Growing veg in pots/containers 30 April 2010 at 10:10PM edited 30 November -1 at 1:00AM in Greenfingered MoneySaving 10 replies 845 views

wayne1983

While going round wilkos (and other home and garden stores) there seems lots of kits to encourage growing fruit/ veg etc. I personally think this is a good way tbh if you dont have facilities to a garden and think its all to try and get folk to eat more healthily.
Whats your views, me personally i think its good:beer:

savemoney

I have grown last year carrots, spinach, spring onions, radish, lettuce in pots this year I am mainly using raised beds

wayne1983

Its probably better tbh but if you dont have the equipment to do so i suppose this is better than nothing:beer:

A._Badger

It may be a good thing if it encourages an interest in 'real gardening' but it certainly isn't a source of cheap food and the idea (often promoted by shops and newspaper articles etc) that you can really do much more than just get the occasional taste, is pretty far-fetched.

Mostly, I'm afraid, I just see it as a fashion trend being pretty cynically exploited in some cases.

If it encourages people it's a good thing, but I do worry that some have dreams of feeding a family of four, with no effort, from a couple of growing bags!

Pixiechic

Hi,
I rent and we have a lovely garden that the old boy who used to live here has nurtured, which we now look after. Its mainly flowers which are lovely but no room to make veg beds and the like. Sadly, you can see where they have turfed over a nice veg patch but prob thought most renters wouldn't be interested in maintaining a veg patch! That's why I am using grow bags! I decided that I was sick of coming home from work and whacking on the tv! I wanted a hobby that wasn't going to cost the earth, and something that would be quite satisfying and to some extent be productive! So I thought I would try to grow my own veg. Although I agree that it is fashionable at the moment and that could have been some of the appeal, I love it. Even if I lost some, which I hope I don't, the effort has been so worth it as it is great to stand back and see your seedlings mature into lovely healthy plants. You have to be commited to it and its a great sense of purpose. I have radio 4 on in the background and its kind of my 'zen' time! All in all I think that it is a very positive thing to do, especially when people get the kiddies envolved. Why be limited too, just because you haven't got a garden doesn't mean you can't grow things in containers! You never know, one day we might have to rely on these skills once again! Thats my tuppence worth!

knithryn

We've got a small garden. Until this year (when I got a tiny lean-to greenhouse and dug up a section for a raised bed) I used only tubs and containers for my veg, which were on top of the (brick and concrete) shed roof.
In the last two years I have grown potatoes, cucumbers, radishes, lettuce, parsnips, carrots, spring onions, strawberries, rocket and mixed salad leaves, tomatoes (killed by blight), herbs, turnips, chillis (in a plastic greenhouse), loads of flowers for hanging baskets and nedding, courgettes, and probably more I can't remember.

I think the kits are probably over-rated and hugely overpriced. Most of my stuff is grown in recycled and free containers, and we've always had a good compost heap going. It's a hobby that now provides something useful with a minimum spend as I reuse compost and mix in home-made proper compost. It's hugely satisfying and is healthy as the bending, carrying etc helps to keep my supple and strong. How many hobbies can do all that without leaving the comfort of your own garden?

Optimisticpair

I've seen the kits. Personally I think they are strategically placed in the prime place for Impulse Buy shopping. To cynical old me that is a marketing ploy but that doesn't mean that there isn't a higher motive behind it as well. The target market is not the greenfingered but it might encourage a few people to become greenfingered by having a go at growing something without spending a great deal while learning.

heynonnynonny

The kits are a great idea for those starting out and getting into the gardening bug nothing against them, and if it takes off as a hobby for someone even better. I bet if it wasn't for this forum I'd have used them myself, now it's like how cheaply can I do it with the materials I already have!!

LJM

i have a garden which is mainly lawn i have a small area raised bed big enough for me to plant runner beans in (i have 2 young girls so the lawn atm is nessary for play) the rest is all planted in pots which i have bought/got from car boot/been given and flower pots that i have got from morrisons. my veg seeds i get from ebay or £1 shop and compost is anywhere i can find it cheaply so most of the summer we are eating from the garden and it has cost me next to nothing to do apart from my time and my girls love helping too as i think it is important for them to know where their food comes from

LJM

forgot to say i am growing potaoes/runners/dwarf beans/peas/tomatoes/pea shoots/lettuces 3 varieties of CCA/spring onions/radishes/strawberries it is suprising what you can fit into a small area

Lotus-eater

wayne1983 wrote: »

While going round wilkos (and other home and garden stores) there seems lots of kits to encourage growing fruit/ veg etc. I personally think this is a good way tbh if you dont have facilities to a garden and think its all to try and get folk to eat more healthily.
Whats your views, me personally i think its good:beer:

I think it's a complete rip off most of the time. Preying on peoples instant shopping and inexperience.
Not sure what you are talking about re facilities to a garden, with almost all of these kits you still need extra compost and bigger pots.

The ONLY redeeming feature, is that they may encourage someone to grow something else and find out how to do it better.

I bet two things, One, that most of these kits are bought as presents, Two, that most of these kits come to nothing and get chucked in the bin.