growing own veggies in bags and pots (Merged)

Rebel

I know this is an old post but I have to say it is one of the most helpful and inspiring posts I have read in many years, I want to say thank you for it and hope other people enjoy reading it as much as I did.

I started at the very beginnhing of this thread and about 3 days later this is where I am, so trust me I have a long way to go, Iactually started trying to grow in containers last year for the first time, and I enjoyed it so I intend to carry on.

For me its not just about the money its more about the fact I can get fresh veg when I want it.

Any savings are appreciated but I am so fed up with not getting fresh veg when I need/want it, to be honest even when I buy it at the shops its not fresh so I often try getting it direct from farms, but they have started getting greedy and charge more than the shops do for the same stuff. (crazy when they sell to shops, the shops add their profit and we buy it, if the farmers charged the same as the shops they'd make more money and not alienate the rest of us)

Once again thanks Jojo you really are an inspiration!

Jojo_the_Tightfisted wrote: »

It's a great thing to do - I've got RA and have had a pretty bad flare of the last couple of years, so I had to find something that didn't require a great deal of lifting, carrying or bending. I started at around about this time of year, thinking about what I wanted. I'm guessing, but I would imagine that you want things on as many levels as possible whilst still being within reach. Hope I don't sound patronising, but I'm assuming you have never grown anything before.

Plants at the basic level need soil, moisture and sunlight to grow. After that, the conditions in which their ancestors would grow in the wild are a pretty good indicator of where they would like to be. Chillies grow in tropical countries (curries for India/Asia, chilli con carne from South America, most foods from Central Africa) so therefore, they enjoy sunshine. Parsnips feature in cooler countries, so are more likely to prefer cooller weather, in fact my granddad maintained that they only tasted sweet once they'd been covered by the snow.

First, I would have a go at a few herbs and salad leaves indoors over the winter, just to get the hang of things growing/not growing. Most of them will grow in something about the size of a bean tin, as long as you have a few holes punched into the bottom to let excess water out and a saucer or something similar to catch any overflow. Rather than get all hung up on technical stuff, try and get seeds that say something like 'chuck it in a pot and throw water on when you remember'. Bung some bulbs into pots now - daffodils, tulips, whatever, in the soil to a depth of about 3 times their own height (pointy end up as a general rule) - and shove them outside. You can't eat them, but suddenly seeing them in Spring will remind you that you need to get cracking on the food crops - and cheer you up!

By the long cold days of December, I'd be accumulating pots, tubs, buckets and hanging baskets - you can get brackets put on the wall at standing height and then add rise and fall hooks, which means you can enjoy cascades of things like strawberries (and it keeps them away from slugs) or tumbling tomatoes from the position of your chair. Soil and compost also tend to be a bit cheaper then - some places deliver and you can get the pots filled early if you wish. Once the soil doesn't feel drainingly cold when you touch it (the traditional phrase from Granddad was if it didn't freeze his **se off when he sat on it) you need to start planting.

Following the instructions on the seed packets (including what time of year to sow), start planting stuff and see what happens. You will need to sow successively, which means plant a few seeds each week or so to get plants coming to peak at slightly different times and thus avoiding a glut of anything (hopefully). Beans will climb up bamboo sticks stuck in the ground to make a wigwam shape and look lovely, even if no beans come. Sometimes things die, or the weather is terrible, then I would suggest you get some young plants. Catalogues often offer 'plug' plants - get the biggest you can afford if disaster has struck - it could save you from a barren garden.

For watering, I would suggest a coiled hose, bit like a green kettle lead/telephone wire. Having tied myself up in knots trying to handle a normal hosepipe and as carrying watering cans is pretty much beyond me nowdays, these are really useful, as would be one with a kind of lance on the end (like the ones in car washes, I suppose - or that pubs use to water their hanging baskets). It's better to water sparingly but regularly than it is to let things dry out and then flood them. Water in the early morning when the plant will take in the water before the sun can boil it on the leaves, causing leafscorch, rather than late at night if you can avoid it. But late at night will have to do if they will dry out otherwise.

Some things, like beans, think when you pick the produce before the seeds have swollen, 'oh my, I've been eaten by an animal, quick, flower some more or I'll never set seed and reproduce'. As a result, you get more flowers and more fruit/veg. This doesn't work with things like carrots as you are eating the root itself.

After year one, when there may be successes, there may be disasters, start thinking about the next year. If you enjoy it, perhaps you could round up someone to build you some properly raised beds and the like , ones where you have 3 foot of soil underneath the plants and you can reach both sides of the beds, at which point there are next to no limits as to what you can grow!

Anyway, if I carry on, I'll probably have enough for a book, so hope that's enough for you to start with. Hope you don't feel that I'm patronising you for the plants need water bit.

Gardening's a wonderful thing to do - frustrating, heartbreaking at times, but the sheer pleasure of taking a tomato you have grown yourself and popping it on your tongue - it's wonderful!

Enjoy!

EagerLearner

So far I have kos lettuce, carrots, tomatoes and basil planted in butter trays, yighurt pots and empty meat trays, all clean of course, but recycled to save cash. Spent around £3.50 on seeds.

The lettuce are well and came up within 2-3 days of sowing. I water them with a sprayer in the morning before work and after work lightly as well.
They're ok but getting long and wilting just slightly and are lightly grazing the compost - any ideas?

Also the 6 tomato seeds have been sown for 2 weeks now and still nothing in my egg box yet - any suggestions or does it take longer? I am worried the egg box is absorbing more water than it should, but yet always heard egg boxes were good for starting off seeds?

Basil has come up within 5-6 days of sowing and look great. I have around 7 plants on the go in two trays.
Should I have popped 10 seeds all in one pot instead? The supermarket pots look like that...

Carrots came up around 5 days after sowing and look ok but I definately need to plant more if I want more than a very small carrot salad!

Lotus-eater

Give the tomato seeds a bit longer and stick some cling film over them, it might pay to sow some more though just in case.
I grow my basil by sowing lots of seeds in one pot, I find it bulks up better.
The lettuce need pricking out into larger pots or sticking into the garden.

Teresita_2

Hi there all hope you don't mind me joining in :j .

I have for the first time started to try and grow my fruit and veg with my two little boys. Hopefully it will get them interested in what they eat.

I am using pots and growbags as I have two dogs one who is intent on peeing on everything living :mad: so at least this way I can keep them out of his way in the green house.

I have started with som strawberry plants and tomato plants in growbags. I have also planted lettuce,cucumber, courgette, pepper and tomato seeds. I am waiting for my other half to bring me some drums to plant potatos and onions. I am keen to try and plant the best varieties for pots so this thread has been very helpful.

Thanks to you all and will keep you posted on how its going and will no doubt have plenty questions while I am trying not to kill everything.:A

Cat72

Hi .
The chips in my garden are heavy red stone ones,not bark and I tried lifting them ,even in small patches ,however the person before made a total mess of the garden.
The whole garden is covered with a really unattractive thick blue membrane and it would take a huge amount of work and cost to get it all sorted.I had it priced up and it wasnt feasable.My friend said what it under the membrane is unsuitable at the moment and would need a rotevator and then top soil.
I understand about what you are saying to tackle part of it.
However I am also disabled and am not physically able to do the work involved.I am also hoping to move early next year.
So for these reasons I thought pots would be best for me and why I was intereasted in this thread.

MORPH3US

@ EagerLearner... where do you keep your seeds when you plant them?

I keep mine in the airing cupboard and my tomatoes came through in about 5 days (one variety) but the other variety haven't come through yet so yours might be ok, but get them somewhere warm.

Teresita_2

Ooops Maybe a silly question but I have put seeds in to my greenhouse. Should I keep them inside the house first???:rolleyes:

MORPH3US

Teresita wrote: »

Ooops Maybe a silly question but I have put seeds in to my greenhouse. Should I keep them inside the house first???:rolleyes:

Believe me i'm no expert, in fact i'm a total novice....

However I think the seeds need to be warm to germinate and eventually the greenhouse will warm up, but at the moment I think it might be a bit too cold in there for them.... suppose it depends on how much sun your greenhouse gets at the moment.

Lotus-eater

Your cucumber, courgette, pepper and tomato seed need to be indoors to germinate and to grow on until it is warm enough in your greenhouse, You're in Scotland, so that will probably be early June if you have an unheated greenhouse.
Your tomato plants are out way to early I'm afraid, but you can wrap them up in fleece and hope for the best.

Your lettuce, strawberries, potatoes and onions will be fine outside or in the greenhouse atm.

EagerLearner

Hi all,

Thanks for the replies - all my seedlings are all on a warm windowsill with lots of light.
What does p r i c k out mean, in terms of lettuce?
Should definately have shoved lots of basil seeds into one pot.

Have no greenhouse to move it all to... only window or small patio with bad, bad, bad birds that eat our stuff and nick seeds.

Daft question but why do I need to start seeds off in tiny trays/pots and then re-pot - why not start in a medium pot if it's the same compost?

Daft question Mach II - am I overwatering by spraying in the morning and evening?