If you’ve been following my posts for a while you’ll probably be aware that I had a brain bleed a few years ago. What I haven’t told you is last year I had a quintuple heart by-pass and it’s left me very weak. I can’t manage my allotment so my son set me up a vegtrug and here’s my vegtrug planting guide.
We went for the medium vegtrug which is actually the largest one they do? It’s 1.8 metres (6 foot) long, 76 cms (30 inches) wide and 80 cms (31.5 inches) high. That’s an area roughly 6 foot by 2.5 foot in old money. It stands waist high making it easy to work on so planting, watering, weeding, and harvesting are a doddle.
What Is A Vegtrug?
If you’re interested in gardening and unless you’ve been in isolation somewhere, you probably already know what a vegtrug is. For those of you who don’t follow this link to the vegtrug website.
Vegtrug Planting Guide
My son assembled the vegtrug for me, sited it where it will get the best of the weather and filled it with compost (see below). Now I get to do the fun bit… Planting it up.
What To Plant In A Vegtrug
The vegtrug is essentially a raised bed, or large container garden and so it should be planted up accordingly. Finding plants to grow is the easy bit, but they need to be compatible parts, not all plants get along. I’m talking about companion planting here, the way some plants work together and others work against each other.
Companion Planting A Vegtrug
Here’s my vegtrug planting guide, you should use it as a guide but experiment. The combinations are endless.
Strawberries In The Vegtrug
The obvious plant to start with in my opinion is the strawberry. Growing strawberries nearly 3 feet off the ground has many benefits. Ease of spotting and picking ripe fruit, minimal slug damage, to name but 3.
I’ve gone for a variety called Toscana which is one of the “ever bearing” types that will produce fruit from June til October. It has rose red flowers and bright red cone shaped fruits. I have 20 plants and they will grow all around the edge of the vegtrug.
By referring to my post what grows well with strawberries I can plant the best plants to enhance the health and vitality of my strawberries. And just as importantly what not to grow with them to keep them disease and pest free. For more information on growing strawberries in containers click this link.
Borage In The Vegtrug
Strawberries and borage grow well together and borage attracts many pollinators like bees and hoverflies. Both important and helpful insect allies bees for pollination and hoverflies for aphid consumption. Borage improves the health of all of it’s neighbours and this is of great help in any container gardening.
To read more about companion planting borage click here.
Lettuce In The Vegtrug
I have Lollo Rosso seedlings I started earlier in the season and they will be providing ground cover around my strawberries. For some unknown reason Lollo Rosso is an expensive lettuce to buy in the shops. I don’t understand why as they are just as easy to grow as any other variety of lettuce.
For more about companion planting lettuce click this link.
Spinach In The Vegtrug
Amongst the lettuce and strawberries, spinach will also help to keep weeds at bay. Strawberries, lettuce, and spinach all require a lot of water and growing them as companions will make this less of a chore.
Onions In The Vegtrug
Due to their high sulphur content onions prevent many fungal infections and their strong aroma keeps pests away. This is true of all onions including spring onions which don’t take up too much space and can easily be added to the vegtrug plans.
Beans In The Vegtrug
Go for dwarf or bush beans as they will not get too tall and create too much shade for your other plants. Beans fix nitrogen in the air and don’t take up nitrogen from the soil needed by other plants. Leave the plants in when they are finished to absorb this nitrogen into the soil.
Poached Egg Plants In The Vegtrug
If you’re going to grow beans, poached egg plants are a must. The whole plant is pretty with its fern like leaves and poached egg like flowers. They attract hoverflies and therefore protect your beans and strawberries from aphids.
For more information on poached egg companion plants click here.
Carrots In The Vegtrug
The vegtrug is vee shaped and to make the most of the deepest part which runs along the middle of the vegtrug I’m growing carrots. There is room for a single row right through the middle of the vegtrug and these will benefit from the onion companion plants. The strong onion smell will deter carrot root flies although due to the vegtrugs’ height they shouldn’t be a problem.
To read more about companion planting carrots click here.
Marigolds In The Vegtrug
A great plant for keeping harmful nematodes away, the marigold is a must have plant for me. Marigolds also encourage mycorrhizal fungi which improves health and vitality in plants. To find out more about marigold companion planting click here.
Broccoli In The Vegtrug
Brassicas don’t grow well with strawberries, so this is not for me this year however broccoli grows well in vegtrugs. They benefit from slight shade as too much heat or lack of moisture will cause them to bolt. Does well with lettuce, onions, leeks, beetroot and many other vegetables.
All of which can be grown in the vegtrug.
Tomatoes In The Vegtrug
Grow bush type or cherry tomatoes due to the height of the vegtrug and grow with the relevant companion plants. For more information on companion planting tomatoes click this link. Plant near to the centre of the vegtrug to maximise root growth.
Sweetcorn In The Vegtrug
In the image on the vegtrug site it shows sweetcorn growing at the back of the vegtrug. Given that the vegtrug stands just under 3 foot high, and sweetcorn can grow somewhere near 14-15 feet, I would consider providing a wind break. Otherwise the plants are going to get damaged.
Chillies In The Vegtrug
Peppers can grow in the vegtrug and so can chilli peppers. Just look for the right companion plants to go with them. For a guide on companion planting peppers click this link.
Squash In The Vegtrug
It is possible to grow squash plants in the vegtrug, however due to the sprawling nature of Winter squash, I would only grow Summer squash in there. Summer squash like courgettes (zucchini) and patty pans grow in a more compact, bush like manner. This means they will take up less space and the fruits will remain above ground level with less chance of damage.
For more information on zucchini companion plants click here.
Herbs In The Vegtrug
The vegtrug is a great place to make a herb garden, maybe a Mediterranean themed herb garden. Or just use herbs as companion plants with your vegetables. Many useful herbs can be found in my post herbs as companion plants. Let me know in the comments which herbs you’ve added to your vegtrug planting guide.
Filling Your Vegtrug
Like all container gardening the most important factor to get right is the soil. According to the vegtrug site it takes 420 litres of soil to fill it up. I recommend a mixture of compost and something like John Innes no.3 to which I add garden lime and Epsom salts.
I also added perlite at roughly 20% of content. The vegtrug is designed to drain excess water through it’s many drainage gaps and as my area can be quite arid perlite will provide more water retention. Meaning I won’t have to water it too often.
That gives your plants a good healthy soil to start with and healthy soil means healthy plants. Once your plants have been growing for about 6 weeks add some organic fertiliser or liquid feed. Then top up with a layer of fresh compost every year for the first 3 years after which replace the whole soil.
Vegtrug recommend changing the liner along with the soil every 3 years and they sell replacement liners. But that’s for the future it’s now time to get planting so happy growing and enjoy your healthy, fresh, organic vegetables.
Who Is The Vegtrug Suitable For
The short answer is everyone but more specifically growing in a vegtrug opens up gardening to people who don’t usually have access to growing. People in wheelchairs, with balance problems, back problems, the elderly, the list is endless. I had a heart by-pass and I’m excited to start growing at waist height.
kneeling is a bit of an issue but so is getting up afterwards and so the vegtrug opens up new possibilities for me. No more relying on family and friends to plant, water, weed, and harvest my crops because I’m not able. With the vegtrug it will all be accessible for me to do and with less slug and snail damage.
Preventing Slug And Snail Damage
To stop slugs and snails getting into your new vegtrug and damaging your plants use petroleum jelly (Vaseline). Apply thickly about 4 inches (10 cms) from the base of each leg for a height of 4 inches (10 cms). This will stop the slugs and snails from climbing up to your growing area, just reapply after rain or when necessary.
For more on how to get rid of slugs naturally click here.
Vegtrug Planting Guide Update
After about 7 weeks I took this video to show just how much growth has been achieved in my vegtrug. Everything is flourishing and the bees love it. I have been eating spinach and lettuce every day for around 5 weeks now on a cut and come again basis.
Sadly the forecast is for hot, dry weather so I might lose both the lettuce and spinach if they bolt. I shall maintain watering regularly to try and prevent this for as long as possible.
Vegtrug Winter Cover
I got a good deal with my vegtrug, it came with the frame and winter cover. This will extend my growing season and help me to keep things growing through the cold, wet, and icy conditions. They also do an insect mesh that presumably uses the same frame but I don’t think I’ll need it, I’ll keep companion planting.
So that’s my vegtrug planting guide, I hope you find it useful. I’m interested in how you plant your vegtrug please let me know in the comments.
Thank you so much. I have just filled and begun to plant my trug – my first attempt at growing more than tomatoes in grow bags! Your tips on companion planting is particularly helpful and has resulted in my adapting my shopping list. I am quite nervous about looking after it all properly – but nothing ventured nothing gained! I appreciate the time you have taken to share this.
Hello Mariea,
Thank you for your kind comment. Don’t be nervous, most plants have the will to survive hot wired into them, and if something does go wrong, use it as a lesson not a defeat.
I’m sure you’ll do well and get a lot of joy and fresh produce from your vegtrug.
Plus don’t just stick to my examples try to experiment a bit, see if something else works, have fun with it.
All the best
Steve
Great! I’ve just assembled my vegtrug that arrived today. Can’t do anymore yet as waiting for the garden centre to get more compost in so I can plan by reading this.
Hi Steve,
Thanks for your comment, I also have a post entitled what to plant in a planting box (link below) that covers different plants to companion plant, I’m not trying to confuse you, just give you another option.
https://growing-guides.co.uk/what-to-plant-in-a-planting-box/
I hope you find this helpful. Great name by the way
All the best
Steve
Thank you.
I’ll have a look.
You’re welcome,
I hope it helps.
Very helpful- thank you.
I’ve been using olbas oil to deter slugs & snails with some success. Will try Vaseline as well!
Happy gardening.
Lisa
Hi Lisa,
Thanks for your kind comment, I’ve never considered olbas oil before, thanks for the tip, having looked up the ingredients in olbas oil, it sort of makes sense. Olbas oil contains essential oils of cajuput, clove, eucalyptus, juniper berry, levomenthol, peppermint, and wintergreen these strong smelling oils probably disguise the greenery above.
Thanks again, I’m always open to new ideas.
All the best
Steve
Hello brilliant information I’ve the small
Trug and the medium trug with the cold frame I’m grey I opted for John innes number 3 and compost so I’m
Pleased I got that bit right , I’m new to this but determined so the next question may seem a little dim
What and how do I use the cold frame
For I’m slightly confused kind regards Claire s
Hi Claire,
Thanks for taking the time to comment, it makes me happy knowing I’ve been of some help to others.
With mine, I set up the frame work for the cold frame, (mine is the plastic cover with a zip down the centre) before planting up the vegtrug. This is because it’s easier to do the frame without any plants, less chance of damaging them. But I only used it late in the season to keep the last few plants free of frost.
Then during the actual winter (not that we got much of a winter), I took the cover off as I never had anything in there to worry about frost damage.
I did have strawberry plants in the trug, but they need a bit of cold weather so I removed the cover, and it now sits in my shed.
I hope this is of some help.
Happy gardening
All the best
Steve
My trug is growing well now since I got it in May. It’s all wrapped up in enviromesh over the frame as the mesh cover was out of stock when I was looking. How are you getting on with no netting? I found that caterpillars were eating my lettuce in a pot so I wouldn’t want to let them in the trug.
I found them on radish and nasturtium too. I’ve covered everything I can now!
Hi Steve,
The only plants I had in my trug that were at risk from cabbage whites were the rocket. That has all gone to seed now so no problems.
I’m about to replant my vegtrug with some asparagus along the middle, I grew the plants from seed. A friend in Norway sent me the seed so they should survive our winters.
That means changing all the plants in my trug.
I’m still working out what else to grow with the asparagus.
All the best
Steve
Hello
Steve lovely to chat , well I’d be keen to know what the name of the Norwegian asparagus seeds were they sound brilliant! , my broccoli 🥦 was savaged by caterpillar 🐛 much to the amusement of my children , so far leeks are doing well , I’ve had some little lettuce radishes were supposed plugs from eBay were an waste of time far to weak , I’ve 4 cucumbers but my peppers seem to grow then turn black very confused about that , look forward to reading your brill advise Claire x
Hi Claire,
The caterpillar of the cabbage white is a pain to all gardeners, you either have to resort to chemicals or be vigilant and hand pluck them and dispatch them.
Get some radish seeds and start sowing them now, they take around 6 weeks from sowing to harvest and are incredibly easy to grow (watch out for the cabbage white butterflies as they’re partial to radish leaves too).
Well done with the cucumbers, what variety are they?
I’m guessing you mean the actual peppers not the plants…The main reason for that would be a lack of pollination you can remedy this with a small kiddies paint brush, just go from flower to flower starting with a male flower and then onto the female flower. I have a post about that here’s the link if it helps.
https://growing-guides.co.uk/how-to-pollinate-vegetables/
It could also be an infection called anthracnose which will kill the plant but if it’s only the actual peppers that are turning black it’s probably not that. Let me know how you get on with the peppers.
Well done with the lettuce too! It’s time now to start planning your Autumn veggies and lettuce and radishes are ideal to sow now. You can also start some carrots as they take around 12-15 weeks to develop so that’s another option.
As for the Asparagus the variety is Mary Washington, which is available to buy over here but as these were produced in Norway I’m hoping they have some Winter protection bred into them.
You’re so right it is good to talk and never worry that you’re a bother. I enjoy talking especially about my favourite subject…Gardening.🙂
All the best
Steve
Hi Steve
We have just ordered 3 medium Veg Trug and, whilst awaiting delivery, hit the Google button to find out what we could do and stumbled across this thread/article.
What a fantastic, kind and generous provision of information and ideas!! THANK YOU
cant wait to build, fill and plant out the new arrivals.
All the best
John
Hi John,
Thank you so much for your kind words, it means so much to me.
I hope you are happy with your vegtrugs and if I can offer any further advice don’t hesitate to contact me.
All the best
Steve
Hi Steve
2 of 3 arrived so plan to build this week
Can I ask whether you put any drainage gravel at bottom of liner or is it porous enough to prevent water-logging the roots?
regards
John
Hi John,
All I did was add some perlite to help the soil retain moisture.
I have found that if anything, the vegtrug dries out too quickly especially around the edges which are shallow.
Certainly water logging has never been an issue.
Good luck with it all and please let me know how you get on.
All the best
Steve
Hi Steve
Comments duly noted and appreciated
Senior management has determined that the “wash grey” on the VegTrug needs to match nearby pergola so have to paint before planting to keep the peace.
Will keep you posted and thanks again
kind regards
John
HI John,
I completely understand mate, me and my wife have been married 40 years this year, and I’ve just worked out how to get the last word in an argument…
“Yes Dear” 🙂
I’m living proof of the old saying “happy wife, happy life”
All the best
Steve
we are 35 years into our sentence with no signs of parole !
got good deal on VegTrug from Costco so a little extra work not too great an ordeal
will let you know when i need more help if thats ok
cheers
John
I know right? You get less for murder lol
Interesting about costco,
absolutely no problem at all John, I’m happy to help (if I can)
All the best
Steve
Hi Steve,
Just wanted to say a great post – wish I’d read it 6 months ago when we bought our trug. Went in guns-a-blazing, and planted 5 rows of veg seeds:
Row 1: Garlic and Onions
Row 2: Beetroot and Radish (Radish replaced with French Marigold after harvest)
Row 3: Parsnips and Carrots
Row 4: Spinach and Sprouts
Row 5: Broccoli and Cauli
Note: This planting pattern was supposed to give a graded height level front to back.
Outcome – oops – serious issues with these.
Row 1 – Went really well – Garlic was an eye opener, so easy. If anything, Onions were harvested too early, so a little small.
Row 2 – Beetroot was disappointing, Radish was easy as took off quickly and good crop, but learnt lesson of planting rotations
Row 3 – Parsnips non-existent – Carrot’s came out in miniature (mainly about 3 cm long a 5mm diameter – great for hamster)
Row 4 – Spinach bolted and went to seed. Sprouts – managed to get 2 spears out, most of them large pea sized 🙁
Row 5 – Broccoli had a very limited crop (2 or 3 heads), rest bolted and went to seed before I could get to it. Cauli bolted and didn’t develop heads.
I think our biggest issues were that the bolting back rows completely hid everything underneath them – there was no light getting through to the carrots and parsnips, and Rows 2 & 3 were completely swamped by the overgrowth by about week 6, probably stifling growth. Does this sound likely? Also, Broccoli, Cauli & Sprouts were infested with caterpillars for weeks on end – Cabbage Whites loved them – unfortunately.
Then I stumbled across this post, and note your trug filling composition. We just threw pure compost in – didn’t think about different soils and mixes 🙁 Am guessing that Parsnips and Carrots don’t like the chunkiness of compost, and need a finer soil mix around them. Does this sound right?
Watering was not an issue – we were quite diligent on that.
However (and I think this is my biggest bit of advice to anyone reading this), I think our basic problem was we overfilled it. A bit of self-discipline required next year – a few plants to start with, and then a gradual introduction of a few more, then a few more, then harvest first crop and re-seed / re-plant, etc…
Maybe by 2030 we’ll actually be able to maintain regular crops for the year – who knows – but looking forward to seeing where this journey takes us.
Hi Dave,
Thanks for your comment, parsnips are notoriously difficult to grow in any conditions so don’t feel bad about not getting any.
I usually start my parsnips off in toilet roll tubes and plant out in the tube once they’ve germinated, and even then I lose a few.
You could be right about the shading, it can be an issue. Also it’s all about timing and being lucky with the weather, it only takes a hot spell to lose spinach and broccoli(as you found out)
Carrots do better in finer soils but the fact that they grew but were small, could be down to a few factors.
How long did you leave them in the soil?
How close together were they planted?
Did they get attacked by any pests?
You touched on watering, I have found that the front and back of the vegtrug dry out fast in hot weather, this is obviously down to the depth of soil (or lack of) at the edges.
Broccoli does need to be harvested as soon as it is ready as it will bolt.
Thanks for sharing your experiences this year, keep at it, I honestly don’t believe there’s such a thing as a gardening expert, we are all learning as we grow.
Over filling can cause problems for sure as can too much water (or too little) and also growing the wrong combinations can be problematic although that doesn’t seem to be the case in your vegtrug.
I hope next year is a better year for all of us in maany ways, but particularly in the garden.
Thanks again
All the best
Steve
Hi Steve,
Thank you for this very informative post. I too am a fan of VegTrug and have 2 myself. Its a great way of experiencing gardening without taking up too much Realestate. My I recommend to viewers that they purchase early in the season as they easily sellout with many people being home due to Covid restrictions. Ive kept both trugs out in the snow over winter and they have held up very well.
Hello,
Thanks for taking the time to comment, I would have to agree with you, they do tend to sell out fast. I currently have asparagus growing through the deepest part (middle) of my vegtrug, with broad (fava) beans at one end. I plan to add tomatoes and parsley once the spring comes.
Thank you again for commenting
All the best
Steve
This is BRILLIANT!
I got a veg trug in lockdown 1, I was pregnant and not allowed in school to work so needed something to do. I grew sweetcorn, peas and broccoli. Everything was going well until I had my baby in early July. I left the peas to late to harvest, the sweetcorn was eaten by the birds and the broccoli savaged by caterpillars. This year , I want to see my planting through. This post has inspired me as well as teaching me new things. Thank you for taking the time to share your wisdom.
Thank you for reading and commenting. I hope you have better luck this season, and congratulations on the baby too.
All the best
Steve
Great info, thank you! Excited to get going.
Hi Carolyn,
Thanks for taking the time to comment,
I hope your vegtrug is producing nicely
All the best
Steve
I have the larger VegTrug and live in planting zone 5, USA. I have put the plastic zippered cover over the trug as it’s just post-frost and starting to warm up. I want to transplant my lettuce and a couple of other items into the trug when the temp overnight stays above 50 (coming in next week or two). Does this sound like an ok plan? In the end, I plan to have my cherry tomato bush (determinate variety), green peppers and marigolds along with a bit of lettuce. If anything sounds off with this plan, could you please advise? Still learning…
Thank you!
Hi Jennfer,
Sorry for the late reply, I’ve been hospitalised for a while and I’m only now getting round to using the PC again.
I hope your vegtrug is doing well. It sounds as if you’re doing OK I hope you are reaping what you sowed round about now.
All the best
Steve