/beetroot-bean-and-feta-salad

 

:thumb:Hey thanks for your input

Yeh that's my best use of space my back garden is 6.4m by 7m long so
I'm using up 2.4m by 7m with my beds and paths etc and the rest is for
my fiancee and baby which is due in jan. Inbetween beds will be 400mm by 400 mm
Slabs so that will be plenty. I'm lookibg for which veg and fruit would go best planted next to each other I've read bout companion planting but thought it would be better coming from the breast mouth ! Two of the small beds (back two of the four) will be a lot taller so root veg can be grown.

As for the beetroot I shall give it a bash

 

Hey Colincwb,

Sounds like you got a few good bed sizes there. Best thing on planning is to think about what you & the family want to eat. No good growing something that you don't all want.

French beans are usually a good one, big yield & potential for storage in freezer or salted. Onions & garlic always usefull.

Spuds, if you got the room, but otherwise its cheaper to buy a 25kg sack.

Asparagus is worth considering.

Just a few thoughts.

 

Thanks ziggy :thumb:

Yeh should be good . Got two beds joined together just now but they total 12ft by 4ft so
The new ones will give me more space to be a bit more productive . Infact I pulled the beetroot up to night looks gd but disapointed in my carrots :(

I pulled them up and the were a dingy colour of orange and the bottom of the greens were
Brown and inside ......... There were small white sort of worms !!

Any ideas wat the are and how to stop n get rid of them ???

 

sounds like carrot fly colin :( You could grow your carrots under fleece next time. The carrot fly likes loose soil around the carrot tops, so disturbing soil and thinning doesn't help things much...(sometimes they tend to lay their eggs anyway I think, even if you avoid this)
Julie

 

Thanks julie .. I'll need to buy some fleece then take it b&q sells the likes I've got other carrots in another bed a few mwters away do you thing they may have had there way with them too ?? And do the go for any other root veg as I have parsnips and raddish there to ??

 

I'm afraid they attack all carrot family, so your parsnips are not safe either! Some people earth up the tops of the carrot rows by about an inch in May. The carrot flies don't fly very high, so you could make a wall of fleece around a bed of 2 foot or so. Companion planting is supposed to work, anything to mask the carrot smell, I have used marigolds before...limited success! Alternate rows of Onions or garlic and carrots might be better. Now you have had them, fork over the soil in the winter to expose any overwintering pests to frost. I just find fleece easy. There are varieties of supposedly resistant carrots, I have no experience.
Deep hanging baskets could be an answer!!

 

Thanks very much julie again ill give that a go went looking at fleece to day
I am going to start about the planters tomorrow I'll have a look at the parsnips tomorrow
And make sure they haven't got to them !