how to grow own food....

southantrim3

Just moved house and now have a small back garden (woohoo!)
Thinking about growing my own food, such as potatoes, lettuce, carrots, onions etc..... No idea how to start or what to do.

Any advice would be appreciated. All I have in the garden is a small shed. The house is a new build and the grass has just recently been laid. Unfortunately, with the wonderful Irish weather that we have, the ground hasn't had any real chance to dry out yet and is a bit saturated.

Any advice would be greatly appreicated as I'm a total novice here but have great aspirations lol.

RAS

The most basic questions are:

1. When you face the garden with the house behind you at mid-day, where is the sun? This determines how much sun each part of the garden gets and what you can grow there.
2. What fruit and veggies do you like eating?

HappyMJ

Potatoes, carrots and onions are extremely cheap vegetables to buy all at under 50 pence a kg so they aren't worth growing at home. Lettuce is great to grow at home. The freshest green leaves you can ever get. Spinach and spring greens are good and very easy and saves a fortune on shop bought which is at least £1 just for a handful.

Linda32

Hi, Is there any other veggies you would like to grow? Also think about salad items such as raddish, beetroot, spring onions.

In the mean time, whats the chances of digging out that newly laid grass? That is a serious question btw Or are you wanting to stick to pots which might well limit what you can grow in order to make it worth your while.

Don't worry to much at the moment about the state of the ground, you won't need to be doing much until about mid April at the earliest.

lostinrates

Also, with a new build worth digging a coue of trial holes...have you proper soil or a couple of inches of mud and turfover hardcore?

Linda32

Thats true, liR. That is oftern said with new builds.

southantrim3, you will find you have plenty of preparation before the time comes to get sowing :j Its a fun and rewarding past time.

southantrim3

Thanks for the replys everyone, much appreciated . I knew you were a helpful lot.

Ras, my garden sadly is facing North which I know aint the best in the world. Would like to grow what I said at the start and also possibly beetroot, spring onions and parsnips (been told they're pretty hardy?)

HMJ, I know carrotts, potatoes etc are cheap, but they're things I'd still like to grow. L32, good suggestions, will be worth trying .
LIR, not very sure yet as haven't really had any decent weather to investigate yet. Also still organising inside of house.

I've heard that once you're up and running it's also a good idea to rotate what's grown where every now and then? Not sure about that.....

siwucha

Parsnips are really hardy and low maintenance but they hate stony ground and are slow growing, so you'll iether need to dig over and riddle loads of soil if you're unlucky and you garden is the usual new build rubble tip - or, get a crowbar, and, where you want to plant your parsnips, wiggle holes about 6-8 inches deep and wider than a big parsnip and then fill with potting compost/soil (nothing too rich though they don't like over fertile soil). Plant a seed or two in each hole, taking out the weaker one when they eventually germinate. Leave for about 9 months with watering if we ever get a dry summer. They can be planted from february and can be left in the ground unless its really wet until you need them in the winter.

Potatoes are usually a really good crop to grow in new veg gardens as they help break up the soil for later years.

The RHS website has good info on crop rotation:
I can't post the link though cos I'm a newbie

RAS

southantrim3 wrote: »

Ras, my garden sadly is facing North which I know aint the best in the world. Would like to grow what I said at the start and also possibly beetroot, spring onions and parsnips (been told they're pretty hardy?)

Ok, then you will find that the far end of your garden (which will face south) is the best place for veggies etc.. Over the weekend can you work out if the end gets any sun (joke I know) during the middle of the day? And if so, what time does it start and end?

And do you have a front garden?

cyclonebri1

Buy the vedge from Tesco's, save the effort, and go to a south facing park at the end of the day to eat your "produce".


The serious aspect is that your garden faces the wrong way, you can grow stuff, but, hey, it will be an uphill struggle.

Broard beans, french beans are by far the easiest in my northern Uk plot