Advice for those with small vegetable gardens

[JacquiParticipant]

I have a small vegetable garden of 4 raised beds each about 1.2 metres by 3.3 metres.
Half of one bed is set aside for strawberries.
I have a separate area with raspberry canes, a blackcurrant bush and a redcurrant bush.

To get the most out of the limited space what vegetable varieties would you concentrate on?
Which seed supplier do you consider the most reliable in terms of germination?

I have seen horse manure available locally but how old should it be to add to the garden for overwintering?
Is Mustard Green manure the same as the mustard grown with Cress?

I noticed in your videos you sow lettuce etc for overwintering in plastic boxes. Where do you find such boxes?
Do you insulate your greenhouse with bubble wrap during the winter to keep it above freezing? Or heat it?

Thank you for your advice.

[JDParticipant]

Hi Jacqui,
I’ll partially answer your question in that Charles usually recommends manure about 18 months old, though as long as it is not ‘fresh’ when you use it (stack it and let it mature)and not too wood chippy or strawy (robs nitrogen and harbours slugs) you could be ok.
I would concentrate on veg you like! But other than that things that taste far better fresh than bought, like peas, or offer large cropping for little space like climbing beans. You should be ok with carrots/beetroot/lettuce/spinach etc because they’re fast growing and don’t take up much space. Even if you grow veg that need more room like brassicas you can always intercrop with something quicker growing like lettuce before they need the space. Remember too that most veg only take up a half season so you can follow one with another.
The plastic boxes you mention are used mushroom boxes and are often freely available from greengrocers, veg wholesalers and probably supermarkets.
Charles has a large cedar greenhouse and polytunnel. He doesn’t heat either.(Except for a hot-bed in the corner of his greenhouse for propagating seedlings). I can’t remember whether his greenhouse had bubble wrap, but probably did.
Hope that answers some of your questions
Jan

[charlesModerator]

Thanks Jan for your great reply, covers it nicely and I do not use bubble wrap in the winter, you don’t need it for leafy veg and salads.

[Author]

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