[ian69]

hi my name is ian i am 24 ,and after a few atempts of growing some veg on a little dug up patch. I have decided to do it properly, i have a 10m by 4m veg patch with a 2m high fruit netting top and sides finnished today after weeks and weeks of work (loads of cats where i live ) .It was pretty much a waste land full of weeds a bit of grass and an old rabbit hutch and run ,most of my time was taken up diging out all the dodo i went about a spit deep .i have taken out loads of weeds some almost a foot long   :blink: .I am not planing on growing all the veg i need ,i am more doing it for a hobby/ tasty food .Here is a list of what i am planning on growing most are in 2x 5ft rows ;

potatos 2nd earlys and main
brussels sprouts
broccoli
beet leaf
beet root
kohl rabi
cauliflower
leek
cucumber
marrow
golden zucchini
pumpkin
carrots
salsify
scorzonera
shallots
parsnips
turnip
swede
hambrg parsley
and some herbs
i know all the brassicas need manure/compost is it too late to dig in ? i am abit dubious of using manure with the recent contamination ,is compost ok to use? .I am starting my own compost heap but that aint gonna be ready till next year .Should i just double dig the area for potatos/root veg ,and use a hand cultivator for the brassicas ? then rake in grow more fertilizer ?,my soil looks like heavy/loam soil and lots of lovely worms, sorry for the lengthy post but i have been racking my brains with what to do

cheers Ian

[Aidy]

Its never too late to dig in compost, I always dig a hole, fill with compost when transplanting my brassicas. Never manure where your roots are going. Manure should be well rotted not fresh, I always dig it in around 4 weeks before planting, the reason for me is we have very sandy soil and a lot of the goodness can be washed away, so long as it is well rotted I cant see a problem. If using Growmore, scratch it in about a week before you plant and water the bed.