Grow Your Own Veg!

We have used antique troughs as raised beds for our own vegetable garden this year.  Potatoes, carrots, cabbages, lettuce, beetroot and onions, to name but a few of the vegetables we have grown.  Results so far are excellent!  Good drainage is key.  We have drilled through the base of the troughs and used plenty of crock to ensure good drainage.  As Carol Klein mentions, some advantages of using troughs as raised beds are:

• Medium and large troughs provide ample growing depth, which is especially useful for root vegetables
• You can fill the stone trough with the most appropriate soil for your crop
• One raised bed is a much less daunting prospect than a large vegetable plot, which needs planning, planting and maintaining
• Gluts of any vegetables are less likely because the produce is being grown in short rows or small blocks , giving smaller amounts at a time
• Cloches, protective netting and plant supports are easy to manage in a raised bed area
• Raised beds are easier, and less back breaking to work with!!!  – Less bending over