Please Help! Gardening Newbie

rtman85

Hi

I'm 24 and am interested in growing vegetables ie. cauliflowers and swedes from seeds? I also would like to grow sunflowers, wall-flowers or any other colourful flowers from seeds.

I do not have a garden so I'd need to use Propagators/Large Pots to grow them.

Now for the hard bit.

I have absolutely no idea what to do? I've never grown anything before and don't know what I need to buy/get?

Please can somebody give me some advice and tell me where to buy what I need online for as cheap as possible?

Thanks

shine387

Hiya,
I tried a couple of years ago to grow my own veggies with differing successes. One place I got a lot of my seeds from was the forum that is run by the magazine called 'Grow Your Own' as there are lots of gardening enthusiasts doing the same thing on there. There was always somebody offering free seeds to good homes as most of them have allotments so when they let things go to seed, they get a LOT of seeds Also, once you gather a small collection of seeds you'll find that people will trade you a few for a few of their rarer types of veggies.

I got a lot of mine from places like Focus and also supermarkets and freebies on cereal boxes but I'm so out of touch with the gardening scene this year that I don't know what offers are on at the moment so I can't suggest any good deals I'm afraid. Hope this helps though!

A_Clock

Yeah that is a good forum and alot more active than here. I tend to go between both of them

rtman85

I know this may sound like a stupid question but once i have the seeds and propagator what do i do next? do i water them daily/weekly/monthly?

Sorry, I have no idea?

Melonade

This is my first year growing too and I had tomato's in my propagator... as soon as they started peeking through the compost I took them out and put them onto a sunny window sill. The sunflowers shouldn't need any heat (I don't think) but I can't really help with the swedes or caulies. You need to keep the compost damp but not wet, they tend to stay quite damp in the propagator without much watering

Dave101t

im about to buy veg and pots to grow my own.
the seed packets do come with instructions you know!

rtman85

Dave101t wrote: »

im about to buy veg and pots to grow my own.
the seed packets do come with instructions you know!

I know there are instructions but it's not easy when you are trying to do things you have never done before!

In my case, it will just be trial and error!

tanith

rtman85 wrote: »

Hi

I'm 24 and am interested in growing vegetables ie. cauliflowers and swedes from seeds? I also would like to grow sunflowers, wall-flowers or any other colourful flowers from seeds.

I do not have a garden so I'd need to use Propagators/Large Pots to grow them.

Now for the hard bit.

I have absolutely no idea what to do? I've never grown anything before and don't know what I need to buy/get?

Please can somebody give me some advice and tell me where to buy what I need online for as cheap as possible?

Thanks

Sorry no help with the cheap seeds etc but I just wanted to say you really can't grow cauliflower and swede in pots they need to be in the ground.. things like carrots, lettuce, peas its possible but I don't think the others will grow properly in pots... but good luck ...

mouseymousey99

How about herbs and things as you have limited space? Maybe you could buy some small herb plants and re-pot them? Also salad leaves in a grow bag are easy - and can save you quite a lot of dosh? What sort of things do you like that are expensive to buy?

pink_princess

Peppers and chillis grow well in big pots.Also do you have space for sacks or bins you could give potatoes a try.
I had my first attempts last year with these and they were successful,I got some seeds at poundland.

Jade1001

Lots and lots of things grow in pots!

The latest Gardeners World magazine has a long feature on growing edible things in pots - have a look, it's quite interesting.

Aldi has cheap seeds - I think it's 39p a packet? Other places? Try Wilkinsons, they usually have them in too.

One of the main thing about growing things in pots is to try and get a fairly constant temperature for the seeds to germinate and to cover the top of the pot with clear plastic (clingfilm?) to make sure the surface doesn't dry out. Make sure you plant the seeds at the correct depth - it will say how deep on the packet.

There are quite a few different varieties which are specially developed to be small when mature.

If you like peas, grow some compact ones - I've just put 9 in a two foot long container and they have all germinated and are 4 inches high. Can't wait til they're ready. Carrots - make sure they are stumpy varieties, not the very long thin ones as you'll run out of depth for them, or grow them to be baby carrots instead, i.e. a carrot seed every centimetre of pot.

I could go on and on, but your best bet it to choose something you really like (cauliflowers can be quite tricky) and have a go. Seeds can take up to 3 weeks to germinate. My lettuces came up in a week, and my peas next, with the carrots not emerging until 2 weeks after planting.

Good luck!

Jade1001