My small vegetable patch ( a work in progress)

[Riz]

salam fellow growers.....
I know its horrible but with some tender loving care ill sort it out..

this is my small vegetable patch 7feet x 7feet. last season this was the poppy patch with same gladiolus bulbs from last season buried in the corner, so the first thing i will do when the snow goes away is dig the gladiolus bulbs out and plant them somewhere else maybe in a container or in the ground not sure at the moment..

Clearing The Site
Before planting vegetables you may well need to clear the site. Existing weeds can be a big problem and there are several ways to clear them. Chemicals such as glyphosphate will kill most weeds dead within three or four weeks but the effect on the soil is not fully understood. The best method is digging the soil well and pulling out all the weeds as you go. Destroy the weeds, do not put them on the compost heap

Digging The Vegetable Patch
All that is required are a fork and lots of effort. Dig the soil to a spade's depth with a fork, turning the soil and breaking it up as you go. Remove any roots and weeds in the soil.

Break up clumpy soil with the spade or fork, All soils apperciate being fed and being kept in good condition..

so my next task is to go to the store and buy the following:-

i tub of chicken manure ( pellets)

2 bags of compost and 2 bags of top soil

2 bags of well rotted manure cow/horse, what ever is available :)

This is a work in progress, so ill update on it when i break the soil up, which will be soon as, inshallah i will be taking pics every step of the way, and will be uploading, any tips and tricks will be warmly appreciated

here is a pic of my soon to be small vegetable patch... i am thinking maybe plant some of the garlic seedlings in the veg patch, along with some coriander/basil/radish.

[Riz]

i even have an option of extending the veg patch to another couple of feet.... The garden is really messy as well, i hate looking at it, cant wait for some sun so i can give it a real good clean up..

[farah]

i tub of chicken manure ( pellets)

2 bags of compost and 2 bags of top soil

2 bags of well rotted manure cow/horse

Is that all for that 7x7ft patch?

[Riz]

yeah farah..

If its not enough ill just get some more as the store is just up the round from were i live... the chicken manure is more than enough though, i will just scatter them on the patch and rake them in along with the cow manure, ill be digging around 12 inches into the ground and really turning the soil over while adding the pellets and the compost and top soil, i may even get some fish,blood & bone ( organic fertilizer) and rake that in aswell.... cant wait to get stuck in..

tools required

spade
fork
rake

3 seasons ago when i first got interested in gardening, I went to the builders yard to buy some top soil, but the minimum amount for delivery was one tonne in weight which cost plus delivery 56 GBP so i bought it, they delivered it at the front of the house and i had to use the wheel barrow to take it around the back :)

so 1 tonne is way to much for my garden right now, so i have to buy the soil from B&Q.. ill get everything on monday inshallah and ill let you know how much i spent on all the things to get my veg patch started off.....

[farah]

lol guess our names are v similar, a tonne is a lot of soil... blood and bone is what exactly?

[Riz]

lol guess our names are v similar, a tonne is a lot of soil... blood and bone is what exactly?

sorry :)

blood and bone is an organic fertilizer.. made from fish blood and fish waste..

more reading http://www.the-organic-gardener.com/plant-fertilizer.html

[Riz]

Today i was going to buy all the top soil and compost and chicken pellets.. went to B&Q and opened the boot of the car to make some space, and lone behold lots of boxes and other stuff, basically no room :)

so i bought some

chicken manure (10 kilos organic ) for 7.34 pence, i really wanted the smaller bucket of chicken manure , but it all got sold out, so this will keep me going for around 3 years or so....

multi purpose compost 75 litres 3.98
top soil 33 litres 3.38

[Riz]

if you see the chicken manure/pellets cheaper anywhere else please let everyone else know..

so on Saturday i will get more compost and soil for the veg patch, i will use what i have now to plant on the garlic seedlings, so ill do that later, on the garlic thread....

[Tania]

How you will use the pellets? Because you said 3 years...it means you will not spread them over the soil-like to cover the soil with pellets.

[Riz]

How you will use the pellets? Because you said 3 years...it means you will not spread them over the soil-like to cover the soil with pellets.

what i meant was i have enough chicken manure to last me 3 seasons :)

yes tania i wll scatter them on the veg patch and then rake them in... pics later on Saturday inshallah :)

[Riz]

here is a pic of the patch after the snow has melted....

[Riz]

made a start today on the veg patch...

but first ill have to dig out my galdilous bulbs carefully....

[Riz]

i stuck my fork right in and started turning over the soil, it was quite clumpy, but quite loose, first i got rid of all the big weeds i could see and threw them out of the veg patch..

[Riz]

scattered some chicken pellets all over and raked it all in.... now in a couple of days i will repeat the procedure, tilling the soil and turning it over, and bashing all the clumpy soil down and raking it over...

[rainbox]

It looks great! I bet you'll grow some great veg in there... What are you planning to have in there?

[Riz]

HI martine :)

i was thinking garlic/radish/lettuce/garden peas. maybe some courgettes... basil and maybe mint, because mint is very evasive i may grow them in a pot and sink the pot into the ground :)

still have some work to do on the veg patch though, getting rid of the small weeds and maybe getting some more top soil and raking that in as well.....

[Tania]

Can't compare with the previous picture. Good work for today.:GreenThumbs:

[Riz]

i planted the garlic cloves in my veg patch today... the soil was really loose and a pleasure to work with, i am so glad i spent some time tilling it over and working it.. makes life so much easier after the initial tilling of the veg patch is done. still have the radish to sow there and maybe even a few potatoes as i have never grown potatoes in the ground before :)

[Tania]

I like how you made the rows - so perfect. The wood sticks from around the land has a purpose? or its just to look more nice.

[Foz]

looking good riz....

[rainbox]

Your garlic looks great. Mine's hardly even sprouted.

[Riz]

when did you plant the cloves, and were exactly do you put them !!?

[rainbox]

4 days ago, in a big wooden wine box full of compost. I know, I'll have to be patient:rolleyes:

[Riz]

last week i bought a pack of brussel sprout seeds, and today i sowed them in the veg patch, ill update inshallah if they germinate.. It says on the pack sow in march/april outdoors and harvest in autumn.. so 6 months from seed to harvest, we shall see !!!

i always get amazed when i sow tiny seeds in the ground and watch them grow into huge bushy plants...

[Riz]

i have some onion seeds i germinated a while ago along some window ledges in my house,, i will pot them in the veg patch later on next week sometime along with some radish seeds and maybe some coriander seeds,,,,

[~Obsidian~]

4 days ago, in a big wooden wine box full of compost. I know, I'll have to be patient:rolleyes:
How are they doing now rainbox?


i always get amazed when i sow tiny seeds in the ground and watch them grow into huge bushy plants...

Me too!! It's so amazing subhanAllah...

[Foz]

well i started clearing out the area i want to use as a vegetable patch...but have a problem....

been letting out the rabbit free in the garden for the last few days and he goes straight to that area to dig! lol

[Riz]

^ what does rabbit stew taste like !? :eek:

[Foz]

hes destroyed my hollyhocks :(

first time ive let him run free as he has a pen he runs round in but thought id give him some more freedom..didnt realise how destructive he would be....so once ive sowed the seeds hes banned lol

rabbit stew :eek: thats cruel....you want to eat my rabbit!!

[Riz]

(39)

[Kirsten]

first time ive let him run free as he has a pen he runs round in but thought id give him some more freedom..didnt realise how destructive he would be....so once ive sowed the seeds hes banned lol


I used to let mine run around in the garden a little bit after my seedlings were all established and pretty darn big (like 1-2 feet)... I'd watch her though and fortunately she's not a digger, she'd usually run around and sniff everything and maybe take a few bites of the chard, which i was ok with.

She loves hiding under the grapevine - I bet it was like a green tent for her.

[Foz]

love th pic riz lol

mine just digs like mad....ive still got a bald patch on the grass from last year when id put the pen on the grass rather then the decking! lol

heres the area i want to make into my vegetable patch (back of garden behind apple tree) and the rabbit helping me dig it up lol

[Foz]

excuse the partially broken fence lol

[Tania]

You have a cute rabbit :) I would not ban her. May be make her a small patch with lettuce, carrots, what she likes.

[rainbox]

How are they doing now rainbox?


Much better, they've got quite big! :D Maybe I'll post a pic tomorrow.

[Riz]

some weeds have started to thrive again, so i will be yanking them out as well.. its cool because i have not planted anything on that side of the patch yet, so when i get rid of the weeds i shall plant my brussel sprout seedlings in that space...

[Riz]

the weeds grow fast huh !! lol

the garlic is doing really well..

later on i will pot the brussel sprouts seedlings in the veg patch..

[Riz]

i separated the brussel sprouts as i germinated 2 seeds per pot, i will grow some in pots and some in the veg patch... i know aphids love them , so i will have to watch out for them

[Riz]

brussel sprouts have doubled in size since my last pic.. i will pot them in the veg patch later on :)

[~Obsidian~]

Update please!

[Riz]

my garlic in the veg patch are getting really strong with thick stems :)

i didn't bother with potting the sprouts in the patch.. i dug a trench in the back and growing them there........



http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa300/sajid_012/vegpatch.jpg