veg growing Newbies- Feb 2010! lets learn together!

lynzpower

There are rather a lot of us around at the moment who are newbies to veg growing - we shoudl all support each other!

I have only a roof terrace and everything is going to be done in pots and bags. Its really sunny up there (weather permitting!) I realy want to get into it, so I am going to try lots of different things!

I am doing:
Charlotte potatoes (they are chitting on thge windowledge)
Carrots
peas
asparagus peas
courgette
patty pan
auberrgine
salad
easy herbs
spring onions

we have beetroot seeds too and a blueberry plant from £shop.

I am stuck to think about what size containers I need for these - any advice is welcome. Ive been saving pop bottles as make do cloches and loo roll inners and some scratched cds for bird scarers

I also got out the Titchmarsh kitchen gardener book from the library, its brilliant. Also got a free planting poster from B&Q.

Is there anything else I can be doing now

newbies what have you done/ are doing? :j

Would love to learn along with other newbies


Edited to add

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stardrops42

Hi

I'm a newbie too:beer: I'm going to growing my fruit & veg in pots, bags and a raised bed. I haven't got a clue what I'm doing really:o but figured I would just keeping reading the tips on here and just go for it:D I've also got the Alan Titchmarsh book and another book called Patio Produce, both are good.

Furny

I'll join the club too please:beer: i haven't a scooby what i'm doing, but i'm also going to plant in pots,bags etc.
I bought the Titmarsh book today The Kitchen Gardener & The Vegetable & Herb Expert (Hessayon) after a few reccomendations on here.
I' m just going to keep reading on here & hope the lovely people will reply to my questions when i start panicking! ha!

P.S LYNZPOWER-If you decide you want to buy The Alan Titmarsh book WHSmith have it reduced to £10 from £20 at the moment,someone replying to my a post told me this morn!.

LilacPixie

I'm joining. I have a new allotment but not got an official entry date yet. I also have a concrete balcony thing. I am doing strawberrys and tumbling toms in hanging baskets and peppers/chillis in teracotta pots.

For allotment I have some maris piper pots so far but noting else decided yet. I have been having a think about what fruit and veg I/we actually like and enjoy. There is no point growing say mushrooms because we detest them.

I have decided to make a list of everything I/we like and then look at if its possible to grow here and how we go about it.

elennor

Hi, I've been growing my own veg for years and one tip I would give anyone is to not to take everything the authors of gardening books say too seriously-just have a go and enjoy it. Where you live makes a lot of difference to where you sow-frost, daylight hours etc all count. If growing in containers go to your local fishmonger and ask if he has any spare polystyrene boxes the fish come in-they are great as they insulate, are a good depth for all salad crops, coriander, rocket etc and strawberries. I have grown potatoes in buckets, carrots in an old wooden cupboard (on it's back with shelves removed), peppers in large pots (you really need greenhouse or conservatory for these or a very light window). If you give the veg good soil, enough room to grow and water properly you will have a great chance of success.
If you don't have room for runner beans you can grow dwarf french beans in pots or climbing french beans in a large tub with a wigwam. Mange tout grow ok in a deep pot too. Growbags are great for all sorts-not just tomatoes but you will get better results with tomatoes if you make it deeper by planting them in pots then cut out circles in the growbag and put the pot on top of the soil-easier to water too.
Realised I was rambling on there but am a bit obsessed with gardening-if you have any questions please ask and I will do my best to answer-there's not much I haven't had a go at over the years.
Good luck to you all-there's nothing like your first meal of the year all prepared from veg you picked the same day-does your soul good.

elennor

Sorry-forgot to answer Lynzpowers question:
Blueberries need acidic soil (pine needles can help), lots of organic matter (own compost) and will need a pot big enough for the rootball and room to grow-about 2 gallon bucket for small plants.
Beetroot can grow easily in containers-try a 12 inch pots and put seed about 5 inches apart or sow thinly and then thin out later to 5 inches apart. Sow about 2 m deep.
Hope this helps

Pixiechic

Hello, I'm a newbie too! I have already been bombarding the lovely lot on here with questions and had so much great experienced advice! I have already made my first boo boo, too many damn seed potatoes, hahaha. I have found a willing taker though so I won't be over run with potatoes, hehehe. This week so far I have been pricking out my herb seedlings and broccoli, the herbs i am growing are:
dill
garlic chives
chives
basil
coriander
rosemary
oregano
I also have leeks from seeds growing and lavender.
I plan to grow potatoes, carrots, broccoli, turnips, cabbage, kale, lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, onions, spring onions, sweat peas, courgettes, and a few more! Might have bitten off a little more than can chew but I'm going to give it a go.
I have grow bags and have sourced some good compost from the local garden centre, 6 bags of 40 ltr multi-purpose for £10, I think thats pretty good. All other stuff from Wilko's or poundland.
I am chitting my potatoe seeds and I am also trying to find something to put my carrot grow bags on as I have read that carrot fly are the biggest enemy and they don't fly higher than 30cm so hopefully I can avoid them being eaten somehow!
Great idea for this thread as we can all chat about progress and learn from and with each other!!
Thanks and I shall be on here often!

Thanks for the advice Elennor, its much appreciated!

tracey357

Another newbie here,

Just got our first allotment, we are very lucky as my dad is a fountain of knowledge.

Can't wait to get started.

rsj

Hi all,
I tried a little experiment last year, after looking at the potato bags that garden centres sell (around £7 for 3!) I decided they were just the same material, near enough, as the morrisons reusable bags, so bought half a dozen of those for less than 50p each , made drain holes in the bottom and planted my potatoes in those. They worked perfectly and will be reused again this year. Happy chitting!

katenut

Its only my second year, but last year was very much trial and error!! Its worth the effort tho - the best meal we had last year was a sunday roast, with all the veg and potatoes home grown

Hippychick

I'll join too, I have ordered some seed potatoes and have just sown some onion seedlings as well as planting a blueberry bush into a pot.

I plan to attempt this year:
lettuce
onions
potatoes
beetroot
tomatoes
herbs - basil, rosemary etc

I don't want to get too carried away but it's so easy when seeds are so cheap!