[jameshaigh]

hi all,
im new to this game and im about to set up a raised bed to grow some veg with my young son,
i would like to grow some lettuce, carrotts, parsnips, turnip etc,
but should i have one side of the raised bed built up higher  to take the carrots and the longer veg? is that a good idea?
also when do you know there ready to be harvested?
 im growing some garlic and strawberries and a bit of corriander at the moment in a small test patch dont know when to get the garlic out of the ground though!
any advice is very much appreciated

cheers
james

[Trillium]

Welcome to the forums. Parsnips in particular can grow about 2 ft long so you'd need a bed at least 3 ft high for them. Carrots are usually a bit shorter at a few inches to a foot long. But be aware that in the UK you'll have a serious problem with carrot fly unless your beds are over 2 ft high. Some folk grow these 2 in old bathtubs which are an ideal height against the destructive fly.  The other veg you mention can be grown in a bed a minimum of a foot high.
Garlic depends on when you planted it out. Fall planted garlic will be ready in July or so when you see the leaves dying down.

[mumofstig]

Are you building your beds over soil or over concrete?
If they are over soil ..if you dig it first (and put some compost or manure on if you can) then obviously this counts as some of the required depth of bed:)
The beds are then built up just about the depth of a scaffold board and all the vegs seem to grow ok in them.If you use this height of beds for carrots you will have to protect from carrot fly with enviromesh or similar   you could also grow your carrots in blue drums these are so high they seem to escape the fly...that's what they do on the local lottie
If the beds are over concrete you have to make them as deep as Trillium has already said

[Yorkie]

One thing that occurs to me about having a different depth in parts of the bed, is that you may find difficulties with crop rotation at a later date.  It's usual to grow plants in different areas in subsequent years, but if there's only one place which has sufficient depth, over time you may find a depletion of soil nutrients and/or a build-up of pests and diseases.

[jameshaigh]

thanks for the replys guys,
im bedding over soil, well i say soil its more like rubbley clay, not much good for anything really!
so will i need to use topsoil and put some compost in aswell?
does the compost act as a fertiliser?
is it best to grow from seeds at this time of the year?
or buy some that are already well on there way?
cheers
james

[Yorkie]

I would suggest that you will need a combination of soil and compost - the compost doesn't really add many nutrients but it is organic matter, which improves the soil structure.  I would also add fertiliser - either general purpose or specific, depending on what is being grown (if you click on the Info section at the top of the page, you will find a link to a fertiliser section).

As for plants / seeds, it depends which plants.  You are unlikely to find carrots or parsnips as plants, as they have tap roots and do not transplant well - particularly when larger.  It might be a bit late for sowing some seeds, but have a look here to get a general idea.

[Ice]

I built mine because my soil was heavy clay.  Do as Yorkie1 says and add some sharp sand as well. 

[jameshaigh]

ok
thanks for the replys, i can see i have much to learn!
all good fun though!

cheers
james