[Ferris]

Hello everyone - advice needed i'm afraid

Having done some hard work over the winter I have made a few changes to my layout, but am now in a quandry over which crops to put where.

My main change over the winter is to create a new raised bed about 3m x 3m which is in the sunniest corner of my garden. This is a new bed filled with a mix of home made compost, some old grow bag compost and top soil. This gets direct sun from about 8am to 4pm in summer.

As well as that I have 2 existing beds. The first is about 2m x 2m on the site of an old bonfire so the soil is pretty poor but being improved as we speak. It drains very well due to the amount of ash and at present has some rhubarb and strawberry plants in there. Then I have my "main" bed which is about 6m x 3m which has good soil and currently has a few frost-bitten broad beans and my fruit bushes (mainly blackcurrant with a couple of gooseberries). Both of these beds get slightly less sun, perhaps 8am to 2pm ish.

This year I am mainly looking to grow carrots, runners, courgettes, peas and possibly something like chard or summer cabbage.

My first thought is to put all of my fruit bushes, rhubarb and strawberries into the new raised bed as the extra sun will help to ripen the fruit, but then I think I am right in saying rhubarb doesnt need direct sun (?) so maybe the bushes and strawberries with maybe some runners in behind that? What would be the best thing to put in the "bonfire bed" with the poorest soil?

Any thoughts or help much appreciated

Chris

[bigben]

I cannot comment on the strawberries or fruit bushes as I have never grown  any, but my rhubarb grows quite happily in partial shade. Unless you plan to eat a lot of it you could afford to give the sunny spots to things that need more sun like runners or courgettes.

[Trikidiki]

I'd be tempted to dig out the ash/soil and get as much water retaining material (cardboard newspaper, kitchen waste old compost etc) into the hole as you can then replace the ash/soil you then have a large bean trench.

I'd then plant my runners in that along with Borlotto Beans, French Beans etc. The bulk material should help retain the moisture, the beans will produce their own nitrogen anyway and you'll have tons of potash from the bonfire. The beans are growing up and will find their own light after a short time anyway.

Mulch it with grass clippings through the summer. Don't dig the beans up in the Autumn, cover with some polythene, runners are perennial so may stay alive below the polythene albeit without leaves but the bacteria in the root nodules will carry on producing nitrogen.

In the spring give it a thorough dig over to mix in the bulky organic matter, add some more manure/compost and it could be your best soil next year.

As for the other plots I'd get some salad type things in under polythene or fleece as soon as the weather improves. As the bed is raised you 'll probably have a good depth for carrots in there as well.

[Ferris]

Thanks thats brilliant advice!!