where do i start

vixtress

:wave: good evening, this is my first post on here so please be gentle (i am usually to be found kicking around the os board)

having got really into this oldstle/moneysaving lark i am liking the idea of 'free' food, i get a fruit and veg box weekly but fancy supplementing this with some home grown stuff

the problem is
1, i have never grown anything in my life, even house plants die as soon as they look at me! and

2, we have lawn at the front of the house and decking at the back so i am going to be limitted to pots

i assume i have probably left it too late for this year ??

so how/where and when can i start? what am i unlikely to kill? and what works well in pots?

i am so sorry if these are silly questions or the are covered somewhere really obvious but i have never even glanced at this board before.

thanks, vix

winniepooh

well I'll join vixtress, I haven't a clue where to start so i'll be watching this thread

Jayar

You are a tad late for the main growing season as most people are now harvesting the "fruits of their labours". However, all is not lost. I read elsewhere on this board of someone (sorry can't remember who) who grows carrots all year round, so that's a possibility. I think you can get seeds specially for pot growing. They are rounder and shorter than your normal carrot.
There are some of us who are also growing potatoes for christmas. What you do is buy your favourite potato from the supermarket (I use Charlotte potatoes from Lidl) plant them in about 5" of soil/compost in a stout plastic bag with some holes in the bottom for drainage (rubble bags are good) and wait ....... they will soon send up green leaves, at which point you "earth them Up" - cover the leaves with more soil/compost, rolling the bag further and further up. Keep doing this until the leaves die off, which will happen some time in November. Then you put the bag somewhere it will be protected from frost and leave it until Christmas. Then cross your fingers and empty out the wonderful potatoes you have grown for your Christmas dinner.
Of course you can always grow herbs all year round on a sunny windowsill too.
Good luck

katskorner

You can plant swede, kale, kohl rabi, carrots, beetroot, lettuce and salad leaves at this time of year. You can even plant dwarf french beans for a late crop.

I would advise doing the Jayar potato thing too. It has reminded me to pop to lidl for a bag of charlottes!

Jayar

Sorry to slightly hijack this thread, but I must ask Kat a question.
Kat, have you grown Kohl Rabi? I tried it for the first time this year and from about 40 plants only about a dozen have swelled out to any decent size (even with all this rain, huh) Mostly they are just long thin stems where the swollen bit should be and loads of leaves. Any idea what could have gone wrong?
Or maybeI should say what I have done wrong:o

Zazen999

Hi. I was just about to say onions and carrots in pots, all year round - as it is me that does indeed aim for that particular goal.
Exactly what has been said - hopefully you already have and things are starting to sprout already.

rsdiscos

I have grown courguettes in pots - are doing really well. Got 4 plants and I must have had 6/8 courguette off each one so far;)
Tomatoes in grow bags - had blight :eek: removed leaves and they are now doing much better.
Dwarf beans in pots - 2/3 have been eaten and yields are not what I expected so am trying normal varieties next year.:o
Pepper plant in a covered veranda - again yields not great!
Salad bowl cut and come again lettuce in a trough . Got a bit staggly after I harvested 6 /8 leaves off each plant and I forgot?! to reseed until last week but it was really nice tasting lettuce!!
Tried Parmex? round carrots - got bored they were tiny!!:rolleyes:
It is really exciting to harvest stuff you have grown no matter how small scale you do it !
Good Luck
rsdiscos wife

meanmarie

Jayar,

We grew kohl rabi for the first time this year...OH sowed a whole packet of seed and forgot about them so only some were transplanted...they have swollen fine and we have eaten a couple...see another two which need eating tomorrow, read somewhere something about not sowing them too deeply, maybe thats your problem, unfortunately can't remember exactly what the piece I saw read.

Marie