Having trouble getting healthy vegetables in a raised bed?
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Putting together the vegetable raised bed garden
Question by Mike C: Having trouble getting healthy vegetables in a raised bed?
I have a 4 foot by 12 foot raised bed garden. I put in very good soil I thought. I have good drainage. I planted carrots, cucumbers, canteloupe, green beans and some flowers. The flowers did pretty well but the vegetables never got big at all. The green beans did OK but were tough and kind of tasteless. The bed gets pretty good sun (3/4 of the day) Any help would be appreciated. I hate to give up!
What do you think? Answer below!
4 Responses to Having trouble getting healthy vegetables in a raised bed?
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Two possibilities.
Have you added any organic matter? Aged manure, your own compost. Soil is a living thing and needs feeding constantly to keep it alive and therefore supply your veges with the nutrients they need to do well.
Water. A lot of the time people do not water enough. It is not the frequency of the watering but the amount. Next time you water stick your finger in and see how far down the water has penetrated. Chances are it has barely gone down an inch and you need to water more thoroughly.
greenfingers
January 27, 2012 at 8:45 pm
Did you use just soil or did you add compost,manure or peat? maybe you need to fertilize. This past summer was dry where i live so my garden wasn’t great and that could have been the problem with yours. Don’t give up. try different crops.
jackyblu
January 27, 2012 at 9:45 pm
In addition to the other good answers you got already, I will add that maybe you are planting your plants too close together. Also, you probably picked the green beans a couple days too late. Jade is a good variety I like that doesn’t get tough so quick if you miss picking by a couple days. Cukes and canteloupes do well on a trellis, and this has the benefit of maximizing your small space. You can just put up steel fence posts & some wire fencing for a cheap trellis. You have to be really good about weeding, too – It took me a couple years to be good about keeping on top of that.
luvacat3
January 27, 2012 at 10:03 pm
Sounds like you’re on the right track. Try regular fertilizer applications and keep the plants watered, they should do fine. Keep an eye out for insects and fungus.
DC
January 27, 2012 at 10:38 pm