Grow your own dinner 2014

Little_Vics

How many chickens????

bouncydog1

zafiro1984 wrote: »

Wait until the bug catches you. I started off with 6 chickens 8 yrs ago. I now have 327 of the little dears, and aim to get to 500 this year

Are they true free range - if so that's an admirable number - if not could you reduce numbers so they are - free range eggs taste so good!!

WTFH

Little_Vics wrote: »

How many chickens????

2 so far, but she's ordered a house that will take 6-8!

pretz_2

hi, can I join in here. I started my own post but think it might be more beneficial to be here rather than there :j

I've decided to switch ends of the balcony after watching the amount of sun either end gets and decided this end will work better.

I only have a small amount of growing space and want to get the most out of it but I know absolutely nothing about growing vegetables or well anything :rotfl: so feel there might be a lot of questions

This is all I have to grow in





Sorry pictures are massive I couldn't work out how to resize them :eek:

I've planted peas in the far one today although I have a feeling I might have done it too early

Finally I have brought a small selection of vegetable seeds but realized that most of them need sowing indoors which I don't have the space for so what are peoples views on plug plants or shall I just plant them outside at the end of the sow indoors season???

mardatha

I've got a biggish back garden but I always buy plugs, seeds are too hit or miss for me

WTFH

pretz wrote: »

hi, can I join in here. I started my own post but think it might be more beneficial to be here rather than there :j

I've decided to switch ends of the balcony after watching the amount of sun either end gets and decided this end will work better.

I only have a small amount of growing space and want to get the most out of it but I know absolutely nothing about growing vegetables or well anything :rotfl: so feel there might be a lot of questions

My advice would be to plant herbs rather than veg. Herbs can be used pretty much all year round, but with veg, you'll only have a few weeks where you have something to harvest.
Consider some of the following:
Thyme
Winter Savoury
Mint (in a small pot or it will take over)
Basil (if it's sunny and sheltered)
Chives (again, in a pot)
Sage
Rosemary

...all of which you can use in day to day cooking.

Fay

pretz wrote: »

hi, can I join in here. I started my own post but think it might be more beneficial to be here rather than there :j

Welcome to the thread, pull up a pew and join us. I would recommend you check out the vertical veg blog as there is so much information on growing in small spaces. But I don't have access to it from work to be able to post a link-sorry.

I think your peas are rather early so might die in frosts etc. Do you have any window ledge space or a bit of space on a table to start things off indoors-it really does make a difference and most veg that need starting indoors its because they have a long growing season and/or need extra warmth, so really do need starting off indoors.

Why don't you tell us what veg seeds you've already got?

mardatha

Vertical Veg blog is awesome for flat dwellers!
http://www.verticalveg.org.uk/my-growing-diary/

Little_Vics

Another vote for vertical veg. I read it, enjoy it, but pay no attention to it. Maybe that's where I'm going wrong?

In other news, our local recycling centre has reopened after a 5 month renovation. I have no excuse not to take my gardening waste there now, which means I'm going to have to do some digging and pruning. Sigh.

seemasfriend

Our recycling is shut for the winter so no collection of brown bins. As we live in a communal flat all the bins are full of leaves. By the time they start again they will have started to decompose. Tick, tick, tick........that's the brain working albeit slowly .... Maybe I should rescue the leaves and compost them myself. Can I add them to my heap or do I need to have separate area?