The all new 2019 growing your own thread!

unrecordings

lucy_lemon wrote: »

Can I please join in? I've recently bought my first house, which means I finally have access to a garden! I'm so excited! I'm hoping to be able to grow a fair amount of vegetables, but I have a lot of learning to do. Hope it'll be ok to post questions here :-)

Welcome & congrats on the first house
Questions are good, we're all here to learn

CAFCGirl

Nasturtiums and lettuce in today.
Leaving the wooden greenhouse till tomorrow as we're due some rain and it'll keep me occupied before my MRI appointment in the afternoon. That's the hope anyway LOL
Once that's up and in the yard area by the backdoor, I'll start some outdoor sowing using that as I'm out of space indoors.

SmarterNotHarder

Hello!

Can I join in please? I'd love to start a herb garden, but don't know where to start with seeds etc, and I'd like to keep the start up costs as low as possible

Thank you

lucy_lemon

In terms of a herb garden, my local Lidl had a windowsill propagator, with some herb seeds for £5.99. I bought it, but can't actually remember what the seeds were.


I've bought some herb seeds from Wilkos pretty cheaply. I also cheated and got some small plants of ones I want to use pretty much straight away - they were 3 for £5 at my local garden centre, so it might be worth checking at one near you if small plants would be more feasible for you.


I also desperately want an amazing herb garden :j

Suffolk_lass

Re herbs garden - if you have not got experience, can I alert you to a few things that may happen -

• Mint (and lemon balm) v invasive so best grown in a self-contained pot
• Thyme gets woody after a while
• Think about where your herbs grow naturally - eg mediterranean herbs are non hardy - herbs such as oregano (marjoram) are likely to die out after each year.
• If you have lots of scented things like lavender and rosemary you could find yourself with Rosemary Beetle - we have had it for the last two years, so spread them around so not all in one place
• Sage is a lot tougher than you might think and we use loads of it.
• Fennel is incredibly deep rooted and seeds freely - not for a small space IMHO
• A small Bay is worth its' space and easy to maintain - great in the middle of an area or as a lollipop if you are looking at a smaller area.

I would suggest you look at some to eat, some to smell, some to look pretty.

In terms of cost effectiveness, check out Freecycle to see if anyone is offering free plants - even cheaper than seeds and instant.

unrecordings

CAFCGirl wrote: »

Nasturtiums and lettuce in today.
Leaving the wooden greenhouse till tomorrow as we're due some rain and it'll keep me occupied before my MRI appointment in the afternoon. That's the hope anyway LOL
Once that's up and in the yard area by the backdoor, I'll start some outdoor sowing using that as I'm out of space indoors.

Being from Sheffield I love MRIs -it's like being inside a tumble dryer listening to Gabba - I've had about 16-17 in the last couple of years (as an aside I always wear my Dutch camo trousers to an MRI - they're completely free of metal so I don't need to change)

Hope it's a good news scan

Karmacat

I have a harvest! The lentil sprouts I soaked about 2 weeks ago now, are huge and have two sets of leaves. I'm astonished I managed to water them almost every 24 hours, and didn't kill them by overwatering. They're very pretty, but I've explained to them that their function is to die

As an experiment, I'm going to soak another set, and see if they'll grow in the same punnet - they should, if I tamp the soil down properly.

Been clearing a set of brambles I found under the blackcurrant bush hadn't even known about them. There were four or five in a space about nine inches square

unrecordings

SmarterNotHarder wrote: »

Hello!

Can I join in please? I'd love to start a herb garden, but don't know where to start with seeds etc, and I'd like to keep the start up costs as low as possible

Thank you

Welcome

I've got a good few herbs going, and it's fantastic to have a choice. Last night I had tarragon encrusted sea bass, just because my French tarragon that was overwintering in the greenhouse has suddenly burst into life

I populated my herb garden mainly from bought in plants, but a few from seed/bulb (lovage & wild garlic going great at the moment)

I've also bought supermarket windowsill herbs and planted them out (especially if they're on offer)

Finally check out Jekka McVicar - her herb book is fantastic
https://www.jekkas.com

Right, back outside for me
Chips at 5pm so I won't be moving much after that

CAFCGirl

unrecordings wrote: »

Being from Sheffield I love MRIs -it's like being inside a tumble dryer listening to Gabba - I've had about 16-17 in the last couple of years (as an aside I always wear my Dutch camo trousers to an MRI - they're completely free of metal so I don't need to change)

Hope it's a good news scan

I've got my wardrobe sorted - big fan of elastic waist trousers and don't wear wired undies so all good there.
I think it's the fear of the unknown i.e how long I'm gonna be in there for a brain and IAM as my letter says? Plus quite how closed a tunnel it'll be. Fingers crossed they're running to time as waiting rooms are not a friend to my anxiety. As for the news - clear diagnosis whichever way is the hope\goal

unrecordings

CAFCGirl wrote: »

I've got my wardrobe sorted - big fan of elastic waist trousers and don't wear wired undies so all good there.
I think it's the fear of the unknown i.e how long I'm gonna be in there for a brain and IAM as my letter says? Plus quite how closed a tunnel it'll be. Fingers crossed they're running to time as waiting rooms are not a friend to my anxiety. As for the news - clear diagnosis whichever way is the hope\goal

First scan ?
Take no notice of my industrial bravado (though I do enjoy them, almost fell asleep in one last year). You'll be in there 20 mins maybe for a basic head scan. They give you headphones, there's a panic button, and the staff are very attentive, so just close your eyes, think of what your gardening plans are and go with the flow, like trying to sleep on a train. Send me a PM if you're a little anxious