[rookie1]

Afternoon all

Now the proud owner of six new raised beds (3 long beds divided into two; so each individual bed is 6'x4'), I now need to decide what to plant in which box.

I've planted one bed with early spuds and would also like to grow runner beans; sweetcorn (which obvs need to be at the rear of the plot so as not to shade the other crops presumably??); salad leaves/radish/beetroot/spring onions; herbs; couple of rhubarb plants; courgettes and I've been given two goosegogs. I've also just ordered some asparagus crowns for a permanent planting of those in one of the 6x4s. The beds are all in the north/south orientation. Any advice of what to put where would be welcome...

[Yorkie]

The runner beans are more likely to cast shade than the sweetcorn. If you are growing 2 courgette plants, they will probably fill one bed on their own. TBH, I think you might be overambitious in what you can fit into the space available, given that essentially half of the beds are going to be filled with permanent planting.

So, the beds are going to be something like (in no particular order):

1. Spuds
2. Courgettes - unless you did only 1 plant, in which case you might fit it alongside a single rhubarb plant?
3. Beans - if you did a wigwam you could also fit in the salad leaves / radish / beetroot / spring onions to the rest of the bed
4. Sweetcorn
5. Rhubarb - if only 1 plant, then you'll have room for something else in the other half of the bed but probably not for more than 1 goosegog.  Perhaps the herbs?
6. Asparagus - this will need a bed to itself

[rookie1]

Thanks Yorkie - you've confirmed my fears as I had a feeling I might be trying to fit too much in. Trouble was that the spuds were already chitting when we decided to build the raised beds! May have to sacrifice those next year. Also forgot to mention the peas!!! May have to have a re-think and perhaps try and find somewhere else in the garden for the rhubarb and goose gigs. Thanks for your advice.