Veggie Garden for a beginner

Hi there, I have an old concrete fish pond that was built on the ground as opposed to soil. We were going to simply demolish it but it is huge and would make a great veggie garden. We have removed the lining and planning to layer it with the following:

1. Gravel to allow for water flow
2. Cardboards
3. Old soil and organic matter from my garden)
4. Bark chipping
5. Fresh soil

I wanted to get thoughts on the above and if this is in the right direction?

 

I know it's too expensive to get rid of all the concrete, I would at least remove the bottom part, and add some lining between walls and compost, so that nothing leaks from the concrete into the soil. Then your layers are ok.

 

Hi @aisha badmus and welcome to the forum!

What a great project, your plan sounds to me to be very much on the right tracks.

How deep is the concrete pond and what are you planning to grow?

The reason I'm asking is that it makes a big difference if the pond is, say, 50cm or 150cm deep. A shallower pool, regardless of not being water tight, will inevitably turn into a bog during rainy period. Like a container with too small drainage holes.

If the pond is very deep, you can probably make a good veg patch by using the cheapest drainage materials like ballast or broken bricks in the bottom rather than investing in gravel and chippings.

Please post some more details of the dimensions of the situation, and it would also be helpful to know whereabouts your garden is. (You can add your approximate location into your profile)

A warm welcome and Happy New Year of gardening!

 

I'd probably sequence (bottom up) gravel, old soil and organics, new soil, cardboard, bark chipping,

...then plant through the cardboard into the soil

 

Leave out the cardboard. Soak and compost it seperately instead. It is only of benefit to exclude light to kill existing weeds-which I doubt your pond will have !

 

I agree with @infradig about leaving out cardboard. I would dig some compost into the soil then mulch it with compost. The mulch will keep down any weeds and feed the soil. Bought compost will be OK if you don't have any. I would also leave out bark chips. I only use them on a bed that won't be dug or planted into, such as an established shrub bed.

 

What ever you decide from the above great info make sure water can drain out of the base or you will finish up with a bog garden which is great for growing Carniverous plants in.

 

You don't give the size or, more importantly, the depth of the old pond - advice will depend on that. Before worrying about how to fill the bed, ensure that you have drilled holes in the concrete base to allow excess water to drain away. You could well have a drought for part of the year but you could also have extreme rain fall.
A mix of old compost, raw kitchen veg waste and top soil with bits of paper and cardboard ( scrunched up ) would be a good start. Good luck