My garden is on a slope and the lower / damper side is yet to be organised
(there is basically a rotten old tree stump, grass and a few weeds next to
the fence). I would like to turn a part of this side of the garden into a
vegetable patch (I currently use a greenhouse but would like to grow
vegetables outdoors too). If I dig over an area, would it be fitting to
simply incorporate some of my homemade compost in order to grow vegetables
or would the damp soil require other additions to lessen the
water-retentiveness of the soil?
I was hoping to grow French beans in this area. What other veg and/or fruit
are not fussy about having too much sunlight at ground level?

Any advice you can give would be greatfully received.

Jo

"Jo" wrote in
o.uk:

My garden is on a slope and the lower / damper side is yet to be
organised (there is basically a rotten old tree stump, grass and a few
weeds next to the fence). I would like to turn a part of this side of
the garden into a vegetable patch (I currently use a greenhouse but
would like to grow vegetables outdoors too). If I dig over an area,
would it be fitting to simply incorporate some of my homemade compost
in order to grow vegetables or would the damp soil require other
additions to lessen the water-retentiveness of the soil?
I was hoping to grow French beans in this area. What other veg and/or
fruit are not fussy about having too much sunlight at ground level?

Any advice you can give would be greatfully received.

Jo




I think it depends which way it faces. North, South, East or West.
Would you let us know please. It sounds like north from what I read.

Baz

On Mar 6, 5:55*pm, "Jo" wrote:
My garden is on a slope and the lower / damper side is yet to be organised
(there is basically a rotten old tree stump, grass and a few weeds next to
the fence). *I would like to turn a part of this side of the garden into a
vegetable patch (I currently use a greenhouse but would like to grow
vegetables outdoors too). *If I dig over an area, would it be fitting to
simply incorporate some of my homemade compost in order to grow vegetables
or would the damp soil require other additions to lessen the
water-retentiveness of the soil?
I was hoping to grow French beans in this area. *What other veg and/or fruit
are not fussy about having too much sunlight at ground level?

Any advice you can give would be greatfully received.

Jo

Virtually no vegatbles grow well in anything less than full sun..
The length of the growing season is reduced too because the soilwarms
up later.
Potatoes will grow but the crop is reduced.

In article ,
Jo wrote:

My garden is on a slope and the lower / damper side is yet to be organised
(there is basically a rotten old tree stump, grass and a few weeds next to
the fence). I would like to turn a part of this side of the garden into a
vegetable patch (I currently use a greenhouse but would like to grow
vegetables outdoors too). If I dig over an area, would it be fitting to
simply incorporate some of my homemade compost in order to grow vegetables
or would the damp soil require other additions to lessen the
water-retentiveness of the soil?

It depends why it is damp. Dig a hole a foot or two deep and check
the soil. You can actually measure the proportions of sand, silt
and clay quite easily. Fill a transparent, straight-sided plastic
or glass bottle 1/3 full of soil, and top it up to 2/3 with water.
Add a small amount of washing machine powder to deflocculate the
clay, and shake it well. That means thoroughly for some minutes,
until it is all suspended.

The leave it to settle. If I recall, sand drops out in under
a minute, silt in under 30 minutes, and clay drops out over the
following hours or days (yes, days). So measure the soil heights
above the base after a minute, 30 minutes and when the water is
clear. Anything floating is organic matter.

I was hoping to grow French beans in this area. What other veg and/or fruit
are not fussy about having too much sunlight at ground level?

Bad idea. They don't like poor drainage. Runners would do a
bit better, and so would climbing cucurbits. If the soil is
soggy because it is clay or because water seeps into it, you
might do better to dig holes separated by mounds, with the compost
in the mounds, and plant runners, French beans and climbing
cucurbits on the mounds.

Regards,
Nick maclaren.

"Jo" wrote in message
o.uk...
My garden is on a slope and the lower / damper side is yet to be organised
(there is basically a rotten old tree stump, grass and a few weeds next to
the fence). I would like to turn a part of this side of the garden into a
vegetable patch (I currently use a greenhouse but would like to grow
vegetables outdoors too). If I dig over an area, would it be fitting to
simply incorporate some of my homemade compost in order to grow vegetables
or would the damp soil require other additions to lessen the
water-retentiveness of the soil?
I was hoping to grow French beans in this area. What other veg and/or
fruit are not fussy about having too much sunlight at ground level?

Any advice you can give would be greatfully received.

Jo
Apologies - yes, the area faces north. There is fair amount of sun, but
not at ground level, hence the dampness of the soil - and of course, the
fact that the ground slopes in that direction.

In article , wrote:

It depends why it is damp. Dig a hole a foot or two deep and check
the soil. You can actually measure the proportions of sand, silt
and clay quite easily. Fill a transparent, straight-sided plastic
or glass bottle 1/3 full of soil, and top it up to 2/3 with water.
Add a small amount of washing machine powder to deflocculate the
clay, and shake it well. That means thoroughly for some minutes,
until it is all suspended.

The leave it to settle. If I recall, sand drops out in under
a minute, silt in under 30 minutes, and clay drops out over the
following hours or days (yes, days). So measure the soil heights
above the base after a minute, 30 minutes and when the water is
clear. Anything floating is organic matter.

Make it 30 seconds for sand. In all cases, the boundary between
gravel and sand, sand and silt, and (slightly) silt and clay is
arbitrary. The clay situation is complicated by the fact that
it is both made up of smaller particles and has a different
chemical composition.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

"Jo" wrote in
o.uk:


"Jo" wrote in message
o.uk...
My garden is on a slope and the lower / damper side is yet to be
organised (there is basically a rotten old tree stump, grass and a
few weeds next to the fence). I would like to turn a part of this
side of the garden into a vegetable patch (I currently use a
greenhouse but would like to grow vegetables outdoors too). If I dig
over an area, would it be fitting to simply incorporate some of my
homemade compost in order to grow vegetables or would the damp soil
require other additions to lessen the water-retentiveness of the
soil? I was hoping to grow French beans in this area. What other veg
and/or fruit are not fussy about having too much sunlight at ground
level?

Any advice you can give would be greatfully received.

Jo
Apologies - yes, the area faces north. There is fair amount of sun,
but not at ground level, hence the dampness of the soil - and of
course, the fact that the ground slopes in that direction.




http://www.pots2plots.com/Growing%20%20in%20Shade.htm

Have a look and see what you think about it. I found this site useful some
time ago, but settled for kale on my tiny shaded area thanks to advice from
this group.

Baz

Lack of sun is a problem for most veg. Runner beans, it they can climb up into the sun, should be OK. Broad beans don't crop well in the shade.

I've found rhubarb and swiss chard do OK in the shade, also alpine strawberries, though not sure how they'd feel about the wetness. Mine cope with being under 6 inches of water for several hours a few times each year, but they're not waterlogged for a long period.

On Mar 6, 5:55*pm, "Jo" wrote:
My garden is on a slope and the lower / damper side is yet to be organised
(there is basically a rotten old tree stump, grass and a few weeds next to
the fence). *I would like to turn a part of this side of the garden into a
vegetable patch (I currently use a greenhouse but would like to grow
vegetables outdoors too). *If I dig over an area, would it be fitting to
simply incorporate some of my homemade compost in order to grow vegetables
or would the damp soil require other additions to lessen the
water-retentiveness of the soil?
I was hoping to grow French beans in this area. *What other veg and/or fruit
are not fussy about having too much sunlight at ground level?

Any advice you can give would be greatfully received.

Jo

Sloes do well in damp limited sushine conditions. Apple & sloe pie is
rather nice.


NT

On Mar 7, 9:33*am, NT wrote:
On Mar 6, 5:55*pm, "Jo" wrote:

My garden is on a slope and the lower / damper side is yet to be organised
(there is basically a rotten old tree stump, grass and a few weeds next to
the fence). *I would like to turn a part of this side of the garden into a
vegetable patch (I currently use a greenhouse but would like to grow
vegetables outdoors too). *If I dig over an area, would it be fitting to
simply incorporate some of my homemade compost in order to grow vegetables
or would the damp soil require other additions to lessen the
water-retentiveness of the soil?
I was hoping to grow French beans in this area. *What other veg and/or fruit
are not fussy about having too much sunlight at ground level?

Any advice you can give would be greatfully received.

Jo

Sloes do well in damp limited sushine conditions. Apple & sloe pie is
rather nice.

NT

In this part of the world with its high raiunfall many gardeners grow
on raised beds, they dig over and throw the soil from what is to be a
path onto the beds, this way they raise the beds and have somewhere
for the water to drain off.
Over time many are 12 inches or more above path height.
David @ the wet end of Swansea Bay.