New to this please help

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julietmaria

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New to this please help
« on: April 18, 2010, 21:35 »
I have recently moved house and have not had time to dig proper veg beds (was planning to do this all in the Autumn of this year).  But friends have given me cabbage seedlings and I am desperate to grow some french beans and beetroot.  So here is my question.

My plot has ground elder.  I do have a raised bed.  Can I just dig out the ground elder, and put the raised beds on top with some compost in from B&Q.  Will this be ok?  Is there a particular compost I should buy?  I have none of my own yet.  Any tips?
Thanks,
Juliet
A flower cannot blossom without sunshine nor a garden without love

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mumofstig

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Re: New to this please help
« Reply #1 on: April 19, 2010, 16:09 »
First thing to do is to pot the seedlings up before they die :)

If you don't object to it, spray the ground elder where you want to put your beds. Give it a fortnight to kill the roots Make your frames and add any multi purpose compost and dig it into the soil. Add some blood fish and bone fertiliser before planting to get some crops growing this year. Next year you will have your own compost, and you can add some manure in the autumn if you can get it :)

If you don't want to spray then just dig as much of the roots out as you can, the more thorough the better at this stage, as every bit of root left behind will regrow >:(

Good luck....it takes quite a while to get rid of it entirely though, just hoe it off as fast as you see any regrowth.

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savbo

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Re: New to this please help
« Reply #2 on: April 19, 2010, 16:22 »
none of the crops you want to plant now are very deep-rooted, so you could put some weed fabric down and put the raised bed on top of it...

I would use a mix of compost and topsoil rather than compost alone - you would rapidly use up the nutrients in the compost (or they would be washed out by rain)  whereas the soil will release them more slowly...

 

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