Complete novice here, where do I buy plants?

[Chippednailvarnishing]

I have become the proud renter of an allotment and my DS is keen to grow peas, broccoli, pumpkins and cucumbers. There are already rasberries, strawberrys and blackcurrents.

Where do I start? I've never had any luck with seeds and given that we are in May I'm assuming that I should buy the actual plants?

Can anyone recommend an online gardening shop as I'm told my local garden centre is very over priced?

Thanks!

Thompson & Morgan.

QVC sell plug plants.

I rarely order plants online so not much help! Some local options:

Have you got a Homebase or B&Q nearby? Wilko also do plants instore, ours definitely had some veg when I was in last week.

I don't know if Aldi or Lidl do veg plants.

Our Morrisons has an excellent garden centre now. I haven't seen any veg plants yet but I think they had some last year. They might be coming in in the next week or so.

Try googling plant sale your area 2017. We have quite a few locally this month. School or church fetes often have plants stalls but you might need to arrive early before things sell out!

I'll leave someone else to advise as I don't grow that much veg. Do you have a greenhouse? I thought cucumbers needed one. Courgettes might be a better bet for a reliable crop. You could sow them now and still get them in by the end of the month.

There's an allotment thread on here too if you want to track down the allotmenteers!

I've bought herbs from B&M which were ok. Hadn't looked at actual veg type plants though

Diy store or supermarket for basics .

Garden centre for more choice but pricier.

Specialist nursery for interesting and unusual varieties.

Also school and church fetes , or open gardens for often interesting bargains.

Also manny of your fellow allotment exerts will have spare plants and seedlings that they will probably be happy to pass on to you once they see you clearing the allotment and working up a sweat!

Don't ask me, we decided to deck and slate chip our garden and have a few pots as it was easier to look after. I killed the Japanese maple.

When DS was in nursery he brought home a potted daffodil bulb to look after through the winter. I killed it. So on St Davids say when all the kids were meant to take their carefully looked after daffodil back to show the teachers, I dug up a daffodil and it's bulb from my grandads garden. DS was the only child to have a full sized daffodil when all the other kids had those cute little miniature ones. I told DS that mummy was really good at gardening because I had grown our daff into a much bigger one than all the other boys and girls.

An ad popped up of FB a few weeks ago saying that when you die you can have your ashes planted to grow a tree. I'd bloody kill that too!! Imagine the disappointment of my family when their dead relative kills the bloody tree!!!

Don't you and I have a lot in common!

Thanks for all the suggestions.
I don't really have a Homebase or B&Q near me that does plants, or any local plant sales.

Looking at Homebase online, they sell Strip grow your own. Are these plants or sets of seeds?

I think they are seed strips. Have you looked at Crocus online and/or Waitrose Garden?

Check out your local horticultural or allotment association for any plant sales or church/school fairs where there may be stall.

I really enjoying browsing on online shops like Thompson & Morgan and Crocus. If you don't have any local garden centres, this could be useful for you? They also allow you to make choices based on the extensive information they give about plants, rather than just picking up whatever looks good at the time (which is what I would do) at the garden centre.

I had my first delivery from Crocus last week, and I'd say the plants are less mature than the equivalent at my local garden centre, but I'm sure they'll grow!

Suttons are a good brand and sell plug plants as well as seeds: seeds.suttons.co.uk/search?w=Pea

Watch out for slugs and especially snails when growing peas, btw.

Marshalls seeds do plug plants of all varieties. They are pretty expensive but can give you a head start.

I think Sutton has what I'm looking for and the instructions appear to be idiot proof

Hi there,

long time no chat from me on the Gardening forum.

I really really like Rocket Gardens which I discovered this year. Really good plants and prices, as well as customer service.
The plants arrive pack in straw, great for strawberries in a little while!

there is 20% on their 'constant gardens' - a sort of subscription service today with code 4SEASONS.
But if that is a bit much for you, then register to their newsletter, they send different offers pretty much every week/weekend?

Our local market is fab for plants including veg. Good prices and healthy plants.

Quite a lot of people on my local facebook selling sites seem to sell young veg plants so that might be worth a look too.

I've opted for the rocket gardens website, so I'll see how long it takes me to kill everything!

oh great Chippednailvarnishing, let us know how you get on!

i'm getting a delivery from them this week, can't wait!

Go to a B&Q on the bank holiday and take advantage of their deals. Their social media is often good for tips and tricks too.

You still have time to plant autumn veg seeds like pumpkin, squash etc.

x

Agh, ignore the kiss. I was sending a text at the same time and got confused.

The closest B&Q with a garden section is a bit of a trek unfortunately.

Our local market is very good for things like bedding plants too. And usually cheaper than the garden centres.

Try B&M (not B&Q ) if you have one near with a garden section. I was there today & they have tomatoes & leeks that I noticed. Generally their stuff is good quality too (though the dry weather & Sun looked to be taking its toll...)