Growing vegatables?

me and my dad are going to grow some veg, we live in the centre of london and have a pretty decent size garden for location?


he has asked me to build or get some planter boxs that he can fill with soil and fertiliser and put in the garden, what depth would any growers suggest, would 4 foot depth be deep enough and would wpb ply be ok to build them! want to grow potatoes, onions, carrots and cauliflowers! any advise greatly appreciated. i have always lived in the city, but my dad grew up on a farm and i thought it would be a cool thing to do together. many thanks paul.

Growing vegatables?
As noted, the carrots and potatoes will love having that depth, but the rest of the plants would be fine with less. Actually, you may want to go with 2-3 feet deep anyway so you don't have to bend over to garden! You could choose a shorter variety of carrot. Their true root system goes at least 2 times the distance of the main root.





A few warnings about your plant choices though. First, potatoes make bad neighbors. They'll take over your little patio garden quickly if you can't find all the tubers at the end of the season. If you choose to use them, put them in their own planter.





Second, cauliflower are notoriously finicky. They'll bolt quickly when the heat goes up, they aren't as cold tolerant as their cousins (broccoli), they're not as disease tolerant, you have to tie them up if you want white heads, and you'll only get one head per plant. They are the prima donnas of vegetables, and most people don't even think they taste very good! Select broccoli or cabbage instead for a less finicky cold weather vegetable.





Also, plywood does not make for very good planters unless you line them with plastic. They'll rot. You can use the pressure treated wood, but again, line with plastic so the chemicals don't get into your food.
Reply:Hey Truluv Exists,





Most plants root systems occur within 24" of the surface. Carrots are one exception, they dive deep for water. A bed of good soil that is 4' deep would be more that adequite. Set it up so you do not walk on the soil, or garden growing surface.





You and your dad should have many great plants in this garden. You should depend on his experience too.
Reply:The onions and cauliflower only need about one foot of soil,and the carrots would also be ok with that, just about (the carrot is the root, so think of the length of a carrot to determine depth)


Potatoes need a greater depth.The deeper the potato is,the more new potatoes you will get, as they grow from the stem. IHave you ever heard of 'earthing up potatoes'?When planted in the ground,when the shoots appear above the soil, you need to cover them with more soil (earth up), so that the plant will produce another 'layer' of potatoes.They can be grown in something like a dustbin (the round type not the wheelybin type)
Reply:If by any chance you decide to grow weed, let me know.
Reply:I'm not big on gardening..eating yes, but not growing. I think that you should take a good look at what you eat and plant accordingly. I've seen people try to pawn off the stuff they don't like to eat..it makes you wonder why they planted that stuff in the first place...so take a good look at what you eat, because I imagine that eating this stuff is going to be about half of the enjoyment.
Reply:I think the plan would work real good and i hope you and your dad enjoy planting and growing together its a very nice thing.