starting growing veg.

Prudent

I would like to start growing some veg in my small garden. I was wondering if I could get some advice on things that are easy to grow. I do not need vast quantities as its just for me and dd.

lynseydee

Hi Prudent, I am going to try growing veg this year but as I don't have any room in my garden was going to grow them in containers. I am going to try potatoes, carrots, parsnips, sweetcorn (this I will put in the garden as mine didn't grow too well in a pot last year), peas and peppers. It is only me who will be eating them (apart from the potatoes) so will be growing just a few at a time and then freezing them for as and when I need them.

Prudent

I hadn't though of containers. How deep do they need to be?

wurzelsar

Get some florists buckets. Morrisons sell them @ 8 for 99p but sometimes you'll have as many as 20 in the pack if they've got a glut of them. Drill holes in the bottom of the buckets for drainage. Put a small bit of stone or polystyrene in the bottom to assist drainage.

Grow outdoor tomatoes- you can get bush varieties that don't need much attention and also hanging basket tomatoes. These are brilliant especially if you're pushed for space.

I've grown beetroot, carrots, lettuce and a variety of leafy salads in pots, buckets, old chimney pots and even old tyres! These are good for growing spuds as you just add another one on top when you earth up the spuds!
What are good as well are flower pouches for herbs and tomatoes but these cost a bit more. Hanging baskets are a lot cheaper.

I've grown lettuce in hanging baskets as well, and don't forget herbs. You can grow masses in pots and baskets. There are dwarf runner beans available now. I know one variety is Hestia (I think) and they produce quite a good crop. Dwarf french beans, radish, outdoor cucumbers, potatoes, peppers, chillies, parsnips, lettuce, spinach, herbs, tomatoes, leeks, runner beans, tomatoes, parsley ( especially the flat leaved variety - it tastes nicer).
Just about anything. Also if you can, grow pot marigolds because they'll attract the bees to pollinate the flowers on the beans, tomatoes etc, and they're colourful.

lynseydee

Well, as a novice I'm not too sure but my MIL is giving me some old oil containers which are about 2ft deep which she says is deep enough for growing the potatoes in. I think I might get a few more bigish ones from her too. I'm guessing for things like the carrots and parsnips as long as they are deep enough to get a decent size carrot or parsnip (or however big you want them to be) it should be fine. I've got some quite big plant pots anyway that I will probably use as, like I said, as it is just for me I only need to grow a few at a time. As this is my first year (apart from the sweetcorn) I am going to probably do trial and error as I have got quite a few seeds left over from last year. Maybe we could let each other know what grows better in what.

wurzelsar

If anyone wants larger containers, try a brewery!
Our local brewery get supplies in large white buckets and even larger blue drum size buckets. They are very strong and they sell them on for 50p each.
The white ones are the size of fermenting buckets used for home brewing. Also try your local bakery or chippie. They get supplies in buckets and if your lucky you can get them free.

While on the subject of containers.
A friend gave me some jam funnels that they had from (I think) Asda.
The jam for the doughnuts come in funnels which slot onto the machines ( that's what they did in the bakery where my mum used to work) and they discard the funnels . They are strong rigid clear plastic, open at the top and are good for giving some protection from the strong winds for young plants.

katskorner

Gartenpearl tomatoes in hanging baskets and mignonette strawberries in hanging baskets too. They yield really well. Just remember to add water absorbing crystals to the compost to add moisture retention. You can get them from Wilkinson or Woolies cheaply enough.