Need a veggie recommendation. Or 2.

[Gardener123]

I ordered (2) 4' x 4' x 11" raised beds from Costco. I plan to fence them in all around, including wire over the top. This is to stop the critters and the deer. The deer left my veggies alone last year after I just did some basic fencing around my 3' high raised beds. The wire will be 2' higher than the soil for these beds.

So, I don't want to plant herbs in these 2 beds.

I want something that doesn't need more than 8" deep for roots. And I want something that doesn't get higher than 2' above the soil.

Most importantly, something that will grow well in zone 6.

This is what I don't want, or already have:

Carrots
melons
cukes
tomatoes
peppers
eggplant
lettuce
kale / spinach

Other than that, I think I am open for ideas. Thanks!

[sweetiepie]

Celery, onions, peas, beans, cabbage. This reminds me of a word search puzzle. HaHa

[applestar]

Right now for early spring, I would consider arugula, garden cress, cilantro, asian greens, radish ... none of these will last once weather warms up. Onions. Pansies and johnny jumpups. Red orach and Magenta Spreen/Spinach Tree if you keep harvesting to keep short -- but they will develop deep roots that will go sideways and will take over if unrestricted... but usually, leaf miners make them miserable by warm weather. Dwarf peas -- if you choose the shortest varieties might fit within your height restriction -- you could also just train them to grow on a short fence/trellis.

Later continue growing onions, add nasturtiums and bush beans? Baby bush lima?

...strawberries...

[rainbowgardener]

SWISS CHARD!! My all time favorite thing to grow in the garden. I am still eating swiss chard that I planted last spring, almost a year ago. We had freezes, then extreme heat for a long time, then freezes again, and still the chard keeps producing!

[jal_ut]

beets, chard, peas, green beans (bush type), kohlrabi, garlic

[jal_ut]

Quote: "I want something that doesn't need more than 8" deep for roots."

Be advised that the roots of most garden plants go down from 3 to 8 feet deep when grown in the soil.

[rainbowgardener]

But if your raised beds are sitting on top of the soil with no barrier in between, then everything is fine, the roots will just grow down into the native soil. The raised bed is just to give it however many inches of extra-fluffy, extra enriched soil to get started in.

[imafan26]

Asian greens like bok choy, mustards, green onions, cowpeas, bush beans,dwarf kale.

Zucchini or some other bush squash in summer but they take up a lot of space in a small garden. Ice box watermelon (six foot vines, but low yield for the space), beets, turnips, radish, daikon (short)

Most of the higher yielding plants will need to trellis up so would need more height around 5-6 ft for vining beans, peas, cucumbers, jicama. Bush squash and cucumbers take up about a 36 inch circle and most of the bush varieties I have tried don't have good keeping qualities. If vines are allowed to sprawl, they will take over more than just the space in the garden.

Eggplant can be kept short but will take up most of a 4x4 garden space with its' spread so it is better off in a pot.

[Gardener123]

beets, chard, peas, green beans (bush type), kohlrabi, garlic

I have always wanted top try Swiss Chard.

[gumbo2176]

beets, chard, peas, green beans (bush type), kohlrabi, garlic

I have always wanted top try Swiss Chard.

You won't be sorry. It is a very versatile plant that can be eaten raw in salads, goes well in soups as a leafy green, smothers down well like spinach and is often used as a spinach substitute, especially since it can tolerate heat, unlike spinach.

I've used it in vegetable lasagna, cooked down with some onion and garlic in olive oil, sauteed till cooked and used to dress up charbroiled oysters of the half shell---I'll put down my recipe for this dish at the end of the post. I also use it when making Chicken Cordon Bleu and put the finished chicken on a bed of steamed chard.

Grilled Oysters:

Shuck oysters and leave them on the half shell. I'll grill at least 4 dozen like this.
Melt 2 sticks of real butter, not margarine, add a couple cloves of finely chopped garlic and parsley and let this heat in a pot until the flavors are well blended.
Chop some fresh chard and sautee this down in a pan with just a hint of olive oil until wilted. Once done, remove from the pan and drain it to get as much liquid out as you can.
In a shaker container place Italian Bread Crumbs and Parmesan Cheese in equal parts.

To cook, get the grill heated to 350 degrees, place the oysters in their shells on the grill and allow them to start cooking. They will start bubbling around the edges. When this takes place, add a tsp. of the garlic butter to each oyster then just enough of the chard to slightly cover the oyster. Next, sprinkle some of the bread crumb/cheese mixture over the oysters and follow that with another tsp. of the garlic butter mixture. When the oysters edges curl up, and some of the liquid is evaporated, remove them and serve. Be careful to not cook them too long or they tend to get rubbery when they dry out.

This dish is a very big hit when I have a few folks over for a dinner party as an appetizer.