General Advice

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Brutus

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General Advice
« on: April 20, 2014, 15:33 »
Hi,

I'm not new here, but I haven't been on for a while.

I don't have an allotment, but I do have a decent sized garden which is about two thirds of an acre.  I live about five miles from the seside town of Båstad (Southern Sweden), not far from where Agnethe Fältskog from Abba has a summer house.

Most of my garden is given to extensive lawns, with wide flower beds and also some fruit trees (apple, pear, plums, greengage, damson and red cherry), plus a herb garden with soft fruit bushes (gooseberry, blackcurrant, redcurrant, rasberry).

For the last couple of years, I've been trying to develop a veg plot.  I have zero experience in growing anything, but I did manage to grow a few half decent radish, parsnips, carrots and onions last year.  The area I have made for the plot is tiny - a measly 500 sq. feet - but it is a start.  The soil was initially quite full of stones - some quite large - but most of those have now been removed.  It is also prone to small clods of clay.  The plot is very open and gets plenty of sun, but our winters are cold - it is not unusual for the temperature to go below minus 20.  In summer, it's glorious - like living in the south of France in a good year - but the summer is short.

Last year, I had a few failures.  I made the error of not thinning out my carrots and, as a result, we had oodles of baby carrots and not so many decent sized ones. I also didn't realise that birds would eat the young cabbage and caulis, so I lost the lot (yes, I know, stupid!!! But we all have to learn).  For some reason, the leeks I grew were also quite thin - nothing like the big ones you get from the supermarket.

So, having regard to the fact that I have a small plot, clay soil, shortish growing season etc, does anyone have any general advice as to what I should, or should not, try to grow.

All advice is gratefully received.

Brutus

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New shoot

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Re: General Advice
« Reply #1 on: April 20, 2014, 16:37 »
Hi Brutus.  Most of us will be guessing here, but my veg plot is on clay soil and although we don't quite manage temperatures like Southern France  ;) I can't see why some of the veg we grow wouldn't work for you.

You say carrots were fine, except you forgot to thin them.  How about beetroot, turnips and kohl rabi to add to the quick maturing root crops.  Also spring onions, lettuce, spinach, chicory and radicchio for fresh greens.  If you net your brassica crops, autumn maturing cabbage and cauliflower should be fine.  You would be picking them before the real winter chill set in.  Although you have a short summer, french beans may be worth a go as well.  They grow fast from a late start and are very productive  :)

Are you making compost from all your garden and vegetable waste?  Clay soil really benefits from the addition of a soil conditioner like this  :)

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sunshineband

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Re: General Advice
« Reply #2 on: April 20, 2014, 16:45 »
I also have clay soil and have found that the regular addition of organic matter --compost, rotted manure or old bags of compost from the shop -- does make it much more workable and suitable for growing veggies.

You should be able to grow broad beans in your area too, from a spring sowing, and get a decent crop I think.
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Brutus

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Re: General Advice
« Reply #3 on: April 20, 2014, 16:53 »
Hi New Shoot.

Yes, I've learned my lesson with the carrots. Beetroot - yup - I will give that a go.  Same with turnips.  Kohlrabi - I hadn't heard of that one.  I had to look it up.  I'll look out for it, though.  The radishes grew like crazy - no problem with those except I planted too many at the same time and ended up with far more than I could use at the same time - another lesson learned.  We had lettuce last year - no problem with that. Spring onions are not something we'll grow because nobody in the family likes them. 

The brassicas should be OK if we find some way of protecting them.  I was thinking of those poly tunnels, or whatever they're called so the birds don't dine out again at our expense.

French beans? Never thought of those - I'll add those to my list.

We have three proper compost heaps and have messed them up a bit I'm afraid by shoving in cuttings that haven't rotted down. The compost is also full of brown autumn leaves that have also not mulshed, so it's not much use.  I did manage to drag some well composed soil from a big pile of turf I dug up two years ago when I was making space for the veg plot.  That seems to work OK. Just behind me is a cattle farm and I was wondering about asking him for some cow manure for the rhubarb - and maybe I could dig some of that into the soil in the veg plot, too.  It might add some nutrients.

Thanks for your ideas!

Brutus

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Yorkie

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Re: General Advice
« Reply #4 on: April 20, 2014, 17:41 »
Dwarf beans have a shorter cropping season than the climbing ones, and I've found them very productive (and tasty)  :D

Manure will help with the soil structure, but best added when it's rotted down rather than fresh.  Best advice is not to manure before growing parsnips or carrots.
« Last Edit: April 20, 2014, 17:42 by Yorkie »
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gobs

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Re: General Advice
« Reply #5 on: April 20, 2014, 20:22 »
Hi, I also garden on clay. Try everything you like and fits into your growing season, as everything does well in it. It is just hard work and a problem with direct sowing fine seeds. However, larger seed copes fine in it.

If you like radish and broccoli, you will like khol-rabi. It might make sense to look out for the larger, longer cropping season varieties too, as these are hardier, some also store rather well.

If you like spinach, it might be worth trying sorrel, perpetual spinach, chard/Swiss chard these are tough, hardier alternatives and do not mind some cold. There are winter varieties available of several vegetables. North-Italian seeds are worth browsing for this, for example their winter lettuce is excellent down till -10 C.

Winter radish, cauliflower, cabbage are all worth looking into.

Pak choi is a very fast (6-8 weeks) crop. So is courgette. A much more valuable friend of it (in my view), Petty Pan/Scallops/Custard marrow is also a fast summer crop.

Peas are a fast cropper, too.

There is an open-pollinated old cucumber variety, marketed by several names, Crystal Apple/lemon, that is very hardy and a reliable cropper of a small bush.

Arctic Plenty tomatoes also might cope.

Even if the area is small, you should give a thought to early/new potatoes, since they are a cool season crop, you must have local varieties suited to your day length.
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Brutus

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Re: General Advice
« Reply #6 on: April 20, 2014, 21:04 »
Many thanks to sunshineband, Yorkie and gobs for your advice.

I have printed off the posts and will be discussing your suggestions and advice with my wife tomorrow - and then we're off to the garden centre to buy some seeds!

I always get help when I come here and I am really grateful!

Brutus



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