Newbie seeks help on growing veg please

Candy_Belle

Well with the weather being pants, currently in the minus's and snow on the ground I've not been able to get out on the garden to do any prep work/tidying it up or get into my shed to see how many tubs/pots I've got and bags of soil etc! But on a plus side my mum has promised to help me once the snows all gone!Yey!!!!!!!!

RAS

Candy_Belle wrote: »

1.Tomatoes - will grow in pots, need lots of sun and a fair bit of water
2.Runner Beans/Peas - runners are a better option for volume; go for a bi-colour (red and white) flower like St George. Think about mangetout or snap peas, so have purple flowers.
3.Chilli/Peppers - chillis might grow outside; buy a plant or two
4.Rocket - dead easy in a pot
5.Potatoes - you need a lot of soil, a lot os water so maybe best not grown in full sun.
6.Onions/Spring Onions - spring onions are dead easy at 2cms spacing
7.Rhubard/Strawberries - strawberries will need a lot of watering if in full sun but can be grown in vertical situations. You need plants, check if anyone you know grows them and ask for off-sets
8.Parsley/Dill/Chives. Parsley is a bit tempermental but the others are easy

Any tips/advise on growing the above? start from seeds or purchase ones that are already established?:)

If you have a south facing garden, you will need to do a lot of watering. Can you install a water butt.

FOr pots and tubs:

1. Try the supermarkets for flower tubs and drill a hole
2. Check out restaurants and takeaways for the very large polystrene boxes in which a lot of exotic goods are imported - anything up to 80x60x50cms. They are light weight and robust.

wssla00

Rocket is pretty easy to grow. Inside or in drills in your raised beds. Grow some of that alongside some other salad leaves and include some beetroots and chard for something pretty. I now wont buy rocket from the shops as it's a rip off.

ulka

This thread is great!
I have just moved to London and am thinking of starting a mini garden myself.
Thanks for the tips everyone.

Candy_Belle

RAS wrote: »

If you have a south facing garden, you will need to do a lot of watering. Can you install a water butt.

FOr pots and tubs:

1. Try the supermarkets for flower tubs and drill a hole
2. Check out restaurants and takeaways for the very large polystrene boxes in which a lot of exotic goods are imported - anything up to 80x60x50cms. They are light weight and robust.

Thanks, I didn't even think of a water butt - will def look into and thanks for the heads up on the pots and tubs front:)

Candy_Belle

wssla00 wrote: »

Rocket is pretty easy to grow. Inside or in drills in your raised beds. Grow some of that alongside some other salad leaves and include some beetroots and chard for something pretty. I now wont buy rocket from the shops as it's a rip off.

Excellent, will look into growing other salad leaves

Candy_Belle

fulhamfc6 wrote: »

Rhubarb's definitely a fruit in my eyes - I know it's not officially though. My advice is to ditch any flowers you have - I'm pretty much self-sufficient with a small garden but I've had to ditch all the flowers & get an allotment to achieve that. Very rewarding though.

fulhamfc6 wrote: »

Also I agree about the rocket - my mum bought some from the supermarker the other day & within 2 days it was disgusting. I think it's the plastic wrap they put it in. Much better to GYO.

Will def think about removing plant/flowers etc - will have to sell it to DH though!

Totally agree with you about shop brought rocket it goes to watery/slimey way to quick!:)

Candy_Belle

ulka wrote: »

This thread is great!
I have just moved to London and am thinking of starting a mini garden myself.
Thanks for the tips everyone.

Me too! am loving the fact that there are so many people who are willing to share tips and wisdom with a newbie. Thank you :j

Candy_Belle

Because I've got 2 hse cats I can't grow anything in the house, but I was thinking of getting a 4 tier mini greenhouse with a plastic zip up cover to protect the seeds I'm going to plant. Would this protect them enough from frost etc? x

forgotmyname

Not really. It may help with keeping the wind chill down, But it will still get frosty inside
during cold nights when the temp drops below freezing.

-4 here last night, Only a heater would help but not really viable. Too expensive.