"VegTrugs" , other brands are available.

I don`t do pictures lady Bella. My garden is so distinctive, the locals ask to see it and it is easily recognisable. I don`t cover my fruit but I do make sure that there is plenty of organic matter and flowers to keep the insect population going and the birds happy and I have water for them

I have had a face-off with blackbirds re my blueberries but I pick them before ripe, 2 or 3 times a day, put them in a bowl in the warm kitchen and they ripen to dark, when I eat some and freeze the rest. I have frozen over a kg so far and have masses still to pick over the nxt few weeks

I have just ordered my third mini hotbin, The other two were full to the brim again 2 days ago and will soon just be left to mature over a few weeks. They are a small footprint and stand on small concrete slabs. They are maintaining temperatures of minimum 90 to 110 degrees

Phacelia is fantastic, I sprinkle some on any bed I can empty, then chop it before it sets seed, I go on hands and knees and just fork it over to lay on the soil, then I cover for winter with weed fabric. All beds are being so productive that I am going to struggle to get an empty bed before august

craftyone could you possibly let us see pictures of your garden? It sounds wonderful. Do you cover the fruit? I have grown Phacelia. How do you use it as green manure please? I grow it in a wildflower border and the bees love it. I had never seen it before I acquired it in a packet of mixed seeds. Do you have a "hot compost bin"? the sort that works very fast? I only read about them this week and it seems the sort of thing I'd like as I'm impatient!

ladyBella, I have been here since may 2019 and my new build garden has grown like topsy. I had extra patio built and now have a very large patio, half east facing and half south facing. I have a wall all around, 2 m high, blue lias, hence the sun trap. I was just in time to ask the builder not to sow grass seed, I don`t have a big area of soil, but enough for me

I started with my 4 apple trees, 3 standard gooseberries and 2 blackcurrants, the foundation and height. Over the months I added 3 x ergo raised beds in which I grow cucurbits and marigolds and tomatoes. I planted lots of bocking 14 comfrey along the wall on one side, my organic compost booster and better than manure. I have a solar water feature, many flowers, 3 different sized cast iron, hand made obelisks, holding climbing beans, nasturteums, sweet peas. The bees go crazy in the garden, it was meant to be like that, borage, catmint. wavy silvery grasses, lavender and lots more

No paths, just a stepping stones made from recycled rubber, so I can reach every part without standing on soil. I cannot see them now, the plants are doing their job

The garden was a builders dump when I started, no worms, barren.

Back to vegtrugs, I got mine direct from vegtrug, they delivered fast. 3 days ago, I harvested all my beetroots and have replaced with 2 rows of leeks and more radish and lettuce. I am cropping intensively right now and it will deplete the compost so I will be saving some of my hot bin compost to layer in when appropriate, I may even grow some phacelia as green manure and then cover for winter

crafty your garden does indeed sound a delight.

Can you tell me what seeds you use for your miniature cabbage etc please?

We have a large one just outside the kitchen door and it works very well. We have parsley, cut & come again salad leaves, edible flowers and also useful for rows of seedlings or growing on small plants before moving on. We ordered ours from Costco. Space underneath too for my tubtrug and kneeler.

craftyone your garden sounds wonderful. It must be such a source of pleasure. It sounds like something I'd like to emulate.

We have definitely decided to get one. Busy clearing the space, but have to wait as I have pots of gladioli for picking in the space.

I have two Elho veg trugs, one black and one green. They are recycled plastic and come with a transparent lid. Every year I grow different types of veg - carrots, tomatoes, radishes, spring onions even peas with some support. Because they are the same depth all round (no shallow areas) you can grow most vegetables in them. My grandchildren use them to pick what they want to grow and as they are the right height they can tend their plants easily. If you hunt around, you can get them for a bargain price, much cheaper than the wooden ones.

We have a large wooden veg trug.We have used it successfully for lettuce and herbs.Haven’t tried growing any other veg in it as yet.

yes I have them, new build house with a very big patio, I wanted future proofed patio gardening for my older years, for if I can no longer look after the potager. I have had experience of large wooden containers and they don`t last that long, even with care, maybe 8 years before they start to show rot.

I bought black aluminium vegtrugs when they were on offer. I have the frames and some covers and some climbing frames. I am more than happy. Definitely a considered purchase but it was part of the cost of settling myself and getting a potager garden started from scratch. I`ll make a list of what I have in my 4 ie placed as 2 x 2 and they work as patio dividers too
radish
lettuce
mangetout
borlotti
marigolds
limnanthes
strawberries
nastureums
chard white and red
rocket
pak choi
mini cabbages
mini caulies
carrots
beetroot
spring onions

Next year I plan to grow strawberries in the two sunniest beds, my walled garden is a sun trap. I can cover over the 2 frames with bird protection. I love this standing-up garden and this set-up has provided me with a salad bowl for weeks

My herbs are in pots esp mint. You do need to water the shallow ends more but the carrots are amazing in the middle and the beetroots are almost ready to start harvesting

I do have a garden soil based potager, not big, so I grow a mix, roses with lots of bumble friends, beans etc up obelisks, courgettes/ mini squash/cucumbers in 9" raised ergo beds plus lots of companion plants. Height with M26 apple trees and standard gooseberries

It is a whole new way of gardening after gardening, including allotment, for almost my whole life but it can be done and these containers make it very possible, provided you are able to water enough and lift a can or hose end high enough

Yes Whitewavemark2 they will all grow ok but wouldn’t put mint in there as it will take over the whole thing. A separate pot is best for that. Carrots are also above the reach of the dreaded carrot fly.

Yes I have thought about the slope avalon but does lettuce , spring onions and herbs do ok in the shallow part?

Just realised I am talking small hand held trug. We do have one of the big free standing ones. They come with a liner which protects the wood and keeps the compost in. They do look smart and you can keep them on the patio and vegetables grow well and it is easy to tend being more the right height. Because it slopes there is not as much growing space as you might think. Raised free standing tubs can hold more but are that little bit lower.

I have a plastic veg trug which I find easy to clean from muddy vegetables and it’s much cheaper to buy. I have wondered however about buying one of those lovely looking proper trugs. Are they easy to clean without suffering damage?

I have used all my canvas shopping bags filled with compost Which now house courgettes, sweet corn and salad stuff Oh yes and potatoes It’s great fun and cheap as chips

A supermarket, beginning with A**a, that has special weekly deals, has raised bed sowing boxes on offer this Thursday.

Look up/ google square meter gardening. Good tips there

We are thinking exactly the same thing!!

Be interesting to hear if anyone has one and how successful they are.

One thing with container planting is the watering issue, but I’m hoping that this is not such an issue with such a large container.

The reason we are getting one is for easier gardening and not having to bend so much. Age you know!?

Oops, that should read " wanted to do some reasearch " ?