[mikey9863]

I am hoping to start the veggie raised beds by the end of August.....

Suggestions please on what to plant and also any good books worth buying......

Thanks in advance...

[Connor]

By start do you mean building them or starting growing in them because by that stage you will have missed a lot of the growing season!

[mikey9863]

The raised beds are already there. Just wondering on what timetable should be followed to prepare and plant from August onward. Should I just leave them to after winter and then prepare for Spring? or is there something I can be doing with them over the Autumn Winter period. Thanks in advance

[suziequeue]

If it was me I would fork over the beds, test the soil and maybe plant some green manure in the beds until the spring.


Then I would spend the rest of the year reading seed catalogues and fantasizing about growing next year.


Personally - I am not one to rush into things but there are plenty of options for winter veg growing I'm sure. It's not really my area.

[devonlad]

yes - tis a bit late to be growing much from seeds- lettuce and radish grow pretty quick - i dont  do much other than spring cabbage later in the summer. if its possible to get hold of some young leek plants or even brussel sprouts they should be fine growing on through the winter.

[Bert]

I use this to help with what and when  .


http://www.thompson-morgan.com/vegetables/vegetable-seeds/brassica-and-leafy-green-seeds


I selected brassica just as an example. If you look down the left hand side you have a load of options and close to the bottom is sowing month. Hope this helps  .

[Connor]

I would leave it to next spring and just add organic matter and mix it through do you have access to cow manure or any animal manure i find it works well!

[suziequeue]

BWEARE!!! - seed catalogues are addictive!! 

[mikey9863]

Sounds like a plan......I have loads of horse manure from the local stables....... will buy books and cataqlogues and sit back and drink beer!!!! Oops! just remembered that i still have a little woodland to clear of gunge and the rest of Operation Bramble to take care of....No beer here then!!!!! LOL

Thanks for all the advice.

[HesterF]

Garlic and onions can go in in the autumn (and my autumn planted onions have done brilliantly compared with spring planted ones). Also if you're into flowers now is quite a good time to be kicking off biennuals. T&M have a month by month schedule on their site somewhere. There are quite a few books with month by month details (I've got one) but tbh, you can get most of this info off the net anyway so it depends whether the tenner involved will be missed or not.

H

[Ina]

I always plant onions in the autumn, too. I also planted kale and sprouting broccoli very late last year - didn't have space for them earlier - and they did extremely well! In fact, I still have one black kale plant that just keeps going on (whereas this year's planting at a friend's is bolting already)... It's time to sow winter radish and lamb's lettuce in August, too.

[MAK]

I would try and plant what you can for next year - the reward of picking your own winter and spring veg will spur you on when the busy season starts.
If you can find some of the plants listed above then go for it - leeks are a great plant to have in the ground over winter.

[AndynJ]

kholi Just put mine in
garlic/onions
spinach, lettuce