Annie Blessington asked 12 years ago
I am hoping for the first time to plant a vegetable garden and am in the planning stages. For a family size garden, what size areas chould I allow for say potatoes, carrot, parsnips, onions etc.
Gerry Daly Staff answered 6 years ago
It is best to concentrate on the quick-growing crops such as radish, lettuce and rocket to start with and gain some early success. Try carrots, peas, broad beans, french beans, onion sets, courgette and garlic first. Then you might decide that you have space for bulky cabbage family crops and potatoes.
Sweet corn can be tried and pumpkins but need a good deal of space.
Do not worry too much about quantity of vegetables needed. Concentrate at first on small areas and small amounts of produce, sowing just a few seeds at a time and repeating if needed, just getting to know how the various vegetables behave and their needs.
Never let weeds get taller that your thumb … using a light hoe on a windy sunny day ideally.
As expertise grows, you can work out how much of each crop you are likely to use, how many onions in a winter, for instance.
