Vegetable garden location

[billy10]

Hello Forum,

               When I am over in France full time in about 3 months time one of my first jobs is to make a vegetable garden, I have an area of about 40 feet by 100 feet behind my garage , the drain field of the fosse is also in this area, but there is also a very old oak tree standing about 70 feet high on this particular piece of my garden , I have heard all sorts as to the suitability such as the tree will take all the moisture so veg wont grow or drain field is not good as veg patch etc etc, What is the real story , do any of you experienced gardeners know the answer to the question  " can I build my veg garden in this location "

Regards

 

Billy10

 

[Gemini_man]

Hi Billy and welcome,

if this is your only possible place for a potager then give it a try is my suggestion -

certainly the oak tree will take a lot of the light and sun (depending on where it stands in relation to the potager ) and it will take a lot of the moisture but you can deal with that by buying a decent sprinkler - also throughout the month of May it will drop it's annoying seed heads all over your plants - but if your fosse is supplying extra nutriments then no doubt some of your plants will do well, carrots potatoes and parsnips in particular if memory serves me well! Certain vegetables need plenty of sunshine so I would plant tomatoes etc in the sunniest spot you can find and beans assorted in the shadiest area - and everything else in between. Don't forget the fumier though it's all important!!

Good luck with it - and by the way if you like asparagus I would recommend that you plant a dozen or so roots in a special bed, I don't think they need much sunlight so towards  the tree would be fine - should give you plenty of crops for 5 or 6 years , erm, slugs and asparagus beatle allowing  [:D]