29th March "Grow your own" newcomers welcome here

[TalkinPeece]

In light of lots of posts on lots of other threads I thought I'd start one for those who are looking at their gardens in a whole new light this spring.

Rule One of starting to grow your own
do not be over ambitious
A couple of growbags and pots at the start will give better results than trying to dig up the whole garden

Rule Two of starting to grow your own
grow stuff that will actually cope with your conditions
Look at where the sun shines on your garden at different times of day and what access to water you have

Rule three of starting to grow your own
grow what you will enjoy eating fresh from the garden
as the crops will be smaller but tastier

Rule Four of starting to grow your own
prepare to develop an obsession with the weather forecast

HOWEVER
Tomatoes against a wall of the house are easy in most of the UK
Herbs in small pots on windowsills are easy in most places
Lettuce / salad greens can work in pots, tubs or even hanging baskets
Spinach can be seeded soon and every few weeks from then on to keep you in greens for months
Baby carrots are quick fun and easy to grow in a tub
Beetroot ditto
Dwarf french beans later in the year are well worth growing even in a tiny garden

If we assume that the biggest newcomer plot is 2m by 1m (or 8 feet by 4 feet in old money)

How much yummy veg can Mumsnetters produce?

Ok they are all in egg boxes now in the light. Do I just remove the ones that are far too long?

Lovely to hear how everyone is getting on! Bit of a rubbish week here - I've been ill and so has DS1 - haven't had much chance to do anything except water my seedlings. Plus the garden is windswept to say the least, one of my little plastic greenhouses was making a bid for freedom!!

Thankfully the majority of my seeds seem to have survived their re-planting - the rosemary and cucumber may not have made it though - think DS2 was a bit too enthusiastic with them my thyme is coming through very, very slowly and patchily, last year it was brilliant so I might have another try at that.

Thank you for the calendar recommendation Bigly!

Our garden is also rather windswept at the moment ruby. I was hoping to get out today and do a bit of tidying, but it's a bit wet and I'm feeling rubbish so think I'll stay tucked up inside instead.

I've started some spinach seeds off to sprout and they are just starting to poke their little noses out which is nice. The tomatoes are starting to show signs of the second set of leaves as well which is encouraging.

I was talking to me dad yesterday about growing. He's got really into it over the last couple of years since my mum died. He was saying how much he likes having something to care for and how nice it is when if you look after your plants they return your care by giving you food and flowers. I just thought this was a lovely way of looking at it.

Do I just remove the ones that are far too long?

Just rub off any that are really long and straggly and white. Leave one stubby one. Then hopefully it will green up and grow stronger.

My garden is sitting and waiting till the weather improves.

It is the spring equinox next weekend so I'll probably plant my potatoes when I get back from the March March

Other seeds are sitting quietly but being checked and wiggled daily

@BiglyBadgers , download some "Home Grown Veg" videos off YouTube for your Dad. Nice gentle gardener. Lovely budget friendly ideas. Cool dog called Molly. Very soothing to watch.

I love your dad's idea Bigly

Unfortunately DS1 showed his love for some tomato plants today by giving them lots of 'drinkies' - I'm still trying to dry them out

I'm hoping to get some more seeds on the go over the weekend by throwing out some that haven't worked, re-potting others and creating a bit of space. The garden still needs tidying but it's so flipping windy out there, there doesn't seem much point yet! The weather is set for 'miserable' for days yet too, according to the forecast.

A couple of my Poundland plants are already looking sorry for themselves even though apparently they aren't supposed to need anything yet, they're still in their boxes! And it's probably a bit early (and cold) to plant out honeysuckle and buddleia, I was hoping to situate them next to a wall but they'd just blow over. Would it do any good to start them off indoors - plant them in small pots - or should I just write off my £2 and start again with more?!

As the spring has started to spring we have realised that when the neighbors put in a new fence they hacked back a load of the hedge leaving loads of dead wood behind that we hadn't noticed until the leaves starting coming through. Thankfully most of the actual plant seems to have survived but it's had a pretty hard pruning that's for sure. Spent an hour or so yesterday tidying it up.

This is a great thread, thank you all - I have read so much good advice already. I have got two raised beds in my front garden and a few pots but despite having grown veg for a couple of years I still don't really know what I'm doing!

I went to the garden centre yesterday and got some new seeds, I'm hoping to grow:

Yellow courgettes
Tumbling cherry tomatoes
Climbing french beans
Carrots (DD's favourite)
Lettuce
Beetroot (last year I did striped ones, they were fab)
Potatoes in grow bags
Cucumbers (outdoor as I don't have a greenhouse)
Lots of basil for pesto and salads
Peas (DD's other favourite)

I've already planted some early peas and they're poking through. I really want to get on with everything else but I think it's too early to plant seeds, looks like I'd be better waiting a couple of weeks (thank you for sharing the calendar @BiglyBadgers - really helpful). Although I don't have a greenhouse I've got big windows and bought some seed trays with lids from Aldi so hoping to start some seeds off indoors and get a head start.

I've also got autumn raspberry canes for the first time this year, and two blueberry bushes in pots. Last year I had one and got a reasonable harvest, but apparently they should do even better with another one nearby. I'm considering a cordon pear or plum in the back garden on a south-facing wall, but I'm not sure I've got the skill for that!

I've also ordered the book @bellinisurge recommended - it looks brilliant, thank you. It arrives tomorrow, so that's Monday evening taken care of

My polytunnel seedlings are coming along
but outdoors is very much waiting for the sun to come out and the wind to drop
next weekend is the equinox which is when I put spuds in and really get things started

I got a cloche the other day so I'm going to put out my spinach under that tomorrow. Just to be wild.

I've also got some marigold seeds I'm going to get started inside as I really love marigolds and fancy having loads and loads.

Place marking as I'm shortly to move into my first house with a huge garden and hoping for a veggie plot!

MissB
The main thing with a big garden is to start small - but welcome to the gang. Mine is 1/5 of an acre

Bigly that calendar is genius! Of course as usual I’m ahead with some things and behind with others and it doesn’t necessarily agree with what the seed packets say. Hopefully it’s all salvageable though - looks like I need to get sweet pepper and remaining tomato seeds in indoors this week and sort out the greenhouse heater so I can keep the greenhouse frost free when I start to move things in there.
My only major error has been unthinkingly letting my toddler grow some runner beans in a glass on the kitchen windowsill, he helped me pot them up last weekend and two of them are already a foot high! I’m going to see if I can keep them going in the greenhouse until May in big pots then just move the pots out and put some tall poles against the fence. I hadn’t even planned to grow any this year as we didn’t pick them fast enough last year and it seemed like a waste but my toddler has a memory like an elephant so I can’t put them out of sight and out of mind and if I consign them to the compost bin he’ll be heartbroken!

DrWhy my toddler is the same - he keeps poking at the (very little) tomato plants and asking when he can pick his tomatoes

I couldn't get out in the garden at all today, partly because we spent longer out at an event than I was expecting, and partly because the weather was so terrible. We had hail!!

Will start repotting indoors instead. Loads of stuff could probably go outside if only we had a bit of nice weather for a while and everything dried out.....

Still holding my nerve and not planting- apart from chitting potatoes. We had hailstones yesterday. I might buckle and get the horticultural fleece out once we get to the end of March.

Now the wind has died down we've got pretty alright weather here so hoping to get out this afternoon and pop the spinach in. Will then sow some marigolds. My tomato's have suddenly shot up and got their second set of leaves, seemingly overnight. My sweet peppers, which according to the calendar are the only things I didn't plant early are doing absolutely nothing. I'm starting to think it must have been a dodgy seed batch and might get another packet.

Checking in, if I may. I mean to grow lots this year - I'm going to read through this thread for inspiration.

When I had just moved in last year I planted herbs and lavender. Thyme and camomile have grown well, and something that might be oregano , rosemary and sage not so good. This year have planted a gooseberry bush, 2 blueberries, courgettes, beans, carrots, tomatoes, kale, lettuce from a supermarket growing pack,

And have tomatoes and peppers inside. Will add a basil later in the year.

Also have some sad raspberry canes waiting to be planted, but not sure where I can put them.

I haven’t got a clue what I am doing, and something has been digging in one of my planters so think a squirrel may have got my beans.

Ooh yes, and my 5yo planted a sunflower

Hi all! Total GYO virgin here, but we've just got an allotment so following for lots of useful tips. DH has grand plans, but as I work part time I'll be doing the bulk of the work, so it remains to be seen how successful we are this year. Just had a big delivery of seeds and have been saving pots for months now so this weekend is going to be dedicated to making a start!

May be slightly ahead of myself going by the calendar but I've sewn my first lost of cut and come again lettuce. Will carry on every two weeks and hope for the best.
Sewing my tomatoes into the windowsill propagator this weekend on schedule so we'll see how it goes.

Solasum
I can definitely recommend picking up some garden books (good ones linked up thread) that you can look at with your 5 year old while getting ideas

Thanks TalkinPaece. Will have a browse now

Some repotting finally accomplished today! Pea shoots have gone outside as they were so tall. Marigolds were going to go in a larger pot - but after I put the first two seedlings in, I turned round to see DS1 holding the rest - he'd pulled them up very carefully and handed them to me with a big smile. I couldn't really be cross! Anyhow, he then 'helped' with the watering and turned the pot into marigold soup, so they will have to be VERY hardy to survive all that.....

Planted some more seeds for indoors in the (probably vain) hope that by the time they're ready, the weather will have turned a bit and we'll have some nice sunshine

Oh and I put some of my Poundland shrubs outside to give me more room indoors; blackcurrant, blueberry, buddleia and honeysuckle - I thought for £1 each it didn't matter too much if they don't do that well! I could really do with some more big tubs, and I have a good one that I inherited, but it's full of chives. Now I'm not a big chive fan but they are doing well - not sure whether just to bin them regardless and use the tub for my raspberries or something!

I have still failed to catch up on this thread, but today I planted two new gooseberry bushes so I am feeling cheerful. They're an eating variety, red ones, and they were a fiver each (I am trying to keep an eye on budget and hope they're worth it!). I'm thinking I'd like to sow some seeds underneath them, as they're standards and there would be some space. Maybe edible violas? What do you think?