4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[kerrie]

hello,

I am a single mum of 3-12 year old twins and a 9 year old son. We are getting our eglu tomorrow (hurrah!) and want to grow our own veg and fruit this year-but my dad who grew our veg when I lived at home passed away so I'm not able to ask advice-and I didn't think of taking much notice when I was younger and had the chance!

I was thinking of growing the things we use most-sweetcorn, carrott, cabbage, salad leaves, onion/shallotts, garlic, potatoes (in a barrel on the patio) and herbs. I was also thinking of strawberries in hanging baskets or a purpose built strawberry planter with net on the patio, autumn fruiting raspberries (in a grow bag if that's do able?), and a small contanier apple tree.

I was planning on using an earth box for something also on the patio and I also have a small patch at the side of the house and I don't know whether to use more earth boxes or a raised planter?

As you can see I've got lots of ideas-but none of the skills or experience in what to do or how to do it. Any advice on what to grow where, what types of plants and varieties-anything at all would be so gratefully received.

Thank you so much in advance

Kerrie

[redbug]

Hi, A good thing to start with is Potatoes as they help break up the ground. There is a free offer for some potatoes in this section.

[Redwing]

Hi Kerrie and welcome to the forum.

 

You may struggle with raspberries in a grow bag, they do best in the ground, if this isn't possible use a decent sized pot (a half barrel would be good) and take care of the soil by top dressing it at least once a year (gently s"Ooops, word censored!"e the top layer of soil away and replace it with fresh compost and a little fertiliser)

 

Strawberries can do well in hanging baskets as do tumbling cherry tomatoes if its warm enough

 

Sweetcorn needs a deep pot for sowing, empty loo roll tubes are good - just plant the whole thing out! plant sweetcorn in blocks rather than lines

 

carrots need a light sandy soil and grow well in pots

 

For extra pot space try to scrounge some of the black deep buckets used for flowers in supermarkets (drill some holes in the bottom though)

 

Potatoes can be grown in compost bags - start with the tubers in six inches of soil in the bottom and roll the bag up as you eath up the spuds

 

Its customary in the potato world to have days in late Jan promoting potatoes and you can buy seed tubers individually so you can try lots of different sorts, there are lots of days around the country

 

My grandad grows veg as did my dad but I am just stating out with veg like you!

 

Moreveg.net do veg seeds in reletively small quantities very cheaply so you can try as many varieties as you can afford!

[moochoo]

My advice would be grow what you like to eat. You're far more likely to take care of it then.

I can heartily recommend moreveg too. This way you can afford to experiment with a variety of veg without breaking the bank.

I've had good success with carrots, lettuces, herbs and potatoes in planters. Sweetcorn is really easy to grow but they need good light and quite a bit of room.

You can sow most seeds direct into the ground once the frosts have gone and the temperatures are higher.

I would recommend buying specially selected garlic cloves for planting rather than supermarket ones and onion sets, which are semi grown onions. You can find these on most vegetable seed websites.

The best thing is to have a go, it may take a few trial and errors but most things are easy and sucessful to grow without too much hard work.

[mostin]

Hi, A good thing to start with is Potatoes as they help break up the ground. There is a free offer for some potatoes in this section.

 

Definitely agree with this, and grow loads of salad leaves. I've added one more type of veg a year as I've got better at it. It gets a bit much if you try going everything at once.

 

Chickens are excellent at clearing an area for a veggie bed though .

[katehicken]

I stated with one bed of potatoes and managed to convince my boyfriend (who was wondering what the point was) withing one growing season- maybe good for you kids as it is very impressive how many they make and they grow quite big and quickly. I also grow peas as I like them fresh and the flowers are pretty- same for the stawberries.

[Tara.F]

squashes are a good starter veg to grow.

They're pretty indestructible and very impressive. They are large sprawling plants but if you have the space give a courgette plant or a pumpkin a try

 

Broad beans are also a good bet! Fresh, tender young broadies are nothing like the nasty tinned ones. Now is the time to sow them either direct in the ground or in toilet roll tubes for transplanting later. They come ready early in the season, long before most of the plants you mentioned too.

 

And if you're limited for space why not grow a chilli pepper plant? You can get nice compact little ones that will do fine in a pot on the windowsill and then outside in a sunny pot for it's summer holiday

 

Finally, make room for some runner beans, up a fence perhaps? Dig a little trench there now and fill it with chicken poop each time you clean out the girls. Cover each layer with some of the earth you took out. Start the beans off indoors in late April and plant out after the frosts. There's nothing better than fresh runner beans! The climbing flowers are beautiful, the greenery is thick and lush, the pods are delicious fresh and freeze perfectly and the dried beans make the best tasting veggie burgers ever

[Tiggy]

peas are easy and will grow anywhere as long as you have something to support them, twigs or a fence or a tripod of bamboo canes with string wrapped around it, lettuce leaves need very little depth as do radishes so can easily be grown in shallow containers or around other things in bigger pots. Just have a go at what you fancy, I'm fairly new to this too but you soon learn as you go along

[Valkyrie]

I would suggest Geoff Hamilton's idea of growing raspberries in a small space, but not a grow bag - keep that for toms, then next year use it for salad bits. He had a central pole and four canes (I think it was) growing up in a sort of square patch instead of a row. Methinks you need to get his Kitchen Garden DVD (or the collection which I think is on offer at Amazon) - very good, especially for newbies. He is so enthusiastic and down to earth - not fancy or patronising.

French beans are great in containers - small varieties or climbing. Chard - rainbow are great for salad leaves and stir fries and pretty stems too. Hanging baskets can have herbs in and tomatoes (Tumbler). We eat lots of peppers, so grow them in pots and they do well outside the greenhouse too, I saw someone at our allotment grow them successfully that way with protection around the outside of the plants, but open to all weathers.

[moochoo]

I recommend grow your own magazine. WHSiths sell it. It's a great read for beginners and through the year you get free seeds!

[Happy chickens!]

I agree, grow what your family like, but add a few things to increase what they will eat. Also think about growing more expensive stuff - my kids love sugar snap peas for instance, so I grow more of these than 'normal' peas.

 

The gardeners' world website is good - they have a monthly checklist to remind you what needs doing now, but don't worry, don't think anyone does everything they say!!

 

Always read seed packets before buying, have made some expensive mistakes for stuff that needs a lot more tlc than I was prepared to give!

[Saronne]

Hi,

 

I save sprouted potatoes (from my pantry) and plant them up in large plastic pots or old buckets filled with fresh, or spent growbag compost - or your own mix. I do this in early February. Keep the pots in a light, sheltered spot (protect from frost) if you've no greenhouse. Wait for the tops to grow, and when they die back, harvest your fresh spuds. It's a cheap and easy method that's worked well for us.

 

Lots of veg (and fruit) do really well in tubs - including runner beans, salad leaves, carrots and dwarf fruit trees.

 

Saronne

 

Paris

Nicole

Dorothy

 

Germaine

Jordan

[chickenanne]

I would add: courgettes are incredibly productive. I had three plants last year and OH and I were sick of courgette soup by autumn!

It makes good sense to plants what you will eat, and also what is more expensive to buy in the shops. So personally I don't bother with potatoes as I'm short of space and they're cheap enough to buy. Also, I'm convinced it's a big conn: it's the effort in preparing the soil, planting them, earthing them up, and harvesting that breaks the ground up, not the potatoes themselves.....

Soft fruits are dead easy to grow and expensive to buy, and much better fresh. Herbs are easy to grow in pots.

[Matthew]

probably the two biggest tips I could give you on top of the good stuff already said... and apologies if its already been posted..

 

 

1) The only thing grown early is disappointment.... stick to recommended earliest sowing etc dates..... there is nowt worse than losing all your seedlings to frost or being too leggy

 

2) Sow successionally for all stuff you like and want fresh but cant store..... be it salad crops or peas etc....

 

 

and agree on courgettes... 1/2 plants only for a family of four I reckon... unless you love em

[The Dogmother]

and agree on courgettes... 1/2 plants only for a family of four I reckon... unless you love em

 

 

Tee hee, I remember Cinnamon's courgette glut a few years ago.

[Mrs Webmuppet]

These some smaller sized tomatoes available called Gartenperle that grow well in pots and there's some even smaller ones called Gobstopper tomatoes aimed at kids that grow in 6in pots on the window ledge ( might catch the imagination of the littlies). There are also mini cucumber seeds available that LMW loves.

[moochoo]

Hi Kerrie, I've got a pack of container seeds spare if you would like them. They are cherry tomato, spherical carrots ( only grow short) and rocket.

pm me your address if you're interested.

[Valkyrie]

Be careful about planting spuds from the supermarket - they can harbour diseases if grown in the garden which will affect all future potato sowings - much better to get proper selected potato tubers which should have been certified (not like my sort of being certified that is). You can then save some from that stock for the following year, but I would recommend you only do that for maybe one or two years and then get fresh stock otherwise disease builds up in them too. Like Redwing said, if you can get to a "Potato Day" you will find loads of varieties and quite a lot can be bought singly rather than a large ready prepared bundle. We did this with several different varieties - lots of different colours (like Edzel Blue, I think it was called), and makes it a fun experiment - plus you then get to know your favourite type and what suits your soil.

Yes to things like berries - they freeze well so you don't need to do what we did - had raspberries for breakfast, dessert and tea and I had to go to the Docs because I got hives from scoffing so many! Blueberries, so expensive, but do well in pots - can be self-fertile too - they need special acidic soil, so when we get ours we will have to keep them in pots anyway.

[Saronne]

I only use supermarket spuds in pots filled with spent compost - Spent compost from that goes into flower borders so minimal risk to veg patch. If you're only doing a few pots, it's a much cheaper option than forking out several quid for spuds you won't use.

 

Saronne

[Clash City Rocker]

It's National Potato Day this Sunday (25.01.09)

 

http://www.positivetv.tv/celebrate-national-potato-day/

[earthmam1]

Hi

 

I agree with most of everything that has been said. Tomatoes are easily grown in hanging baskets or tomato grow bags along a wall.

 

Lettace is something else to grow in containers.

 

Runner beans are great to grow and of course you can freeze them after picking. You should prepare the a trench by putting in newspaper, cardboard infact anythink that retains water as they do need a lot

 

I buy organic gardening magazine and find that useful or Carole Klein has a veg book out which again I find very useful. It can be expensive to buy in shops cheaper online.

 

Good luck

 

sue

[Cinnamon]

and agree on courgettes... 1/2 plants only for a family of four I reckon... unless you love em

 

 

Tee hee, I remember Cinnamon's courgette glut a few years ago.

 

 

I still have nightmares about it.

Lucky the chickens like courgette too

 

Grow what you like to eat to begin with,then you will soon find out what you are good at growing & what grows well for you.

For instance,I cannot grow a brassica to save my life, but am a wiz at tomatoes,carrots & of course courgettes

 

I branch out a bit each year. Last year I tried broad beans but no one liked them, so this year I am going to try french beans instead

 

Its trial & error to begin with, but very rewarding & lots of fun