I feel some radio 4 coming on...

unrich

rocket
courgettes, gold rush and black beauty
broadbeans
tates, (sarpo blight resistant)
little gem lettuce

Cooking_Gardener

I would agree about courgettes - they are so easy to grow and are really expensive to buy in the shops. The other thing I would go for is Garlic - again really easy to grow and requires little or no effort.

mardatha

what kind of soft fruit ? as well as the above? Whats the pros and cons of that ? Reason I'm asking is they grow wild ok round here and I wouldn't mind some bushes for height. I have plenty space and it tastes nicer than veg , LOL !

Miró

How about perpetual spinach, (OK so you either love it or hate it:rolleyes: )

We planted some early last year and have been picking it ever since, all through the winter and it's still going strong. Young leaves for salads and the bigger ones for steaming/adding to curries/pasta. Yum!

WestonDave

My runner beans seem to be doing well on the cheap and easy front. My Dad planted some with my son last spring in a pot which we then grew on in the garden (no cost to us as they were spare seeds from his pack) - at the end of the summer there were one or two beans left on the plant which we left to dry out and then harvested the seeds from them. As of this morning I have 8 plants (and counting!) on the kitchen window sill from those seeds which if they go on to produce beans will mean two years harvest for nothing! And if they will grow from amateur seed collection I guess they are pretty easy going!

In terms of soft fruit currants and gooseberries are all pretty easy to grow and form decent size bushes (gooseberries will have a degree of deterrent on a boundary as they are spikey). Blueberries are supposedly easy to grow (I've only just got mine so can't talk from experience) except that they must grow in ericacious compost or line free soil so are best in a pot. Our rhubarb plants apparently originate from the previous owners last garden - they bought our house in 1956 when it was built, Dad has had a clump from it which is doing fine, but apparently it just refuses to grow next door! Make of that what you will!

mardatha

ok brilliant. I also want to look at tayberries, which grow wild here and are GORGEOUS.