[shokkyy]

Let us know how you get on if you do give it a go?
I usually stick to growing salads in my low containers- would be delighted if I could get a more substantial crop growing in them!

Well this year I managed a huge crop of strawberries, 2 varieties of French beans, mangetout, garlic, onions, shallots, courgettes, pumpkins, celery and 3 varieties of bush tomatoes in those 6" beds, as well as the carrots and salad stuff. My freezer is bursting at the seams

If you can grow it in a grobag, why not a 6" bed? I always give them plenty of BFB and top up the soil once a year. The only failure I've had was brassicas last year. They all bolted. I really don't know whether it was the soil depth or the weather or I just looked at them the wrong way, but I didn't try them this year. The only biggie is you can't put canes in deep enough when you need supports, but I've just had to be a bit creative with constructing frames around or across the beds from canes instead of just pushing them in.

[TheSpartacat]

Well this year I managed a huge crop of strawberries, 2 varieties of French beans, mangetout, garlic, onions, shallots, courgettes, pumpkins, celery and 3 varieties of bush tomatoes in those 6" beds, as well as the carrots and salad stuff. My freezer is bursting at the seams

If you can grow it in a grobag, why not a 6" bed? I always give them plenty of BFB and top up the soil once a year. The only failure I've had was brassicas last year. They all bolted. I really don't know whether it was the soil depth or the weather or I just looked at them the wrong way, but I didn't try them this year. The only biggie is you can't put canes in deep enough when you need supports, but I've just had to be a bit creative with constructing frames around or across the beds from canes instead of just pushing them in.

I've got my strawbs in one of those stacked planters- isn't it so nice to just step out the backdoor and stuff yourself with berries?
I grow my brassicas etc on the lotty as can't really give them space they need, as I only have containers on the patio- most of them shallow- did toms and baby achoha and just tied them to  nails in the wall to get around the cane issue Not the most attractive looking but it did the job!

my broccoli still bolted on me this year in the ground, so i doubt its the depth... must've been the way you looked at them!  It sometimes seems that way eh? Or when you look away for two mins...

Y'know I'd never thought of growing pumpkins in pots!!!  That would be amazing... i could just let them run all over the patio Thats inspired me! I want to grow lots of squash next year and would like to save some seed, so was wondering how to prevent them crossing.
Do you just use BFB on them?

[shokkyy]

Y'know I'd never thought of growing pumpkins in pots!!!  That would be amazing... i could just let them run all over the patio Thats inspired me! I want to grow lots of squash next year and would like to save some seed, so was wondering how to prevent them crossing.
Do you just use BFB on them?

The ones I grew are Summer Ball, which are a small pumpkin/courgette hybrid, luvly sweet yellow globes good for eating raw or cooked and a fairly small plant. I had them crammed in really close together in the same bed with normal courgettes, celery and tomatoes, and they were fine. I just give them a sprinkle of BFB about once a month and water them regularly. I do top up the beds with topsoil once a year because you always lose some when you pull up the old plants. I did also give them a bit of garden compost last year before planting, but I won't do that again this year cos it imported a lot of weed seedlings into the beds.

[TheSpartacat]

Thanks Shokkyy, I'd never heard of Summer Ball before. They look really interesting.

[Paul Plots]

Thanks Shokkyy, I'd never heard of Summer Ball before. They look really interesting.

"Summer" Ball...? Not Snowball?

[shokkyy]

"Summer" Ball...? Not Snowball?

No, it's Summer Ball. See - http://www.thompson-morgan.com/dispatcher?search=summer+ball

[hightide]

Having been shocked at the price of turnips in Sainsburys yesterday, I'm toying with the idea of growing some next year, and I've never grown them before. I'm not really interested in using them raw for salads, or for greens, but purely as a winter veg in stews and casseroles and stuff.

Shokkyy man, surely you mean Neeps!(or as the English call them) Swedes. 
Maincrop turnips (7cm) are just too small compared to a good neep(18cm), which I could get four meals from, diced in soup, stew, casserole or creamed with butter and pepper as an accompaniment to any roast. 
 
A vegetable staple north of the border revered by all including the odd sheep, anyone trying to serve turnips with Haggis deserves all they get in my opinion.

If you must; Green Top Stone is an RHS recommended Turnip, sow July/August harvest until the end of the year, roots about 10cm so you should be okay in your beds.
I don't grow them, but I have grown Swede Ruby; as most of the root is above the ground I think you would be able to grow them too. Sow thinly in rows, I use a Dutch hoe for spacing the seedlings. Like Parsnips I think they benefit from a bit of frost so I lift them as required any that are left I pull with the sprouts and stick them in the garage.

Ah soon be Burns Supper Night must start practising;

"Great Cheftain o' the pudding race........"

 

[TheSpartacat]

Ah soon be Burns Supper Night must start practising;

"Great Cheftain o' the pudding race........"

Ahhh can't beat a bit of haggis! I don't limit to Burn's night- my local butcher sells McSweens. Even Tesco was stocking it for a while... we've had it twice for dinner since Sept Proper wee treat!

[Paul Plots]

"Summer" Ball...? Not Snowball?

No, it's Summer Ball. See - http://www.thompson-morgan.com/dispatcher?search=summer+ball

Thanks!  

Serves me right for not reading all of the post carefully!! 

I thought we were discussing turnips