Help please! Want to grow veg but how?

missk_ensington

Hi there,

Ive been inspired by other threads to be a bit 'greener' and grow my own organic vegetables but I don't have a clue where to start! I'm moving house is about 4-6 weeks, can I take what Ive started with me?? If I wait until Mid May will this be too late for most things (Hoping from carrots, potatoes, maybe tomatos lettuce or anything else people advise for a beginner)

After reading other threads, I was unsure how you start the process? Do you start them inside and move them outside when they grow a bit

Also, how long does it take to be able to eat what youve grown? I'm a little impatient and dont want anything that wont be ready until next year!

Would you advise buying a greenhouse, and what do you think of those little plastic greenhouses that are about £30, more reather 4 shelves and a plastic cover. Are they useful? Been on ebay and could stretch to £30 for equipment.

Help, I want to get started quick! If I go to garden centre today what should I get?!?!?!

Thanks all!

Juliepink26

I grow loads of veg but i think the easy ones are cucumbers and radishes! Radishes grow very quickly you can just sow the seads outside in the soil. The cucumbers i do every year i buy few a small plants from the garden center put in in a large pots in my front room in front of the windows and watch them grow, they like plenty of water but they taste fantastic, and the longer you leave them the bigger they get!! Taste the best when quite small and crunchy. My mates come round and cant belive they are real! (dont bother with sweetcorn mine goes wrong every year) You can start from now if you keep them indoors by window.

wigginsmum

I'd start with tomatoes; they're usually started from seed in Feb/March but some garden centres will sell them as seedlings. If you get some, put one plant per pot. I did this last year in June, fed them regularly with tomato feed (liquid added to a watering-can) and we got tons of tiny sweet yellow tomatoes right up to October.

As you're about to move house, I wouldn't do much before you move - I understand the temptation but there's no point spending money on stuff that might not survive the move.

I sowed cabbage, cauliflower, carrot seeds in a heated propagator a few weeks back, went on holiday and left them in the care of a friend, and they all died - the seeds damped off and left a kind of mould on the soil. So I'll disinfect the whole thing, put it away, buy small plants and have a go with the propagator again next year.

Salad bowls are easy - get a sturdy wooden or plastic box, drill holes in the bottom, line with a black binliner also with holes pricked in it, put in a layer of pebbles for drainage, add compost, sow your seeds, and voila. If you go for the cut-and-come-again varieties you'll get weeks of produce from it; just pick the leaves you need. Look for seeds for lamb's lettuce (can't remember what else - have a look through the Thompson & Morgan online catalogue for ideas).

missk_ensington

If I leave most of it until after I move, will I have 'missed the boat' so to speak, or are there things that can be planted i June, July, August....?
Want to do potatoes from seed not sprout, how does it take from planting to eating? (We get through a ridiculous amount of spuds in this house so hoping to save a few quid!) Read up on the container, which might be an option, or would be if I uinderstood how you're meant to see the potatoes and know when they're ready!! lol

Thanks you guys x

kjl26

missk_ensington wrote:

If I leave most of it until after I move, will I have 'missed the boat' so to speak, or are there things that can be planted i June, July, August....?
Want to do potatoes from seed not sprout, how does it take from planting to eating? (We get through a ridiculous amount of spuds in this house so hoping to save a few quid!) Read up on the container, which might be an option, or would be if I uinderstood how you're meant to see the potatoes and know when they're ready!! lol

Thanks you guys x

Try this link (sorry I don't know how to make it a neat hidden one!):

http://www.suttons-seeds.co.uk/index2.html?area=frame_menu_main.html&body=growing_guides.html&a=316&b=2&c=310&d=300&e=0

It should give you a table of sowing and planting times for flowers and veg: if you scroll down to the bottom of the page you'll get into the veg section and see that there seem to be a decent amount of things you can sow in June. If it doesn't work let me know and I'll have another go!

PS If you want to plant something now to move later try courgettes in pots, then you only have to move the pots: they grow quickly and big and (at the moment!) don't seem to need a great deal of attention...

Hope that helps.
Katie

missk_ensington

Wow thanks Katie, now have a big list of possibilities from that sitet So, would anyone advise I buy one of those makeshift greenhouses that are quite cheap? Or seen crescent shaped platic tube things that go over your lettuces, what dya think of them?

Homebase have this thing, like shelves with a PVC sort of roof for £25. Considering buying one as it stands on concrete and might utilise a bit more space saving more of the soiln space for other things

kjl26

missk_ensington wrote:

Wow thanks Katie, now have a big list of possibilities from that sitet So, would anyone advise I buy one of those makeshift greenhouses that are quite cheap? Or seen crescent shaped platic tube things that go over your lettuces, what dya think of them?

Homebase have this thing, like shelves with a PVC sort of roof for £25. Considering buying one as it stands on concrete and might utilise a bit more space saving more of the soiln space for other things

I don't know whether they're useful or not (I'm growing my seedlings on windowsills and then they will go straight out into pots/raised beds) and maybe someone else will know, but if you do get one, I have seen one that sounds exactly the same in poundstretcher for a tenner (I think, no more than £15 anyway) so if you have one nearby that might be a cheaper option .

Btw Poundstretcher also seems good for cheap pots (they have some big-ish terracotta ones for £2 each at the moment) and boring little things like twine and supports and plant feed and plant labels that can be expensive in garden centres. Also the seeds are quite cheap and they have fruit canes and roses for £1 each.