Vegetable Patch - how to start

We have been working hard on clearing the jungle in our back garden.  We have a space that we would like to attempt a vegetable patch.  Approximately 2 meters by 3 meters.

The area gets afternoon light, several hours in the summer.  But it's definitely not full day sun.  We'd be growing directly into the ground, not elevated.

Good starter veg?  We are excited to try to grow some of what we eat. 

We have been working hard on clearing the jungle in our back garden.  We have a space that we would like to attempt a vegetable patch.  Approximately 2 meters by 3 meters.

The area gets afternoon light, several hours in the summer.  But it's definitely not full day sun.  We'd be growing directly into the ground, not elevated.

Good starter veg?  We are excited to try to grow some of what we eat. 

Exciting!  You can't go wrong with new potatoes! Plant some mint too and you're sorted!

Strawberries are easy too and don't take up much space.

Exciting!  You can't go wrong with new potatoes! Plant some mint too and you're sorted!

Strawberries are easy too and don't take up much space.

Love new potatoes!  And some herbs is a great idea.  I think peppers are supposed to be good for beginners?

I have a book that the Daughter bought for me, titled "One Magic Square" by Lolo Houbein that deals with  a 3-ft-square garden bed. I used it for our first garden in Calif and it was a good resource. If you can pick up a copy used for cheap, you might find it helpful. [The author gets a little preachy, but some (perhaps not all) of the ideas in the book are worth a read.]

But, otherwise, I'd say 1) that if your family likes greens, do part of it in a pick-and-go (harvesting only some leaves off the veg) salad greens section with several different types of greens - the Daughter says Rocket is good, I'd add chives, maybe bok choy and some sorrel; 2) a line or two of spring (green) onions, as they can be planted very closely together; 3) radishes - they come along quickly and can be replaced with other plants soon thereafter. You might find the side of the garden that you can put a trellis up on (that won't shade the other plants) and put some sweet peas up it. When it's warmer, you could try some of the dwarf varieties of climbing tomatoes, squash, zucchini, etc. 

I am SO envious of your outdoor space!  Enjoy!!!

Peppers are not bad, but most do like a lot of sun. Not so say they won't grow in less than ideal, tho!  Right now I have six jalepeno seedlings just up. We won't be able to keep them all. I wonder if there won't be a way, when they are more established, to perhaps send a couple to you via the mail, if you'd like them?  (We also have the same situation with cayenne peppers.)

Babybell yellow and red peppers are nice salad peppers and I was able to grow them in buckets on a semi-shaded porch one year successfully.

You want to pick warm weather plants like peppers/tomatoes/etc. that are appropriate for your location. Some will do better than others simply based on climate.  But you can certainly put in salad greens once it's warm enough, and onion sets (growing onion from seed will turn your hair gray) can go out as long as it's not actually in danger of freezing.

On the mint - be careful - maybe plant it in a bottomless pot set in the ground, otherwise it can run completely amok in a garden.

sweet peas

Sweet peas here are flowers. Just peas for the veg. 

Sweet peas here are flowers. Just peas for the veg. 

Ah. "Sugar snap peas" then.

Potatoes are so easy to get started with and will help break up your soil. 

You certainly can't go wrong with growing leaves: lettuces (go for leaves, rather than 'cos' style, as you won't need to thin), spinach, rocket, swiss chard, etc

Radishes are so easy and quick. 

Courgettes.

Herbs. But some herbs like mint, can take over so you'll probably want to grow that in a pot.

If you can rig up some climbing frames or trellis, then peas, mangetout and runner beans are all easy too. 

I never think peppers are easy, lol.   They used to be when I lived in hot New England summers, but not in the frigid Highlands of Scotland.   

Basically, have a bash! It will be fun trying!!

I am so rubbish at gardening. Does anybody enjoy gardening enough to come clean up mine and make it look nice and plant some veg? hahaha

Oooh, you could plant some nasturtiums! Not a vegetable of course but they are really easy and an edible garnish so would make your food look really fresh and fancy! 

Rhubarb is great fun too and really easy.

You will have to teach your daughter which plants and bits of plants (the leaves of the rhubarb and the potato are poisonous, for example) are edible as you go along. 

I am so rubbish at gardening. Does anybody enjoy gardening enough to come clean up mine and make it look nice and plant some veg? hahaha

Can they then come to mine?? lol I inherited a mess if a garden in this house and in clueless where to start.

Can they then come to mine?? lol I inherited a mess if a garden in this house and in clueless where to start.

Same!!! and by the time it's nice enough to look at what is what (as I was left some really nice flowers/bushes and a whole bunch of weeds) it just booms and overgrows and you have all the vines growing and trying to kill everything. I think I just need one really good person to come in and do an overhaul on my garden with what is what and how I need to upkeep stuff and then help me plant a nice veg patch (as I fail pretty much every year since living here). Every year it's just chaos (and we have a large garden hahaha The worst is that there are flowers I'd prefer more....but some of them that are already there look so nice, I don't really want to add once I like to ruin what's there.

We can definitely do a trellis.

Okay, scrap the peppers!  What about cucumbers?  Are they easy?  It'd be nice to have salad-y veggies.  Won't do tomatoes as I don't want to do a greenhouse.  Just keep it simple this year.  And as you say, get the soil in better shape.

Cucumbers, most enjoy warmth , so make sure you get seeds/types that are reliably grown outside and not in a greenhouse, like 'Marketmore'. 

You can definitely get outdoor tomato types too.  Worth seeking out. You're way further south than me, so you'll probably have lots of luck. 

Watch for any of the magic words "blight resistant, mildew resistant, wilt resistant, or Verticillium resistant" when you buy plants/seeds. You'll thank yourself for that later.