[ceeci]

Hi All

I'm new to vegetable growing but are keen to get my children interested so we have decided to install some raised beds in our garden. We will have two beds and each bed will be 2.4m x 1.2m and are 30cm high. They are on the way in transit as I'm writing this...

Now, my questions are:

1) The beds will be placed on a lawn area. What do I do with the lawn?

2) What do I fill the beds with? I was thinking of filling at least half with good quality topsoil (delivered to my door) and the rest with veg compost, compost made myself in my garden and some manure. Not sure if this is correct?

3) Any suggestions as to what to grow in each bed and what goes nicely together? We are thinking of growing lettuce, cabbage, broccoli, squash, cauliflower, spring onions, raddish, onions/garlic, dwarf french beans, chard...

4) In terms of crop rotation I have little knowledge, but I assume whatever we grow in a bed this year, should not be in the same bed the next. Can I divide each bed into 2, so that I have 4 areas?

We will also grow some carrots in a large container, as I know they don't like many types of soil, and tomatoes and cucumber in growbags...

Thanks for any advice!

Kind Regards,
Cecilie

[Goosegirl]

I would remove the turf from the lawn and stack it upside down somewhere so that it will rot down and give you some nice compost. Then you will need to dig over the soil beneath as it is probably compacted -single or double digging will depend on your soil type. If it's clay, then do the latter but don't turn up any sub-soil. Fill the beds with what you mentioned but make sure the manure is well rotted. As for crop rotation, what I do is have four raised beds and rotate my planting. Bed A has potatoes with manure/compost; bed B has root crops with some manure for onions and leeks only and compost for carrots and parsnips; bed C has brassicas and sweetcorn with manure/compost and bed D has peas and beans with manure/compost. The next year they all move so that potatoes go in bed B, roots in bed C, brassicas in bed D and potatoes in bed A. I rotate clockwise but only because I don't want to go "widdershins" (anti-clockwise)...!

[rhysdad]

I'm no expert but if it were me:

I would glyphosate the lawn area under the bed site, wait a good week and then cut into the turfs, taking off the top 3 inches or so and turn them upside down so soil faces up. Give the whole area a good forking to aerate and help with drainage. Then, once the bed is in situ, i would think about ordering in some soil. Not cheap but it'll take forever to blag free soil, pick it up etc so, although expensive in the first instance, it should pay off over the years. I've ordered some vegegrow topsoil from Dandy's Topsoil

http://www.dandystopsoil.co.uk/Top-Soil-Compost-Manure-Garden-Soil-Improvers/Garden-Top-Soil/Rich-Organic-Blended-Topsoil.html

I wouldn't aim to completely fill the beds as you can top up over the years with garden compost, manure etc. I would aim to fill to around 150/200mm initially which means you would need around 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 tonnes (according to dandy's soil calculator) so around the £170 mark if you order two bulk bags from them at the sale price.
It's too late in the year i feel for fresh manure but some well rotted stuff come Autumn/Winter would be great.

As for rotation see here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/basics/techniques/soil_plot_rotation.shtml

A fairly easy guide to understanding rotation practices and why. Those two beds divided into four will fit the bill perfectly.

Hope this all helps but as a disclaimer: I'm NOT Percy Thrower!!

[ceeci]

Thanks for the tips. I will def order some topsoil from dandystopsoil (already looked at their site) and add some compost. Will leave the manure until autumn as probably too late now.

We have clay here, so very wet in winter and hard as rock in summer 

Crop rotation advice varies so much from site to site, so the more I read the more confused I get. Will try to keep it quite simple this year I think.   

Cecilie