planning my raised beds.....

In that case, I reckon 12" of raised bed will be ample. Of course, this is just my opinion, others are available

 

Thanks buddy, when I get back from work tomorrow im going to dig down about 2 shovel lengths to have a proper look, but yes if I could get away with 12" of height for my beds that would be excellent for me price wise

 

had a little bit of rain today, and my hole i dug yesterday is still filled up, drainage must be poor, anything i can do to improve this or when i turn the soil over will this help the drainage situation or is the soil drainage not that important where the area will be raised as in the raised veggie bed?

soil drainage by Martin Young, on Flickr​

 

I wouldn't be too concerned. Just fork the bottom through (lightly) as I suggested, and all will be right with the world

 

my layout has changed once again! lol does this look suitable for what ive planted next to each other so far?

just need to think of some more goodies to fill my last space, not got nothing springing to mind at the mo hmmm....

layout 3 by Martin Young, on Flickr​

 

Just my opinion.
I think you're going to struggle growing Chillies and Peppers outside, just not warm enough.
Regarding your Potatoes and Runner Beans, for me its too cramped. Better to just grow Potatoes in that area, then maybe grow the Runners in the free area, with for instance, Onions in front (on the sunny side). Also, personally I wouldn't bother with main crop spuds as they're cheap enough to buy, and new spuds are much more worthwhile/tasty.

 

Afternoon Freddy! ^_^

i grew chillies this year (in pots) and i was happy enough with the harvest (some people might not be) i know its not the ideal conditions for them to grow in the UK, i might even get one of them green house tents to go over my chilli/pepper bed next year, that would then be warm enough for them to grow in ideal condition do you think?

thanks for your input regarding the spuds/runners, ill devote a whole bed to spuds then (earlies), earlies are the ones you have with salads and such right? can you store earlies like you do main crops or do earlies really have to be eat as soon as possible after harvesting

once again i really appreciate your input as some times it can be all a bit overwhelming trying to learn everything so i thank you for taking the time out to help me ^_^

here is what im thinking now lol....

layout 5 by Martin Young, on Flickr
​

one more thing i am looking at red onion sets to buy at the moment and all of them say autumn sets? can i start onion sets in spring like the rest of my crops....

 

Hiya Martin.
The thing with Peppers/Chillis, they require a long growing season, and in ideal summers, then yes, you might well get a decent crop (with a bit of protection early on). I grew some Peppers in pots this year, might as well have not bothered, a waste of time/money/effort, it was just too cold.
Early potatoes are great with salads, or even on their own with lashings of butter It's best to dig them as you need them.
Some folks will be planting onion sets now, but from personal experience I don't think there's much advantage, if any, from planting now. Yes, you get them earlier, maybe a month or so, but I found they don't store well, and there were some losses to the winter.
I hope this has been of some help

 

hmm for some reason im not getting notifications any more for my thread.... :(

ah right, i might look for something else to fill the chilli/pepper bed then Freddy, worse comes to worse i can all ways have a dabble at them in pots

hmm dont your making my mouth water talking about buttery tatoes lol thanks for the help once again! lol what would i do without you

had a set back on timber funds so i "will" be ordering the timber in two weeks without fail, im just dying to get my beds built now

again i thank you all for your help and knowledge ^_^

 

Oh, just one thing, be aware that the foliage on spuds could easily flop over/cover any adjacent crops, so be prepared to leave a bit of space or use something to restrain.

 

Thanks Freddy, yes ive been reading up that the foilage can get a bit out of control lol, i was thinking of putting netting/chicken wire or sorts around the potato bed to help contain the beasts lool

 

Just string tied to some canes should suffice

 

one other thing, where my soil has very bad drainage, i read that its good to mix sharp sand in to the soil when i dig it up to turn it over to help with the drainage, is this correct?

 

Thanks Beckie