veg growing Newbies- Feb 2010! lets learn together!

macma

we grow loads of tomatoes outside,I think they taste better:)They just need a bit of heat to start with as they turn blue if they get cold:(

alliwantistosave

I popped back to wilkinson's today and they had the potato sacks so got 3 packs for £5 :T

Also got some small gravel trays as was recommended by WestonDave to put the toilet rolls in so looks like we are going to be planting this weekend :rotfl:Beats a 200 mile trip to ikea........

Will have to see about planting chillies and peppers also as I didn't realise they needed to be planted so early :cool:

lunar

I am going to wilkinsons tomorrow, thanks for the tip on the potato planters, ill look out for them.

I know its off topic but I just noticed your sig Alli, well done on the weight loss! I have been recording mine in my DFW Diary, ill keep checking your sig for inspiration.

I just went to check on my heated propergator, the compost is lovely and warm. I cant wait to see some seedlings in there!

Kiwisaver_2

Hi all, I am reading this thread with interest, I am not a complete novice and have grown things with varying success over the years. My biggest problem is keeping up the motivation to carry on when things go wrong. I went down the route and expense of creating a raised bed a couple of years back and planted it all up with such enthusiasm and then lost heart and control of it, when the cats, birds, slugs and bugs seemed to all want to scupper all my good work.

This past few months I have started again and have several things now growing in pots and tubs and hoping this will be more manageable than growing stuff in the ground.

Hippychick wrote: »

Ikea are now selling planting bags, a little more expensive than the blue bags but look a lot more cheery.

http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/20167287

Just be aware that the fibre these kind of bags are made from disintegrates in the sun after a while. I had a similar pop-up rubbish bag and I went to lift it and it fell apart, the material had rotted away and perished.

stardrops42

macma wrote: »

we grow loads of tomatoes outside,I think they taste better:)They just need a bit of heat to start with as they turn blue if they get cold:(

I know exactly how they feel, I think I'm starting to turn blue with all this cold:rotfl:Roll on the spring:T

PinkFishnets

Hi all,

I'm a complete novice too, but love the idea of having our own fruit and veg to eat as it's so expensive in the shops and my son loves it and I want to keep encouraging him!

The other day I found some seedlings abandoned on a shelf in Tesco (not where they were meant to be), felt sorry for them and bought them all for a fiver. I got 4 moneymaker tomato seedlings, 4 red bell pepper seedlings and 4 gardener's delight tomato seedlings. My son is already fascinated and looking forward to eating them (he's 2.5).

I also want to plant red onions, strawberries (in a hanging basket) and raspberries definitely, but am wary about doing too much and don't know whether or not to hold off doing garlic, potatoes, squash and broccoli as well this year.

We're renting, so I will be doing a container garden too, but we do have a lovely greenhouse which only needs minimal tidying, and the last tenants left tons of different sized plant pots behind. There was a small vegetable/herb garden, but I don't think it gets enough light and is very overgrown and stony, hence going for containers. We're also DFWs (about £15k to go between the pair of us!) and hoping to buy somewhere in the next few years, so I don't want to have worked up to a fully functioning veg garden only to have to leave it behind or attempt to carefully dig it up and replant!!! Would also love to have some chickens when we own our own place!

I think my folks will keel over when I invite them to the garden centre with me tomorrow! I have never had any interest in flowers (severe hayfever makes me hate them) but fruit and veg has more of a payoff in my opinion - I like to create useful things. My folks haven't grown their own fruit and veg since I was small (it was a pretty amazing patch) and my Dad became ill, so I've not really had any strong influences, just my own desire to be self-sufficient one day, lol!

treepotato1

treepotato1 wrote: »

Oh dear.....I hate killing any creature and, although my garden is Slug Central , I never used bait last year so I think I may not be going to be the most successful veggie grower. I can't stand to think about how they die...it's awful!

I just fiound this:

Garlic has a long tradition of preventing pests. The folk traditions have recently been confirmed scientifically. Research by the University of Newcastle has shown that garlic is an effective slug repellent.
The research team, headed by Dr. Gordon Port, found that a barrier of garlic oil repelled slugs.
The researchers found that when slugs approached the garlic barrier they turned around.

Interesting. I'll give it a try. I'll be growing garlic too.

jacand

We're thinking of creating a small raised bed in our garden and have a few questions. Firstly what can we use for the frame, would pallets be ok? Or would we have to buy some wood from a DIY place? Also our neighbourhood is full of cats and despite us having a dog they still use our garden as a toilet. I don't want to use any chemicals etc to stop them, as I want my veg to be organic. What can I use to deter them?
Thanks

gazza975526570

jacand wrote: »

We're thinking of creating a small raised bed in our garden and have a few questions. Firstly what can we use for the frame, would pallets be ok? Or would we have to buy some wood from a DIY place? Also our neighbourhood is full of cats and despite us having a dog they still use our garden as a toilet. I don't want to use any chemicals etc to stop them, as I want my veg to be organic. What can I use to deter them?
Thanks

Pallets should work fine.

Re the cat - in reality there isnt much you can do - they will get in and about your veg. A water pistol and you being sat there 24/7 is the only real way. There is athread about with other ideas:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=54139&highlight=deter+cats+veg

lunar

We had a really productive day today. Finished cleaning out the greenhouse and have put the new cover on,so it is all ready to go. I just want to get some more shelves in there.

I potted up 2 blueberry bushes and 6 fruit trees! The strawberry runners I planted in a hanging bag in january have lots of new green leaves on.

My seedlings are looking pretty good, they all seem to have at least 6 leaves on the ones I planted 3 weeks ago. The new ones in the propergater seem to be popping up too.

On the down side one of my garlic cloves has gone! I have put netting round the rest.