Growing your own veg and fruit

Magentasue

Mado wrote:

Anyone's got any good advice on things rabbits don't touch?
I despair.... :mad:

I know this one! :j Thistles!

We had rabbits, they even ate tomato plants that were supposed to be poisonous to them. If it's any consolation, hens do more damage. No, that isn't any consolation.:o

Magentasue

Loadsabob wrote:

A lot of you may already know of "square foot gardening" as a technique. .

And there's still time for lots of things from seed!

I have raised beds but don't grow things in blocks, I just put things in where there are gaps. The idea is that you don't need loads of space. Just think what's under the ground - if you're planting a beetroot you need enough room for that beetroot to grow but that's all. More space means more weeds or bigger crops - you can plant a lot in a small space and get fewer weeds, smaller veg but more of them.

Veg and weeds are all plants - they'll all grow in a bit of space. If you've got some space, even a little, you can fit in a few onions, beetroot, carrots, cabbage or whatever.

Jay-Jay_4

My Mum has asked me to ask this.....

What type of soil does garlic need to grow well? Chalky, Limey, Clay?


Help!

Iona_Penny

I think it is gret to want to grow veg. I was new to this last year but as I have posted before I bought small storage crates/boxes and grew tomatoes, lettuce and runner beans in them by filling with grow bag soil. I didn't make holes and all was fine. I also grew potatoes in an old black plastic dustbi - sprouted a couple in the cupboard and then planted them near the bottom; as they grew I covered the leaves with soil and they continued to grow until the bin was full. It was really exciting to get a bin of potatoes.

Why dont you grow some potatoes in the ground this year ? you can try some of the other things in pots if you want but I bet you will want all the space next year.

My friend and I took over a nettle-riddled allotment last summer and we have built small manageable beds and are growing by trial and error this year and loving the fact that some of our crops are beginning to show.

Have fun and good luck!

Magentasue

Jay-Jay wrote:

My Mum has asked me to ask this.....

What type of soil does garlic need to grow well? Chalky, Limey, Clay?


Help!

This is from a Google search "Garlic grows best on friable (crumbly) loamy soils that are fertile and high in organic matter."

but I've grown garlic in different soils in different places and never had any problems.

Jay-Jay_4

Magentasue wrote:

This is from a Google search "Garlic grows best on friable (crumbly) loamy soils that are fertile and high in organic matter."

but I've grown garlic in different soils in different places and never had any problems.

Thanks hun, they have lots of compost and horse poo so that's organic aint it? I think the ground is quite clay'ish so I'll advise that she mixes it well with some poo

catznine

Planted a lot of various seed last Sunday and so far the rocket is the first to have appeared! First time I've tried this and have heard that this is really easy to grow.

raeble

spalding wrote:

When does there sale normally start will keep an eye out for it

I went into wilkos a week or so ago and they had started to discount things - 25% off. A lot had gone, they seem to discount their tools before christmas, so around autumn time. I generally pop in there once every couple of weeks to see if anything has been reduced.

J_Tous

Rocket is really really easy to grow and I have found that the slugs don't attack it so much, plus it is quite expensive to buy in the supermarket so I can feel smug! Sometimes it can 'go to seed' in hot weather but if so don't despair, just keep the seeds when they have dried for next year.

Another cheap place for seeds is seed exchange events if you can find them -I live in London and went to one and they were selling cheap packets of seeds which local allotments and gardeners had collected or donated, and the seed potatoes were really cheap too. Plus there were lots of experienced gardeners around to give you free advice!

I also swap seeds with friends as you usually get far too many in a packet and they just go off - we buy different vegetables each and then swap half the contents.

The problem with using tomato seeds from supermarket tomatoes is that they aren't always suited to growing in our climate. Also, supermarket produce is often the type that crops all in one go which is better for big farmers, but if you are a small grower you want a type that gives you a few tomatoes at a time, but over a longer period.

soba

Can someone please, please tell me (as a complete novice) how to grow potatoes in a bin? I did see an item about it on Gardener's World ages ago, but didn't pay enough attention. Also is it too late for this year? Please remember that you are dealing with a complete numpty gardening wise, so you may have to use child-like language!!