[monkeyboysee]

hi,

this year i am going to get some veg plots going:

1, the ground i have is very clayey. Will general veg grow ie spuds, carrots, onions, broccoli?

2, would i be better putting up some raised beds? if i do, do i need to buy some topsoil to fill it full or do i put sand under etc? as with everything, budget is tight. If raised bed is the one to do, i can part fill with earth / clay from around the site.

3, how do i keep rabbits away? i had a few problems with them last year muching flowers in conatiners, i bought something from B&Q which seemed to worked, i;m sure there is a better way out there?

[Robin Redbreast]

i'm not really sure but i am getting some topsoil off a building site. i had a word with the foreman and as long as i provide the trailer to fetch it then he was happy to give me some as  with most building sites, roadways  and that sort of thing they usually have quite a surplus! i am going fo 1.5 metre raised beds as they are the easiest to maintain from my point of view. there are no rules really just mine!  

[Minty]

We started our plot last summer and went the raised bed route but have since decided to do away with them after I worked out how much growing space we were wasting with all those path's not to mention the cost of all the wood to put beds on the whole plot.
Our soil is clay based but we have double dug it to break up the pan and incorperated plenty of leaf litter and manure/compost which is breaking the soil up already.In another couple of seasons or so the soil should be really good.
Even though the soil was very claggy when we started we still got plenty of stuff from the plot last year even though we started a bit late so you should be fine with spuds, carrots, onions, broccoli.

As for the rabbits all I can suggest is either get an air rifle or better still see if you can find any terrier men to clear the site with dog's and ferrets.Either option would give you some meat for the pot as well.

[PinkTequila]

As budget is restricted I would not go the way of raised beds. Dig the area properly, try and include some organic matter, pref. manure begged or nicked. Set up a compost area for future years. This will save your money for stopping the rabbit problem which I think could be a bit of a *.

[woodburner]

As budget is restricted I would not go the way of raised beds. Dig the area properly, try and include some organic matter, pref. manure begged or nicked. Set up a compost area for future years. This will save your money for stopping the rabbit problem which I think could be a bit of a b**ger.

Lazy beds require no wood, or if you really like the wooden sort you could use pallets. If you do go for wooden sided beds you would still do well to dig out the paths and put the soil on the beds before you put the sides on the ground, as that will save on the amount of compost or topsoil you would need to buy/scrounge.
The only practical way of keeping rabbits out is a proper rabbit proof fence, potatoes and globe artichokes are apparently rabbit proof though.