My first time garden masterplan :)

So, there it goes:

I would love to have the following in my garden this year, please tell me if it’s unrealistic, or too optimistic Any advice much appreciated!

Raised bed no. 1: carrots from seed – early variety, and onions from sets

After picking, can I sow some green manure to overwinter?

Raised bed no. 2: lettuce, radish, chives, maybe couple of garlic plants

Late summer I’d like to plant celeriac and parsley for winter, and leave chives there.

Herb garden: I started this one already on my windowsill facing south Basil, parsley, dill, chives – all from seed

I have a potted lovage, which I started 2 years ago, and it grows like a weed every year, love it! I also want to pot a mint plant, and maybe a lavender.

I want to grow some first early potatoes too, but this year just one container with 3-4 tubers to see how it goes. I was actually gonna chit some Asda’a Charlotte potatoes for this – do you think it will work?

Fruit:
I also want some strawberry in a planter with holes on the sides and a red currant.

And flowers: marigolds to go with my carrots, night scented stock and poppies, and then in late summer definitely some spring bulbs and maybe some seeds that need to overwinter in the ground.

What do you think of my masterplan? :D

 

Just to add to this, my garden is facing south, so it gets sun all day. I’m gonna have raised beds on the west fence. My soil is clay I think, with lots of stones, but there are nettles growing in it and I hear it means your soil is good? I’m having pots and raised beds for veg done anyway, just few flowers will go into ground.

And my hubby is building a little greenhouse too for his tomatoes and chillies it will be unheated, but still should be able to keep some potted plants there over winter.

 

I'd give the Asda (or any supermarket) Spuds a miss, you might introduce blight into your area, especially after last year.

Garden centres will have specially grown "seed" potatoes that are certified disease free.

They're not expensive by any means

 

Sounds great. Time to start digging!

 

Zigs, I will look round then, I thought it might be easier only because I literally need 3-4 of them, but bringing blight to my garden is def a good point!

Oh, if only it wasn´t snowing anymore....

 

I bought 3 or 4 of a certain variety a couple of years ago, was a little embarrased when they charged me 17p

 

Do you have a poundland shop? They often have seed potatoes; what about a Wilkinsons? Otherwise, look to Homebase, B&Q etc.,

Even then, I would recommend growing them in a potato sack to restrict any disease which may result from buying "cheap". If they turn out good stock, however, you can then regrow

 

There is a Wilkinson here, but I would probably still go for a garden centre seed potatoes. It´s not really a problem with the cost, it´s more the fact that I thought I have to buy big quantities, whereas with asda´s I could just eat the rest but if I can only buy a few, that´s brill!! :D

 

You ought to try to do a "Crop Rotation" so that you keep like-plants, and their bugs and diseases, together and then each year move them to a new patch so that the bugs and diseases don't get a hold ... and then after 3 or 4 years [as long as possible] the Crop Rotation will return to the original patch.

Ideally Garlic will be in the same bed as Onions. (White rot will take 7 years to get rid of, if you get it in your patch ... hence rotation is important IMHO)

Celeriac needs a long season I reckon, so "late summer" probably too late to then get them to cropable size.

Extra to Ziggy's comment:

3 - 4 tubers in a "container" will give you a very meagre harvest (compared to growing them in the ground). Don't get me wrong, they will taste great! but the only reason I grow Spuds in containers is to get them super-early. For that reason I plant First Early - Charlotte is a Second Early. (Although, we love Charlotte spuds, so I do grow a couple of bags of Charlotte for in between the First Early bags (I grow Rocket and Arran Pilot) and the outdoor harvest ... but I have space enough)

Don't put more then 3 in the conventional bags you get for growing early Spuds, or 4 in an even larger container. They need plenty of space. Watering spuds grown in containers is a lot harder then those grown in the ground :(

If you are thinking French Marigolds will keep the carrot fly off the carrots I'd suggest you protect the carrots instead (with Enviromesh). If you want the Marigolds to look pretty then as-you-were

 

I went to a garden centre on the weekend and got 4 certified seed potatoes - Charlotte, got charged 80p

Kristen, I only plan one container of patatoes just to see how it goes. I read few bits that they grow better in the ground, but with me being a complete novice to this, I´ll be happy to have enough crop for one meal but next year, maybe, maybe....

Also, I no longer want marigolds, I need to keep it as simple as possible this year.

I´ve now done my reading on crop rotation so no garlic at all for me this year, as I have small beds, and chives will stay in a pot, as will all my herbs this year, maybe except of parsley, which I would love to try and grow for roots. I have quite a big garden, but I don't want to plant too much to handle, so only two beds this year.

With my celeriac, I realy would love to grow some. Literally, I want maybe 8 of them. I meant to sow them in March and plant out late June, that´s probably not late summer really

 

It all sounds very do-able!

The lovage can get extremely large if planted in the ground, flower stems up to 4' high and lots of large leaves flopping out up to 2' all around. You can trim these back to keep it looking tidier. Are you going to eat it?

 

I keep the lovage in a pot and trim it, then prune down to almost nothing in autumn. I add it to stocks and absolutely love it! It smells gorgoes! do you grow it too?

 

I have grown it in the school garden. I find the taste quite over-powering, it almost makes my tongue go numb! It's used a lot in Eastern European cuisine, soups etc, I might try it in a stock.

 

Madahhlia, I'm quite used to it, as I'm Polish! But yeah, it's strong! I only really use it in stock, as I always try to make my own and not use cubes, it really gives depth to stock's taste!