Where do I start on a budget?

elektra-2007

Ive never in my life grown anything but I really really want to give it a try....Ive no idea where to start id rather use tubs than dig up my garden...
Should I be preparing now?
Ive not got alot of money to spare being a single parent onn benefits...but I want to get started...Can you grow any veg in pots or just certain ones...Ive seen potatoes/carrot grow bags in the shops would these be good to start off with...
And how much do I need to grow to live off the veg...
Id appreciate any help anyone out there has....Thanks

mum_of_4

elektra-2007 wrote: »

Ive never in my life grown anything but I really really want to give it a try....Ive no idea where to start id rather use tubs than dig up my garden...
Should I be preparing now?
Ive not got alot of money to spare being a single parent onn benefits...but I want to get started...Can you grow any veg in pots or just certain ones...Ive seen potatoes/carrot grow bags in the shops would these be good to start off with...
And how much do I need to grow to live off the veg...
Id appreciate any help anyone out there has....Thanks

first of all work out how much you eat so how often do you eat tom's during the summer,courgettes, potatoes,beans. Most things can be grown in pots.

If on a small budget you can't beat beans. Grow a single row up against a fence. 20 plants would give you a great crop. 1 courgette plant would produce more than enough courgettes. A couple of Tomato plants.

I grow a lot but I have a larger family than most. I also less meat dishes and lots of pasta dishes so make even greater use of the veg.

Put your name down for an allotment, even if your not sure if you will want it just yet. There is a lady on a site near mine and she lost her job and with growing her own last year she said she found things so much easier. I spend about £100 a month on my groceries and often it comes in at less.

katskorner

Potatoes can be grown in an old dustbin or hessian sack. Just plant one tuber per container and you will get a good yield if you follow the basics. Make sure you get proper seed potatoes though as they are grown for the purpose and there is less chance of disease.

elektra-2007

Thank you thats briliant advice im going to give the potatoes ago, Unfortunatly The nearest allotments to me are 6 miles away and in a different parish so I cant put my name down. I dont use alot of veg at the moment because Its expensive and my nearest supermarket is 15 miles away. Its one of the reasons I want to grow my own. Do I start planting now?
If i get some containers do I just fill them with compost from the garden centre and a seed potatoe? Do I need to feed it or just leave it?
Sorry to sound thick...but ive no idea where to start....

angelavdavis

As has been said, getting an allotment is a great opportunity to start growing veg on a large scale, however a lot can be achieved in pots or directly in the garden too.

On the whole, gardening needn't cost you very much at all.

Sign up to freecycle if you are not already a member and advertise for other equipment (tools, composter, etc).

Start your own compost heap. If you can get hold of four pallets, then you can easily make one. Here are some instructions. You can throw all your uncooked vegetable based kitchen scraps, grassing cuttings in there, keep weeds out. This will ensure you gradually start creating your own soil conditioner to add to any shop-bought compost you might use in your pots (for example).

As well as potatoes mentioned, the cheapest way to start most veg off is from seed. Packets are usually 80p to £2.50, depending on what they are, with most being about £1.50. You can get cheaper and I am sure others on here will let you know where to look for these.

Pick up a bag of compost (usually about £5 from the diy stores).

For some veg, you may need to start them off inside and harden off. Keep by any plastic trays for this job (the sort meat or veg is sold in in the supermarket). Instructions for sowing and hardening off the plants is here.

The good news is that many plants can also be grown directly outside. The link above explains how also.

Look at sites such as the following for free advice or get a book out of the library:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/grow_your_own/
http://www.grow-our-own.co.uk/go2/roughguide.html

If you are growing in soil, try to get hold of some well rotted manure (visit the stables and go for the heap that the weeds are growing on - its a sign the manure is rotted enough not to be too strong to burn plants). Take the manure from this heap. If you don't fancy doing this, you can pick up bags of well rotted manure from the diy stores.

As well as veg, if you can run to it, buy and grow some strawberry plants, if you keep them well fed by spreading manure around them when you plant them and well watered, they should produce a few fruits with more to following in year two (as well as a couple of new plants too). They are very easy to grow and rarely disappoint.

franr43

What are the main things limiting what you grow? is it limited time, or limited planting space or limited money to get set up or the veg that you like to eat?

you may want to grow veg thats more expensive to buy. Potatoes can invove a lot of digging and are cheap to buy at the time you harvest them.

Climbers like beans take little space and little work - but tend to come in gluts.

Carrots and brassicas grown at home have an incomparable flavour and leave shop stuff miles behind.

Try to find a 'veg buddy' - most seed packets have far more than any one person can use. 2 or 3 people sharing out buying seed and swapping seedlings saves lots of time and money.

Beware slugs that can eat though hours of work nurturing young plants - use eg shells, coffee grounds, plastic bottles, slug pellets all around young plants.


Beans, courgettes, pumpkins, turnips tomatoes and brassicas give a lot of eating per plant are easy and I'd recommend them.

Car boots can be good for small plants.be opportunistic - if you're offered plants cheaply or free - go for it.

Here in Oxford we have free community seed and plant swaps called 'seedy sundays' - don't know if they happen elsewhere - maybe you could make one happen!

Lidl have good cheap seed in the spring.

There's a free seed exchange yahoo group.

Freecycle in my area we swap /give away excess plants

I started 8 years ago, and still learn lots from other people and get lots wrong each year!
Hope this helps!

notenoughcash

Once you get started you will be addicted!! I'm a single mum too and growing our own veg is something we love doing together which costs next to nothing, gets us outside in the fresh air and is a great way to get everyone to eat more fruit and veg. We live in a little terraced house but are lucky enough to have a long, narrow garden which gets the sun at the top all year round. I have a patch right at the end of the garden roughly 10ft by 15ft and lots of pots and bags too. We currently have winter onions in the ground, cauli and brocolli under a cold frame and some early seed potatoes chitting waiting to be planted in a few weeks. We grow potatoes in anything we can find, old buckets, empty compost bags, you'll soon get the hang of it. We got a free compost bin from the council which all of our kitchen veg waste, grass cuttings and other garden waste goes in. I grow loads of peas in the early spring, dozens of plants growing up canes, which the boys eat straight from the plant. We also grow cut and come again salad leaves over the summer, tomatoes and even pumpkins in time for halloween. Feel free to pm me any time, I'd love to be of further help to you.

RAS

Hi
Go scavenging, for old plastic sacks, discarded tyres, buckets, broken baskets, old freezer drawers, old drawers, the polystyrene boxes that are used to freight foods from abroad and you will have a vast quantity of potential containers for free.

You can still lift leaves from the sides of pavements and under trees. If there are any digging activities, you may be able to get some of the soil that was not used to back-fill. Layer with some household waste and then add wee. Will soon give you good soil.

let people know you want to grow your own and you will be inundated with free seeds and plants. many packets contain enough for 10 years growing, so people have loads of spare seed.

When you go to town check out Lidl or Netto for cheap seeds that you have been unable to get freebies of or try www.alanromans.com.

elektra-2007

Thank you soo much for all your replys I have some plastic sacks that my coal comes in so I iwll start using those, Theres a farm behind me so maybe Il ask them if they have any fresh horse manure....do i mix this with compost? Il advertise on freecycle for seeds...Where is the best place for compost....supermarket or garden centre? I want to become eventually veg self sufficent then i will only need to visit the shops once a month...which is why although i can get potatoes cheap I want to grow all my own stuff. Sorry to as yet another question but can you grow sweetcorn?
Ive decided this year im going to do potatoes, onions, carrots, swede, strawberries......maybe broccolli

susiejq

Lidls have their seeds in next week. Not as cheap as Netto (mine still has a few packets left @ 19p) but much cheaper than garden centres.

Charity shops often have really good secondhand gardening books. Save pastic food containers to use as seed trays.
Best advice of all is just to have a go.
Good luck
:beer:

angelavdavis

elektra-2007 wrote: »

Sorry to as yet another question but can you grow sweetcorn?
Ive decided this year im going to do potatoes, onions, carrots, swede, strawberries......maybe broccolli

Sweetcorn are easy to grow, they should be planted in blocks, rather than rows and need to be kept really well watered. They do take up some space though - only expect 1 cob per plant in most cases, occasionally you might get lucky with 2 but generally 1 is the norm (particularly in containers).