Planting Plans For One Person

harib0uk

From my limited research Ceridwen, the main thing to start planting right now is Garlic - this will be my first (other than the cress I'm currently cultivating) thing, followed by shallots - I've decided on shallots as they are very expensive to buy and have a much nicer taste than normal onions, the seem to keep for a long time once harvested as well - 6-8 months!

mardatha

I thought shallots was a horrible boring poem. What are they ?

ceridwen

See

www.shallot.com

never heard of a vegetable having its own website before now:D

- but Mardatha - didnt you always want to look like the woman in the picture accompanying that poem? (Well - if you saw the picture I did anyways..)....

...goes off thinking "pre-Raphaelite, long flowing thick wavy red hair......"

mardatha

ty ceridwen. noo not really, I was more an Elvira/Morticia wannabe !
Now I'm more like dracula's granny....
Ok I will look into growing some of these as well, the OH doesnt like onions and he migth like these. ty HaribO

Yategirl

just a thought... have you got your compost bin(s) sorted Ceridwen? obviously they will provide enormous benefit in terms of taking waste and then converting it to useful compost..

mardatha

It's very hard to imagine gardening at all in this weather --its gruesome up here today. heavy icy sleety rain falling onto mushy melting snow. and a freezing horrible wind. Yukk

Yategirl

the sun is shining down here... there is an icy wind and we have had rain but the sun looks so warm and inviting! shame it doesn't feel like that when we get outside!! :rotfl:

ceridwen

Yategirl wrote: »

just a thought... have you got your compost bin(s) sorted Ceridwen? obviously they will provide enormous benefit in terms of taking waste and then converting it to useful compost..

...this is "bit of a problem" scenario - with my very limited space. So - I have all my existing containers in use full of bought compost and am pondering a bit where to go from here. I saw Moany Moany's comment the other day re making up a makeshift container for compost from cardboard box and plastic bag and wondered about that....I am so stuck for space basically though that I am wondering if I can "refresh" existing compost each time I've cleared a container of the "crop" that is currently in it and use it again - and, if so, precisely how. I was duly noting some compost bags on sale locally at £3 for 50 litres and that does work out quite expensive for 300/400 litres worth - or whatever it was I wrote down as what was necessary to fill a square foot gardening bed. I'm thinking along lines currently of "borrowing" a LETS member with a car and going to fetch a bit of municipal compost at the appropriate time each year...tossing up between that and wondering about methods of "refreshing" existing compost for another "go".

harib0uk

Yategirl wrote: »

just a thought... have you got your compost bin(s) sorted Ceridwen? obviously they will provide enormous benefit in terms of taking waste and then converting it to useful compost..

I really must look into this and if I can get some sort of compost bin sorted out. Can anyone tell me what kind of position the bin should be in? i.e is it better to be in a shady place, or a sunny place?

Yategirl wrote: »

the sun is shining down here... there is an icy wind and we have had rain but the sun looks so warm and inviting! shame it doesn't feel like that when we get outside!! :rotfl:

Was Sunny at times here in Southampton. I was working on the inside of glass windows today and it really was quite hot at times!

On my way home tonight I also collected the following books that i had made reservations for:

Delia's kitchen Garden - A beginners guide to growing and cooking vegetables
A practical guide to growing Vegetables Fruit & Herbs -Richard Bird
Square foot gardening - Mel Bartholomew
Grow your own veg - Carol Klein

So some light reading for me over the weekend!

harib0uk

I was wonder if those in this thread that are embarking on new grow your own adventures would mind posting pictures of their gardens/space?

Just so that we have an idea on what space everyone is working with.