Hi Maddox, good questions, I'll help where I can.
So being a total newbie to veggie growing I am persuming I should dig them all up (beans are well rotted and the local critters have had quite alot of the rest) and just prep the ground for my veggies???
Yes, lift them all, roots and all. If there are any parsnips worth keeping they will store for a good few weeks in a dry cool place like a shed. If you're going to be using the plot every year for veggies you should practice crop rotation - that is not growing the same thing in the same place every year - to minimise the build-up of disease and pests. Google for crop rotation or look in any veggie growing book for more info.
The beans are on a home made frame which would be a shame to dismantle, should i rip out the old bean plants and put in new ones or do they grow back if cut back??? (see told you I was new to this...lol)
Take the old plants out. Runner beans are quite late, so you'll not sow new seeds direct into the soil until May at the earliest (or you can start them earlier in a greenhouse and plant out the small plants).
There are also some large raspberry bushes, (I seem to remember reading somewhere they should be cut back) should I cut these back to ground level or is it too late??
You're not too late. Cut down to ground level any canes that fruited this year. Don't cut down any new canes, these are the ones that will fruit this year! In general new canes will be green, old canes brown...
And finally..Spuds, can anyone recommend a good type (baking, mashing etc)early/mids/lates please, last year I did my first crop and although I had loads of spuds they didnt taste too good so Im presuming I just need a different type??
We like Desiree as a general purpose spud. Red Duke of York as an early.
Pink Fir Apple for flavour - these are knobbly spuds that taste fantastic.
Ok just one more....what is spud chitting??? last year i just popped mine in the ground and away they went, should I of done this "chitting "thing first??
Chitting is the process of letting shoots form on seed potatoes (those you plant in the ground to grow new plants) so they have a better start in life. In general you'll get a heavier and earlier crop from chitted spuds.
To do the actual chitting put the spuds in an egg box with the rose end up (the end with small dimples, where the shoots will emerge from) in a cool light place from now for earlies and March for main crop. Chit for about 6 weeks.
Ok you can all stop laughing now and the green horn...lol
Ha, I've yet to meet the person who was born knowing this stuff.
Hope this helps,
Dan
Topic: Old Veggie Plot (Read 4075 times)
