Patio Produce

stardrops42

Hi

I have decided to have a go at growing my own veg in a raised bed but I also want to grow some stuff on the patio in containers as its very sunny and hot (when the suns out!), it's also sheltered. What sort of things would be good for growing in containers on the patio?

I've also seen a book on Amazon - Patio Produce by Paul Peacock, which I was thinking about getting. Does anyone else have this book? Is it any good?

Sorry to sound useless but I've never grown fruit or veg before:o Thanks in advance for any replies:D

kimmee

I don't have the book you mention but last year, for the first time, I grew some stuff in containers on my patio:

Cut and come again mixed salad leaves - just got a packet of seeds and sowed every two weeks. They were a fantastic success and I'll be sowing them as soon as I can this year.

Beetroot - only got tiny beets but this year I'm going to sow them again to use the baby leaves in salad which are yummy.

carrots - didnt get massive carrots but they were very tasty

tomatoes - put them in pots rather than a grow bag and got quite a few fruit and extemely sweet and tasty.

Butternut squash - I didnt have much luck with these, only one squash per plant and they were very small.

This year I'm also going to try Blueberries, peas and more salad type stuff like rocket. Also sweet peppers - grew one plant in my conservatory last summer and got a few peppers, this year I'm going to grow them from seed, and try and have as many plants as I can, some outside and some inside.

As you can see I'm pretty much a beginner so I'm sure that more experienced gardeners will suggest much more.

Good luck

Busybody

Try American Land Cress....:) it tastes rather like water cress but stronger..;) watercress is quite expensive to buy and you usually end up with a slimey mess if you don't use it all within a couple of days! :(but with this cress you can just cut as much as you need..:j

shykins

not got the book either but like kimmee i did a lot on my patio last year

salad leaves,,, VERY easy, also had some on the kitchen windowsills

carrots... in deep pots they were lovely and i was SOO proud of them lol

beetroots. . cant belive how easy they were i planted more at end of summer as an experiment and they are ready to pull now, also used the leaves in salad

spinach... again very easy and still have some now

butternut squash... i only managed to grow 1 but it was nice lol

also did tomatoes, courgettes, runner and french beans, mange tout, celeriac, potatoes, leeks and onions

lol basically we couldnt use the patio a a patio. cant wait to get started again this year!!

stardrops42

Thanks everyone for your replies:T Looks like I can grow a great variety of things on my patio:D

Just a couple more newbie questions

1. Can I grow blackerries and raspberries in containers on the patio? I have one of each which I bought in pots a couple of weeks ago.

2. When should I plant them?

Many thanks again:D

kriskina

Hi,

I've always found tomatoes to be my most productive 'crop' in my back yard. I only have space for a few pots and troughs and a growbag with 3 tomato plants can give you loads of fruit!

Salad leaves are handy, especially rocket and perpetual spinach as they are fairly hardy and keep producing. Oh, and courgette too. they also have beautiful flowers

Rosebud24

I grew lettuce, tomatoes, sweet peppers, potatoes and spinach last year.
I was disappointed by my pepper plants, I only got a couple of tiny peppers. I'm going to try again this year with different seeds and just one or two plants.

Tomatoes were my favourite thing to grow as they were very productive and it's exciting seeing all the fruit develop on the plant and know you can have a yummy salad in a couple of weeks time!

Lettuces and spinach are the easiest thing to grow in my opinion. I grew lots from seed but also got a tray of living lettuce from Lidl (I think it cost £1.00) and planted those out with great success.

Potatoes are really easy to grow in containers, or even in empty compost bags (turned inside out). Probably best placed behind other pots if they're on your patio though!

I tried to grow aubergines and had lots of flowers but unfortunately they all got grey mould and dropped off . However, the plant is very attractive with pretty leaves and flowers so I am going to try again this year. Apparently the grey mould is caused by damp conditions so I will put it under cover during rainy weather.

February's Gardener's World magazine has an article about good crops for an edible garden that looks as good as it tastes. It also has a list of the 100 best veg varieties and an offer where you can get 5 seed potatoes, a potato planter and five packets of veg seeds (inc basil, lettuce, peppers and rocket) for £4.45.

Happy vegetable growing!

Plasticman

Last year was my first year at growing fruit and veg in my garden - all in pots and bags.

I grew.....

Tomatoes
Potatoes
Beetroot
Carrots
Lettuce
Spinach
Beans
Peas
Garlic
Basil
Blueberries

and possibly others that I've forgotten!

All really easy. The tomatoes were plants rather than from seed but I'm going to try growing from seed this year.

I bought a few books but found info on the Internet more useful to be honest.

Not sure how well blackberries and raspberries will grow in pots (but I know that blueberries grow fine!). Watch the blackberries - they have a habit of taking over the garden!

shykins

dont see why u cant put the blackberry and raspberry in largish pots (but am prepared to be corrected here) . if they are very young plants i would hold on til the worst of the frosts are over

another thought which i am going to try this year is to put tomatoes and/or runner beans in hanging baskets. thinking about it salad leaves could go in them as wel, this could make the patio even more productive.

also last year i had some troughs and i doubled up by putting a piece of wood along the edge and stood troughs on that for tomatoes then put another trough underneath with the leaves and radishes in (hope that makes sense)

katholicos

I'm so pleased the OP asked this as i am going to use my patio to grow fruit and veg this year. The responses are really interesting. What kind of containers do you all use?

Rotwein44

Potatoes are really easy and its exciting to dig them up and see what's in the pot!

Mangetout are also really easy!