Salads in raised beds

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Bluedave

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Salads in raised beds
« on: July 18, 2010, 08:32 »
I put spring onions, beetroot, lettuce, spinach, rocket and radish in my raised beds about 8 weeks ago (maybe 10) all I've had out of that lot is 2 radishes! Everything else has not grown or turned to flower!

Any ideas why? Is it not enough water (maybe the drainage is too good!)? This is the only thing this year that i've been disappointed with. Everything else has done really well (not in raised beds!).




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DD.

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Re: Salads in raised beds
« Reply #1 on: July 18, 2010, 08:42 »
It could well be a moisture issue. Raised beds generally need more water than crops grown straight in the ground because of the drainage.
Did it really tell you to do THAT on the packet?

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Bluedave

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Re: Salads in raised beds
« Reply #2 on: July 18, 2010, 08:46 »
i've made sure to water - perhaps not enough?

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JayG

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Re: Salads in raised beds
« Reply #3 on: July 18, 2010, 09:03 »
Is it MP compost in your raised beds?

Maybe low in nutrients. A few liquid feeds with something like Phostrogen or Miracle Grow might help, although it would probably be too late for the bolted plants.
Sow your seeds, plant your plants. What's the difference? A couple of weeks or more when answering possible queries!

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Bluedave

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Re: Salads in raised beds
« Reply #4 on: July 18, 2010, 12:17 »
so should i take them all out and start again - more regular watering (shouldn't be difficult at the moment!) and feeding?

I chucked in a load of FB&B with the compost.

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JayG

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Re: Salads in raised beds
« Reply #5 on: July 18, 2010, 12:42 »
Probably better to start again although you could pull out the bolted stuff and re-sown in the gaps (a la cut-and-come again.)

Are they really raised beds or frames with a bottom lining of some sort?

If they are frames then the one at the rear of your picture in particular looks a bit short of soil and would certainly dry out rather quickly.

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mumofstig

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Re: Salads in raised beds
« Reply #6 on: July 18, 2010, 13:01 »
I have some large containers that have behaved like yours dave :(

I think a lot of the compost has been absolute rubbish lately and think you'd do better in the long term with some soil mixed into your beds, which doesn't help now I know.

Multi purpose compost seems to slump away till you have an airless flattened layer of 'matter' that nothing much at all will grow in...........except moss in my case.......
and looks as if I didn't start with enough in the first place, when I most certainly did >:(

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Jonajo

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Re: Salads in raised beds
« Reply #7 on: July 18, 2010, 18:34 »
plenty of water in raised beds I have found. And I used a mix of compost, manure and soil (ratio of approximately 2:1:1).

I only used the beds for lettuces (sown in greenhouse and planted out when at the "right" size) and for my annual "leaf mix" (half a dozen or so of my favourite salad leaves, mixed randomly and sown thinly - the difficulty is restraint and sowing in succession which I am only now getting to grips with so a glut doesnt happen!).
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purplebean

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Re: Salads in raised beds
« Reply #8 on: July 18, 2010, 21:26 »
I seem to have enough lettuce leaves to feed a street from my raised bed, everything else* (except the onions) are growing like mad as well. I over topped them with compost before planting anything to allow for slump and they get some liquid seaweed food once a week, although to be honest they haven't hd any for a week or two. I find that plenty of water and feed is really needed for stuff to grow well.

* everything else would be broad beans, sweetcorn, psb, potatoes, chard and garlic


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