Hi Sven,

I would like to know how to create a vegetable patch in my garden. The soil seems to be quite hard. Would this be a problem? I'd like to grow potatoes, carrot, leeks, rocket etc... when is a good time to start and please can you give me some tips!

Thanks,
Zoe

Our Gardens Expert replies:

Hi Zoe,

The key to a vegetable garden is planning, if you think about it, you have to sow your sprouts in March - April ready for harvesting about 30 weeks later in October - February, so organizing the timing of your crops is vital. On the other hand lettuces in the summer have to be sowed every few weeks to maintain a steady crop. Basically it is a good idea to have some kind of plan written down to show what you are going plant and where you are going to put it.

As far as your soil goes, since most veggies are hungry things that like a soil with lots of organic matter, I would suggest digging in a load of well-rotted farmyard manure as soon as possible. Dig a trench about the depth and width of a spade, then put in a bucketload of manure or compost for every metre or so. Then dig another trench next to it, back filling the soil into the last one, and so on. This will not only help the winter elements break down your hard soil into more manageable clods but also adds all the nutrients for planting early next year.

Vegetables need a sunny spot in the garden and also require lots of water so the positioning is vital. Try and avoid having the plot too near a hedge, watch out for overhanging branches and make sure the area is within reach of a water supply. Other things you may want to consider are a potting shed or greenhouse and also a compost heap. This of course all depending on the space you have.

The size of your garden will play a major role in how you grow your veg. You can grow some veggies in pots if you wanted but I really would suggest having four separate areas so you can rotate crops each year. Crop rotation is a system where each year you grow a different crop in each bed. There are a number of reasons for doing this: firstly different vegetables take different nutrients from the soil as they grow, so by moving them around you can balance what is lost. Also if you grow, say potatoes year after year in the same bed, then diseases and pests which are associated with potatoes have more time to establish and cause problems, so by moving them every year to another bed, you can minimize this risk.

If space is limited then go for a deep-bed system, this where you have a raised bed by a path which can be accessed from all sides, you should again start by double digging the soil like I mentioned earlier, this will raise the soil level so I would put timber retainers around the bed to retain it. At the start of each season you should add fertilizer when planting. This bed will take up less space and because the bed is raised the roots can venture deeper and therefore be planted closer together. Raised beds also warm up quicker in the spring giving you a longer growing season. I am guessing that because your soil is so hard that you have a clay soil and this system is ideal on heavy clay.

As far as what you should grow, well, grow all the things you like! The following are all easy to grow:

Beetroot - Choose a variety that is 'bolt' resistant. The great thing is they can be left in the ground until you need them.
Carrots - Don't need much room so are great for a small garden, but it is best to cover them to keep the annoying carrot fly out. They are attracted by the sweet smell so be extra aware when you are harvesting.
Runner beans/French beans - Again, great for a small garden, they produce a large crop and are an attractive addition to the veg plot.
Cabbages - Useful because there is a cabbage for most times of the year from spring greens to Savoy cabbages in winter, also try Chinese varieties for something different.
Leeks - Safer than onions, which are a bit fussier, fantastic eaten young but will stay good even when they get quite large.
Lettuce - Can be grown throughout the summer and is pretty easy to grow in most soils.
Courgette - Really easy to grow and each plant produces a sustained crop if you keep cutting off the courgettes when they are small and firm. Keep the flowers on, which are great in cooking too. Will need space around each one so give it at least a metre squared to sit in.
Chard - Can be used much like spinach and last a lot longer in the garden, the older leaves can get a bit tough though.
Garlic - Is really easy to grow. Plant the cloves in winter and next summer you will be eating home grown garlic!
Potatoes - Try planting early crop potatoes in March - April which will be ready for harvesting from June - August. Main crop potatoes can be planted a few weeks later and will be ready between September - Oct. It may be worth planting a row or two of each.

Also try turnips, radishes, rhubarb, squash, onions and shallots all of which are pretty easy to grow.

You probably will find that the best way to learn is from your mistakes, but remember, many vegetables put on a lot of vegetative growth pretty quickly, like potatoes for example, so they will need lots of water, also they take nutrients from the soil so adopt a crop rotation system or add organic matter every year.

The final thing I would say is to read up on the subject as much as you can, a great book the start with is The Vegetable Expert by Dr. D .G. Hessayon.

Good luck!

Sven