I've got a garden! Can I grow food?

Badger_Lady

It's my first ever garden! Which tells you how experienced I am...

It's 20ft square, bare soil with a slate path down the middle, South facing but with some holly trees shading it later in the afternoon.

I've got no tools and no idea.

There are weeds growing at the North end, and some sticks at the South end which appear to be supporting raspberry plants.

I'm a fruit and veggie demon (not interested in flowers), so what do you think I could grow and when should I start?

Basically, if I go to Homebase after work, what should I buy?

Thank you!!! :T

Farway

Tools, a fork and trowel at least

Seeds, now, runner beans, tomatoes [or maybe get plants later, not now], marrow or courgette

That will do for now, others will be along shortly no doubt

WestonDave

With a blank canvas like that I'd suggest two shopping trips - firstly to get a decent gardening book - Carol Klein's recent one is as good a starter as any - so that you can spend this summer deciding how you want to set out your garden long term. That way when the autumn comes and most things stop growing you can start doing any setting out you want - e.g. planting fruit bushes or building raised beds or establishing a compost area etc.

Secondly go to Homebase and get a spade, a trowel, a rake, a watering can and whatever seeds take your fancy (with the proviso that they have sowing date of April or later and I'd suggest you also avoid things like cabbages etc that will not harvest until next year because they may interfere with the planning etc). Then just follow the instructions on the packets and have a go and have some fun. Don't be disheartened if some things fail - that's nature and it happens to everyone.

If you have a sunny window sill indoors you can start some plants off in trays or pots inside (you'll need pots and compost for that) which often means they have a better chance if we get any more freak snow showers.

Badger_Lady

I've got a little bit of raised patio in front of the house (not big enough to sit on or anything) - would it be worth investing in a mini-greenhouse to put here for starting seeds off? It would be a major sun-trap!

olly300

Badger_Lady wrote: »

I've got a little bit of raised patio in front of the house (not big enough to sit on or anything) - would it be worth investing in a mini-greenhouse to put here for starting seeds off? It would be a major sun-trap!

Mini greenhouses according to the many who posted here have a habit of being blown over in the wind.

As you are a novice it's better and cheaper to use your window sills or any solid surfaces that are near the window.

Once you have worked out what you want to grow and how you want to design your garden then you can work out whether you want a greenhouse, mini-greenhouse or cold frame.

redmatchstickman

i find homebase expensive, b&q is cheaper, and markets are even cheaper. also buy decent tools as i bought cheap and now a year on all the handles keep falling off, blades gone blunt quick etc. but i do use them a lot.

Pitlanepiglet

You could also try your local freecycle for garden tools, pots etc.

A._Badger

Can a fellow badger put in a word for fruit? Soft fruit is incredibly expensive to buy and not always at its best by the time it reaches us (particularly in city supermarkets). It is also remarkably easy to grow and often a lot less trouble (and effort) than growing vegetables.

If you're interested, I would recommend buying Dr. D. G. Hessayon's The Fruit Expert, which is cheap, easy to follow and reliable. The same would be true if you were interested in growing vegetables, incidentally - The Vegetable Exert is equally good.

So, as others have said, get yourself a basic spade and fork, a watering can and a hand trowel and fork. A pair of secateurs might be an idea, too.

Then, if fruit appeals, consider bushes like gooseberries, black currants, red currants (a fruit rarely seen in supermarkets) and, though it's really a vegetable, certainly a rhubarb plant or two - rhubarb almost grows itself!

Hope that's some help and good luck!

jennybridger

piece of paper and a pen maybe? draw yourself a little plan, so you have a rough idea of the space you are going to use for what.

perhaps a trip to the library too? save money instead of buying lots of books, the library should have plenty on fruit and veg growing. plenty of online guides too.

decide on what you want to grow - i mean what you want to eat at the end!

how did you get on with your shopping - guessing you've been by now?

Badger_Lady

I ended up working late, so skipped the shopping trip for now - think I've got a bit of reading / planning to do first!

Badger, the fruit thing definitely appeals - I currently get through a punnet of raspberries / blackberries or similar every day, not cheap! And I love to make my own fruit smoothies too (though I guess I'll have to carry on importing the bananas )

Tomatoes, peppers, courgettes - these are staples of my normal diet too, so will definitely be keen to try these...

Tell you what, I'm going to do some research on Wednesday, then I'll update you with my plan!

Thank you so much for all the help / inspiration

A._Badger

Well, you could grow your own bananas here, but the last person I read about who tried it was burning a ton of anthracite a day just to keep the glass house sufficiently hot!

Raspberries couldn't be easier and if you like them, please do give them a try. For ease of growing, I'd suggest you look for an Autumn fruiting variety as these are simplicity itself to grow. You just plant a row and leave them until they've fruited (they have a very long season, from July to the first frost ) then you simply cut them to the ground, give them a feed in Spring and the whole thing happens again, as if by magic, the following year!

Another advantage of Autumn fruiting varieties is that they hardly need supporting, so there is none of the business of training them against wires. My recommendation would be a variety called Autumn Bliss, which you will find in almost any garden centre or nursery.

Blackberries, too, are easy - almost too easy! I've had one run riot and act like a a rampant weed!

Good luck!