Veggie patch on the cheap?

[neverquitesure]

My children will be 2 and 3 1/2 years old this spring and I'd love to start a little veggie patch/flower bed that they can grow a few simple veggies in plus the odd sunflower etc. Just a few tiny problems stand in our way:

• All setup work/digging/DIY will need to be carried out by me with 2 small and inquisitive (but not necessarily very helpful) children snapping at my heels
• I'm not hugely green fingered. Actually the most we've grown to date is cress...
• There are a couple of suitable spots but all are quite shady and the soil is terrible
• Our existing gardening supplies extend to one large spade, one large gardening fork and one large hoe. We have no hand tools/children's tools so will need to buy these. We also have no spare wood, extra topsoil etc
• We have next to no funds to achieve this

Any suggestions on what I'd need and how much it might cost and indeed whether it's even feasible given my time, inexperience and lack of funds? I have this twee little image of the children standing round a raised bed happily harvesting carrots etc but suspect I might be living in la la land...

Thanks neverquitesure :) Your plot looks lovely - those crates are perfect!

Have planted some french bean seeds leftover (from Lidl - 49p ;) ) from last year in a seed tray and they have all nearly sprouted! Only 3 days inside by a sunny window. Still awaiting the purple sprouting, and about half of my outdoor cucumber (marketmore) seeds have come through, again in a seed tray underneath a sunny lounge window. Anyone grown these successfully?

Also transplanted the remains of another living salads 99p lettuce box from Lidl into a big pot, so they'll hopefully fill it as the lettuce get bigger but will be so dense I can cut them as come-agains.... anyone else done this?

Have parsley in a pot that I grew from seed last year (just one plant) so have sown more seed around it hoping to have a very full pot by the summer.

Has anyone grown basil from seed successfully?

Decided to paint the bathroom as well this morning - all this sunshine does funny things... or maybe the nesting has started :)

Oh chops I am most inspired! There's something both utilitarian and yet somehow terribly bohemian about all those pots and grow bags and sacks of veggies. I can't quite put my finger on exactly what it is but I just love it. And what adorable (even if very naughty) rabbits.

French - I had considered putting something on the crates but everything that looked like it might work seemed to have a host of nasty sounding chemicals in it. Now to be fair we are growing for fun but I still feel a little about it. I did have a bit of a google and it seems we can expect anything from 1 - 5 years before they rot away. I'd be happy with 2-3 years which will give us long enough to try out the whole veggie growing thing. If we like it we'll replace (maybe with larger beds, or just dig down and have a 'proper' patch) if not then nothing lost as they were originally destined for the skip anyway and will make lovely compost (did I mention, some lovely lady in the village gave me a compost bin ). As far as I can tell you are lucky to double it's lifespan by preserving it, unless you are prepared to dig out the soil, dry out and re-treat every year. I am considering fixing plastic sheeting to the interior sides though to limit the soil contact damage though.

Definitely nesting rhihaf - I refused to admit I was in labour with DS until I had finished painting the bathroom (with zero VOC paint I should add!) and spent a good deal of my early labour with DD on my sewing machine finishing the curtains for our bedroom. I'm no trouper either, it just all seemed very important at the time Did I mention that I've also had a run of DIY in the house? I'm hoping it's just a spring thing for me though! I have to admit that I wasn't that into the idea of salad leaves and herbs originally but I have been won over by the promise of fast and easy reward for very little £ and physical input.

Just put my finger on what I love about Chop's veg garden, it's practical and functional and yet rebels against the idea of what a vegetable patch should be. It looks fun.

Oh dear, you can tell I've had a few tonight, can't you?

I think the phrase you are looking for is 'scruffy and muddled' but I'm flattered all the same!

It's def a veggie patch on the cheap which is prob why it looks so all over the place, but it works, and it integrates with the rest of the garden better. I've actually got a load more herbs growing amongst my bulbs too, come summer the bulbs die, and the herbs spread. We eat so much of it, it sort of takes over the garden really!

Tho i have to be careful, bulbs are poisonous to rabbits - they tiptoe over the daffs to sniff out the oregano!