[HLS]

I meant to plan everything - in fact, I did plan everything!  Unfortunately, the plan I carefully drew in Autumn was dependent on me being able to dig up the huge grass paths left by the previous tenant and take up the weed proof matting in time to plant the right veg on the beds I'd already cleared - which I haven't been able to do.  So I've got a smaller and more awkward plot, no plan ... and have just been tempted by yet more seeds!  Oh dear.

I reckon I can grow a few things in pots instead of on the plot, and I don't mind trying things out in small quantities rather than expecting to get a year's supply of peas or carrots, but I've still got to work out what I can get in where (or what to save for next year!).

Out of the following, which would you put in 2ft cube (more or less) planters rather than in the ground?  I've got four of them and room for a couple more in a shadier spot.

- Dwarf bush courgette (Verde di Milano)
- Patty pan summer squash (Pattison blanc)
- Golden mangetout (a tall vine, apparently)
- Buttercup squash (Burgess Vine Buttercup, apparently not a huge vine)
- Butternut squash, unknown variety
- Climbing French beans
- Dwarf French beans
- Runner beans (unknown variety but not a dwarf)
- Borlotti beans
- Carrots (can't remember the variety offhand, but the usual size/shape)
- Parsnips

And another question: how much space would I need to allow in the ground for the various courgette and squash plants?  I'm not sure what 'not a huge vine' means in terms of square feet.

Thank you!

[mumofstig]

Not sure about using pots but my squash last year spread from beside the path to the side of the garden 13ft away and started climbing the hedge!
But you could allow them to spread along your wide grass paths, you can use wire v shaped pegs to keep them where you want them, or even train them round and round in a circle
You're gonna need a shoe horn to cram it all in 

[HLS]

13ft!  Oh dear.  I don't think that would fit in a pot, and I'll have to keep a very close eye on it in the ground, too.  That wouldn't make me at all popular with my neighbours.

Good idea about using the paths and staking it down, though.  It might even discourage the grass a bit (does anything discourage grass, really?).

I think I might need a shoe horn, yes!

[rivkele]

carrots definitely do ok in pots. in fact depending on your soil they'll do better in pots than in the ground.
i've got horrible stoney ground so i'm growing mine in big round pots this year. they're only tiny so far, but i've got high hopes

[HLS]

Thanks, rivkele - I'll try some potted carrots!

[Christine]

I grow my parsnips in pots with no problems so that's two crops solved for  you.

I grow squashes, marrows, courgettes on a compost heap that I build "loose" in a sunny place and cover with plastic to keep it warm. This solves a number of problems - the squashes have a good rich soil, my heap is on an area that won't dig over (don't ask) and I don't have a huge great area given over to spreading monsters.

[HLS]

Thanks, Christine - I don't think I've ever seen parsnips in pots, so I don't think I would really have considered it if you hadn't said that.

I've got a heap of weeds that have been sitting under weedproof membrane since last Autumn, and I'm planning to use that if the weeds look reasonably dead.  How big is your heap, and how many plants do you get on it?

[GrannieAnnie]

Definitely do your beans in pots, especially the runners as you can train them up a wigwam of canes.  I even did that with my Alderman peas last year as they grow up to 6ft high like beans do!

[HLS]

I was wondering about beans in pots, GrannieAnnie, especially because they'd tolerate a bit more shade (the sunniest spots are reserved for my tomatoes) but I was worried about the stability of a plastic pot with 6ft of leaves above it.  Would I need to find some rocks to put in the bottom?

Thanks!

[upert]

i grew one butternut squash from 6 plants in last year's rainy summer and i'm a couple of hundred miles further south than you. so, unless you really love butternut squash maybe grow something else instead. might save you space.

[HLS]

I do really like butternut squash, and I would love to be able to grow my own, but I think you may be right.  Even if we get a better summer (fingers crossed!), the buttercup squash looks more practical at the moment.  In the meantime I'll have to work hard at impressing the allotment committee so that I can put my name down for a bigger plot!

[woodburner]

Cucurbits (squashes pumpkins cucumber etc.) can be grown through mulch, such as cardboard, mypex or black plastic. With plastic, watering might be more necessary than usual, though.
Dig a hole for each plant and fill it with compost. Even without mulch a handy tip is to cut the bottom off a two litre fizzy pop bottle and invert it in the planting hole as a funnel to take the water straight down to the roots.

Growing carrots in containers two foot high, is supposed to stop carrot fly, so I'd try growing carrots and snips in the containers.

[HLS]

Thanks for the tips, woodburner.  I sowed some carrot seed in one of the pots this weekend, and worked out where to put the squashes.  Something weedproof definitely seems to be the way to go on my plot, unless I want a bumper crop of couch grass and horsetail.  I'll start collecting bottles for watering through it.