How much food can you realistically grow in a flat?

[Deleted User]

Saw someone on TV yesterday talking about growing coriander plants using the coriander seeds from a jar bought in the supermarket.  She crushed them slightly and soaked them for a while  (not sure how much/how long, the report was pretty short on detail LOL) and just planted them in compost/soil in empty tomato tins with holes drilled in the base.  All very MSE!   Not totally sure they'll grow on a windowsill though.  May need to be outside.

She went on to say you can grow dill and other herbs from the seeds you probably already have in your kitchen spice jars.  I'm going to have a try if I can find some suitable compost in the shed.  

Deborah_Mary

I grow small green lentil sprouts (top) and chia seed sprouts (below, before and after sprouting) on my south-facing kitchen windowsill. Both from Waitrose, but have also seen chia seeds in Aldi. I freeze the lentil sprouts I don't need immediately. I also bought sesame seeds and poppy seeds from Waitrose, but neither sprouted - perhaps because the sesame seeds had had their husks removed, and the poppy seeds had been roasted. Lots of tips and pictures available with online search engine using keywords "sprouted", "seeds" etc.

laurencesmith21

twopenny said:

Utility room is probably a non starter unless you want to try mushrooms or rhubarb :-)

If you can organise a window box and use a decent compost like John Innes 2 which will hold water you could grow Tumbling Tom tomatoes. Small sweet ones on short trailing stems. Add some Basil if it's not too windy or keep that inside and you have ingredients for salsa. Easier than that would be chives, you can get garlic chives too which are great for salads or scrambled eggs. Lovely flowers too.

What you will have to watch with a window box or baskets is that when you water the soilly water doesn't drip onto windowsils bellow. Also if it's likely to dry out quickly moisture retentive chrystals to add to the compost. Remember to use some liquid plant food after the first 6 weeks.

Looking at Google Images should give you some ideas on what containers would be safe to put outside a window. Others are bound to have done it.

Tumbling tomatoes are about £4 for 10 seeds (if you can find them).  Mine had a 60% success rate.  It is very difficult to locate ready grown plants.  This means you need to produce an exceptional crop to break even.  I know home grown is the best, but I fail to see why these varieties are so expensive.

Merryn

Try seeds from what you eat. I'm growing tomatoes from tiny plum tomatoes, peppers bought from supermarket. Not sure of how to put this but I'm successfully growing Spring Onions from the bit cut off the base, same with lettuce. Google/You Tube has lots of examples. My `garden' is empty plastic bottles on my bedroom, kitchen and bathroom windowsills. Bathroom for germination.
Checkout `vertical plastic bottle gardening' Easy to set up, takes as much space as you want to give. Do this in my bedroom. 

Davesnave

laurencesmith21 said:

twopenny said:

Utility room is probably a non starter unless you want to try mushrooms or rhubarb :-)

If you can organise a window box and use a decent compost like John Innes 2 which will hold water you could grow Tumbling Tom tomatoes. Small sweet ones on short trailing stems. Add some Basil if it's not too windy or keep that inside and you have ingredients for salsa. Easier than that would be chives, you can get garlic chives too which are great for salads or scrambled eggs. Lovely flowers too.

What you will have to watch with a window box or baskets is that when you water the soilly water doesn't drip onto windowsils bellow. Also if it's likely to dry out quickly moisture retentive chrystals to add to the compost. Remember to use some liquid plant food after the first 6 weeks.

Looking at Google Images should give you some ideas on what containers would be safe to put outside a window. Others are bound to have done it.

Tumbling tomatoes are about £4 for 10 seeds (if you can find them).  Mine had a 60% success rate.  It is very difficult to locate ready grown plants.  This means you need to produce an exceptional crop to break even.  I know home grown is the best, but I fail to see why these varieties are so expensive.

A quick Google suggests you can get 25 Tumbling Tom tomato seeds for £3, which isn't a huge cost compared with some of the better indeterminates, like Apero, although all 8 of mine came up.

But who says you can't grow from your own seeds? Sure, the tomato plants you produce won't be identical to the parent, but if you only grow one variety they'll probably be pretty true....and it's free! Also, tomatoes will grow easily from cuttings. I haven't tried overwintering and then growing from an old plant, but I have had tomatoes at Christmas from cuttings taken in July.

MoonChild91

I've got some herbs on my windowsill at the moment doing really well - basil, chives, parsley, and my housemate has some rosemary and coriander. We've also got some tomatoes in the kitchen which is quite bright. In the past I've had some real success with chilli plants - they seem to do much better inside than outside in my experience! Mushroom kits are also pretty easy to do anywhere. As mentioned above, spring onions are really easy to grow from cut off waste, and so is celery if you like it. 
One of my friends has managed to grow a small lemon tree from supermarket lemons, but I'm not sure how long she'll have to wait for fruit!