Growing your own?

[ruth_d]

I am really wanting to learn so much more about growing my own veg (especially given all the food scares!)

Anyone got any good tips? I guess i need to start of easy...

I saw this on the UKTV site which is helpful too http://uktv.co.uk/index.cfm/uktv/Gardens.homepage/sid/6151

[Chris]

How much land do you have?

[ruth_d]

Not much! Literally a back garden of a typical london terrace... But i am willing to try anything! Hopefully my small space will accomodate basics like potatoes and carrots.

Are there any sites you recommend? Like i said i like the UKTV one but you can never have too many right?!

[Chris]

To grow the most bang for your buck I would try berries, strawberries or raspberries. Things like potatoes, carrots, and other root vegetables are cheap and easier to find at the market. Berries are harder, more expensive, and rot quicker and so do not ship as well.

If not them, then I would grow peppers, as they too can be on the expensive side.

[mamabear05]

To grow the most bang for your buck I would try berries, strawberries or raspberries. Things like potatoes, carrots, and other root vegetables are cheap and easier to find at the market. Berries are harder, more expensive, and rot quicker and so do not ship as well.

If not them, then I would grow peppers, as they too can be on the expensive side.

Those are all excellent points. Also, grow what your family loves and what you tend to eat/buy the most.

[lovemyabba]

Berries don't take up that much room ,either. They can even be grown in a large pot on a patio or deck if you don't have much room.

[felice206]

Berries are perfect for small spaces, herb gardens are quite good as well, and very easy on someone just getting started planting things on their own as well

[reviewer]

There are many peppers and cherry/grape tomatoes that have been bred to be raised in planters. This is a good direction to go in as well.

[Mmc]

This year I successfully and really with no bother at all grew Rhubarb in my front garden among the flowers, I grew lettuce in flower boxes (long plastic container) as i did not have room in the beds, I am presently growing courgettes - I have had loads of them on the one plant, they just keep on growing and have the most beautiful yellow flowers. They are in the ground also among roses. I have had an cooking apple tree which produces huge amounts of apples and is quite a small tree so really great for a small garden. I grew runner beans - they were juicy and very easy to grow up a trellis. I also had three tomato trees and found them a lot of work to be honest but would grow them again as the taste of the tomatoes was amazing. I have grown spring onions also in a flower box and I have a full herb garden too and put garlic cloves in to be harvested later this month so it is all very easy and you don't need a huge garden. There is great joy and reward growing your own. They can grow in boxes and within the flowerbeds easily and the source of the plants is mainly from seeds from the garden centre - one seed goes a long way so don't plant too many, only what you need. You can keep the others for next season or next year.
M

[scryan]

Read "From Vines to Wines" by Jeff Cox. It's the most exhaustive, 'everything you'll need to know' book out there. If it isn't in there, you don't need to know it.

SCR

[hairycaterpillar]

We used to grow our potatoes in big buckets to save space. (You plant them at the bottom with a little earth then keep adding more earth as they grow. If you feed and water through the year as well, you can end up with a bucket full of potatoes from top to bottom.) Cherry tomatoes in hanging baskets, a great space saver, (which are unbelievably tasty and easy to grow) and blueberries and salady bits (like lettuce, dandelion and pak choi, and rocket) in the ground, but all these can be grown in pots easily and you can bring your dandelions and chicory indoors for forcing(blanching). Best of luck!

[oddveggieout]

Potatoes can be grown in containers and do well.

get a container about 3 feet across and 2-3 feet tall. Fill it 1/2 way with 2 parts potting soil and 1 part sand (play sand is good). Get three (or six if you wish to use whole potatoes) seed potatoes. Cut them in half so that you have some good eyes or sprouts sticking up and leave them out side for 2-3 days. Plant them with five on the outside a couple of inches from the sides and one in the center. cover them with about 2 more inches of your mixture. Keep covering the plant groth every week so that only about a half inch to inch is stiking up until the planter is almost full. Then when the plants start to die you will have potates. Easy to do.

Also if you have sun and somewhere to hang you can hang grow tomatoes and peppers. in any search engine try hanging tomato planters. you can make them out of any thing that will hang, hold dirt and can be watered from the top. The best part is that you can grow herb in the top or cut holes in the side and have stawberries (or any herb, small plant) growing out the sides. They are very productive. We are using 2 gal buckets.:D