Posted in wrong section! Help me turn my *whole* backgarden into a veg patch/herb garden....

[fastasleep]

I'm totally new to gardening, but I learn quickly... I posted this in the wrong section earlier becuse I hadn't even noticed the gardening club

Our back yard is turfed at the moment, but the second you walk on it it turns to mud...with a nice huge park being just down the road we never use it to play (DS uses the patio more)... so I thought 'what a waste, I know - veg patch!'

But I need to know everything from the basics up... when do I start? What do I do to the soil? What is easy to grow? And I'll need help every five minutes as pests eat them all up and cats come and crap on the garden etc etc is anyone an expert?

Sorry for sort of posting twice!

I plan on keeping the toms in for as long as possible, the kids were itching to start and I only done a few seeds. Have zillions left if it goes wrong

My advice would be to grow things that are expensive to buy in the shops. Sometimes it's not worth growing things that take up a lot of space and require a lot of effort only to find that just when they're ready to eat they're seasonal and dirt cheap in the shops anyway. I had a big garden in my last house and grew lots of stuff but now I have a very small one so I only grow raspberries and herbs among the flowers - raspberries are very expensive so it is a real treat. Gathering fresh herbs as and when you want them saves a lot of money and also gives you delicious food. Friends who like to cook love a big bunch of fresh herbs as a gift when you visit. Tie them up with a ribbon and it's a better gift than a bottle of wine or bunch of daffs.

I would also advise a little tour round the garden every morning and evening to scrutinize the progress of your plants. Most pests and diseases can be treated if you act quickly, a few hours can make a big difference.

You will be very very busy out there in the spring, but by summer everything is established and it's far less time-consuming, you just water and weed and little jobs like nipping off unwanted shoots.

It's very very satisfying to take a big bowl into the garden at tea-time and pick something for dinner. It all tastes fab too, so fresh and untainted by chemicals.

I'm going to go pot mad I think tomoatoes, beans, herbs.... I might plant a yummy raspberry bush as well.... when I've finished expressing I'll get onto changing the entire garden!

Thanks for the oganic gardening website, miaou. I've just placed an order for some veg and flower seeds. Good prices!
Lots of good advice given here. You can't beat a fresh strawberry still warm by the sun or popping peas from the pod - I never cook my own peas(they never make it into the kitchen)
Just make sure if your going to grow some more unusual vegthat you like the taste of it.

Divide up the garden into plots and don't be too over-ambitious! We've got a massive allotment and have now grassed paths between each planting area as it really saves on weeding. One bit of advice - don't grow too many runner beans unless you are happy to eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner!

Strawberries are v.easy. We planted lots of little plants all down one border and last summer had loads of yummy strawberries. The dds are strawberry fiends so I saved a lot of money

Dh and I used to grow potatoes in old tyres - works well and they're very easy to grow, courgettes are the same.

Hope it goes well

have you considered buying or making a cheapo sandpit + filling that with earth? We got one about 1.5 x 1.5 m and are this year going to grow salad in it, I have just decided.

Dh will not let me dig up our pathetic hankerchief of a lawn (grrr) but I am not too bothered as I am lobbying for chickens.

oh our (wooden) sandpit was from b&q btw

and cost £14. ffs!

Fastasleep, good luck! I got an allotment a couple of years ago and I still know nothing yet, stuff grows!! Last year, I started my new allotment at the end of May and still managed carrots, leeks, drawrf green beans, lettuces, courgettes, peas, runner beans, brocolli, cabbages and inherited a small potato patch from the prvious owner :). This year, I have just sowed some hardy tomato plants in pots on my bedroom windowsill and ditto, some sweetcorn. That's very easy btw too! Carrots are easy if you sow them later (after June the risk of carrot fly seems to diminish) but you do need to keep the corrot rows weed free :(.
A herb patch is pretty easy. And onions/shallots, if you can get hold of some onion sets (mini-onions for planting) are piss easy too. You stick them in a shallow hole, with the tip poking up and leave them!
I find marshalls mail order very good for beginners as the seeds are ime guaranteed to grow.
I have found several friends begging to help me in exchange for some of the produce too, which makes it great fun and a bit easier.

Fastasleep, can I recommend "No Work Garden" by Bob Flowerdew as it's full of handy tips to make gardening easier if you're new to it. \link{http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/search-handle-form/026-3883943-7498046\Amazon} have a copy for only £2.99 at the moment. I've read lots of gardening books but this was far and away the most useful. He's also written a book specifically about fruit and veg gardening which gets good \link{http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1856263541/qid=1142776500/sr=1-7/ref=sr_1_3_7/026-3883943-7498046\reviews}, but I haven't read it so can't recommend it personally.

Sorry, link was to the wrong book, \link{http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1856265714/qid=1142776992/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_3_2/026-3883943-7498046\this} is the one I was thinking of.