Grow your own dinner 2014

mardatha

Adding my name to this list but I expect you lot will start long before me. I can't start until the end of April at the earliest.
I have had great success with potatoes so will go with them again.
I want to grow swedes this year for the first time.
I've done ok with leeks so will do them again.
I have had probs with onions but will try again because I like them.

sparrer

Got a £land voucher giving me 6 gardening items for the price of 5, so I'll be in there tomorrow stocking up on compost and a couple more potato grow bags. I know that as an addict I'll spend more that £5 though

mardatha

I havent got a pound shop near me - who else sells potato grow bags and how much are they? I've got plenty room in the garden though, just bags are easier. But maybe lazy...

sparrer

I have a small garden so everything is in bags, tubs, troughs and baskets. I think you'd get potato grow bags in places like Wilko's or similar discount shops, or definitely in garden centres although they'll cost quite a bit more. I don't think it's lazy at all, anything that saves a bit of hard labour can only be a good thing, and imho they look neat and tidy

mothernerd

Started last year by trying not to buy anything. From January I planted nearly all the seeds I had NO MATTER HOW OLD (recently found a few Christmas tree seeds and odd bits whilst moving stuff to make way for workmen) in mushroom boxes (the boxes you buy them in at the supermarket) on the windowsills. Used the compost I already had but then used ordinary soil. Quite a lot germinated and each month I went through the seed box to see what else could go in. When the boxes outgrew the windowsill, I used two sets of old ladders (one a pretty old wooden set, one a larger metal one with wooden treads but no longer safe to use) in the vestibule with one/ two boxes on each tread - the seed packet instructions said an unheated greenhouse and I thought the vestibule qualified.
Cold spring meant a lot didn't get planted out till April and the results weren't overwhelming but for minimal outlay I have had lots of large spring onions/ small leeks, a dozen or so bushes of plum tomatoes, about a dozen each of cabbages and brussels sprouts plants (ate my own for Christmas - only tiny ones but good) and some carrots and parsnips - loads of nasturtiums as and a few other surprises as well (think I planted them last year or the year before and nothing happened.
THIS IS MY DILEMMA I am trying to downsize (but hopefully somewhere that still has growing space) and hope to get the house up for sale shortly (combination of some large jobs I need to pay for somehow and lots of little diy jobs for me - amazing the number of thing you live with for years that need to be sorted if someone else is going to look at it).
I am not the neatest gardener (or housekeeper) at the best of times SO
any tips on how to do as much as possible growing wise without putting off potential buyers.Initial thoughts:-
1 Ideally get house up for sale by end of January but more realistic is end of March so I could try setting off seed as last year and have some things ready to go out in Spring (including some flowers)
2 I painted all the garden fences cream last Summer and the shed turquoise (reflects more light, looks clean, good backdrop and extends the life of the fence for at least another couple of years) I used leftover fence paint + the metal paint I used on the garden gate to paint the aforementioned ladders to match/contrast - was thinking of nailing average size plant plastic plant pots 2or 3 to a tread and using strawberry plants/ tumbling tomatoes/ herbs or basket plants to make a feature - turquoise steps against cream fence and cream steps against shed.
3 Found a good website in September when ordering hyacinths and tete-a-tete daffs to plant up for Christmas presents - ordered a number of shrubs, some are planted in the front and back gardens, some I have put in 'potato' bags - most are sticks at the moment but should look presentable by Summer and I can opt to take them with me or plant out to make the house more presentable.
4 Hoping to buy bark soon (before everything starts growing) for the front garden. I think if the 4 for 3 offer is still on it works out at about £24 - mainly a logistical problem. The diy/ garden store is a half hour walk away but I think it would be four trips with the dolly truck(56 years old and never had a car) - I don't think I can manage two at a time and not sure if I can manage 4 trips on the run (losing weight and building stamina). Need to pick my time, they open earlier on weekdays but the road I have to cross is quieter on Sundays -even at 7am the commuter traffic may be bumper to bumper (note to self - try going for walk at opening and closing times to check traffic flow). Already have cardboard to put underneath and some peony (corms?bulbs?) plus a couple of shrubs and took loads of lavender cuttings in Spring and Autumn (7 to a pot)
5 Planning to take up 2 (plastic) raised beds - transfer the soil into potato bags as soon as all the sprouts and cabbages have been used and the pound shops get them in stock. Back yard space needs to look as though it is convertible back to grass for potential family buyers but NO GRASS before then as I have really bad hayfever.
Grateful for any input - basically need to use the stuff I have and make it look as though it has been planned and has some structure. If I don't grow stuff I know I will be sad before summer but can't do constant maintenance (strike a balance with all the other stuff that needs doing) . Thinking as creatively as I can - could the bits of broken flags make a 'rockery' with flowers in plant pots. As long as it doesn't look like a combination of Steptoe's yard and a cabbage patch gone to seed. Two heads are better than one so - give me your thoughts.

annie123

djohn2002uk wrote: »

Annie. I trawled through last years thread and found this.
On the 6/04/13 I wrote:-
"Annie.
Did 27 holes and 3 seeds in each today. May do another half doz tomorrow after I cut the grass. Then get my Runner Bean canes and the pea net up. That'll be enough for tomorrow methinks. "

But, the magazines I read are saying, if it's not too cold, sow them now but I still have around 18 in the ground. I think I'll do mine about first week in March this year because thinking about it, I was probably a bit late because of the cold spring.
Just read on the net that Gladiator, which I think is the best, needent be planted untill April/May. So think I'll go with last years date.

That would be all the snow we had in March John that made it later than usual then. I'll put hubby on stand by from end of Feb

sparrer wrote: »

Got a £land voucher giving me 6 gardening items for the price of 5, so I'll be in there tomorrow stocking up on compost and a couple more potato grow bags. I know that as an addict I'll spend more that £5 though

Sparrer is that the flyer I've seen in the stores from time to time? or where can I get a voucher please?

JellyBox

Hello!

I am a total newbie, lurked a bit last year, but lived in a flat without any outdoors space at the time, so couldn't really join in. We now have a house with a good size garden, and apparently the gardens round here are good for veg. It's North facing, so gets very little direct sunshine, but has plenty of space for pots on the patio, and some raised beds once I get my bum in gear and sort them.

I have all the will to grow stuff, but no knowledge of where to start. Ideally I'd like to do containers this year as the beds won't be up and running for a while yet, so was thinking of carrots, spinach, runner beans, tomatoes, potatoes, babycorn, and strawberries as these are all things we really like, and some should be fairly easy to grow (if mother JB can do it, the perennial veg killer, then I should be able to) with others providing more of a challenge. Do I have any chance of succeeding with any of my hopes given the almost complete shade (especially at patio end) or should I just give up before spending loads of money?

Looking forward to hopefully joining in with this thread throughout the year, and, for the first time in my life, doing some gardening!

JB x

annie123

Had a productive day in the garden today, but my poor body didn't know what hit it!

I have daffs with flower heads, a carnation out in bloom, 2 ladybirds on my raspberry canes and a left over spud in the ground had put on 6" of growth. And my ferns haven't died back at all.

Put a big dollop of manure on the rhubarb, cleared away dead leaves and stems from assorted plants, took the net off the pond as the frogs will be back again soon and generally had a good tidy up.

I'm away on holiday next month for 12 days :j first one for a long time so I won't be sowing anything before I get back mid month. Although I will probably sow the chillis just before I go and hopefully they will be up as I get back. Not too worried about chilis this year as I have 4 overwintered.

We need a path to the shed. It is a mud path at present and it doesn't look nice, and makes for very messy footware.

annie123

JellyBox wrote: »

Hello!

I am a total newbie, lurked a bit last year, but lived in a flat without any outdoors space at the time, so couldn't really join in. We now have a house with a good size garden, and apparently the gardens round here are good for veg. It's North facing, so gets very little direct sunshine, but has plenty of space for pots on the patio, and some raised beds once I get my bum in gear and sort them.

I have all the will to grow stuff, but no knowledge of where to start. Ideally I'd like to do containers this year as the beds won't be up and running for a while yet, so was thinking of carrots, spinach, runner beans, tomatoes, potatoes, babycorn, and strawberries as these are all things we really like, and some should be fairly easy to grow (if mother JB can do it, the perennial veg killer, then I should be able to) with others providing more of a challenge. Do I have any chance of succeeding with any of my hopes given the almost complete shade (especially at patio end) or should I just give up before spending loads of money?

Looking forward to hopefully joining in with this thread throughout the year, and, for the first time in my life, doing some gardening!

JB x

Welcome to the thread JB
The 1st year in a new garden is always a learning curve.
My son has a north facing garden and grows all sorts of things but it's needs treating as though it has a shorter growing season as the sun has to be high in the sky for enough sun to reach his tomatoes for example which need sun.
Watch and record how far down the garden the sun reaches this year, it will make planning for next year easier.
You will be able to grow lots of lovely salad leaves in the hight of the summer when others are bolting, the same with spinach.

As long as you don't expect bumper crops from everything, you'll be fine.

annie123

mardatha wrote: »

I havent got a pound shop near me - who else sells potato grow bags and how much are they? I've got plenty room in the garden though, just bags are easier. But maybe lazy...

Wilkinsons have them online and will be instore by time you plant yours.
http://www.wilko.com/seed-trays-plant-pots+planters/wilko-potato-grow-bag-x-2-42ltr/invt/0299007