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?

I have loads of seeds which I'll get started with soon, I'm waiting for slightly warmer weather too viccat. Might be a job for the Easter holidays with the DC.

I sowed some chilli seeds yesterday as my friend had loads of tasty chillis last year from her seeds. Realised though that they are all extra hot. Not sure I can cope with that much heat

It is a beautiful day here today. I've been out doing some tidying and planted some of the dye plant seeds. I think I might go back out again and do some weeding just for fun.

Because there's no decent growing space any more (all wild life and vertical growth nowadays) in my small garden, I bought flat pack frames for 2', 3', and 4' raised beds; they're not very wide but a decent height (38cms) and very suitable for the few sunny spaces available. Last week I constructed the two smaller ones, put them in place and prepared them with compost, and this morning I made chicken wire covers and fastened that to staples on the corner battens. The covers will be easy to remove and also raise a few inches when I need. My main reason for this is to protect seedlings from a pair of wood pigeons who were eyeing up the apple tree for nesting purposes. They nested there last year and although I don't mind them sharing any bird seed, I am not growing my special crops for their use!!

Tomorrow I plan to sow wild rocket and perpetual spinach in them. The 4' frame I'll construct next week, and prepare the base where it's to go, but I'll have to wait til family come a few days after so I can enlist help in carrying it outside and into position; far too heavy and awkward for me alone.

All very exciting and a worthwhile distraction in these interesting times

Purple carrots are amazing, Bigly! We grew ‘rainbow’ carrots last year, but the purple ones tasted the nicest, so I bought just purple carrot seeds this year.

I had to move all my seedlings into the greenhouse because they were getting really leggy indoors. They’ve been ok in there so far, but there are some cold nights coming up so fingers crossed that they’ll cope. I’ll try to remember to cover them up a bit.

So I’ve been trying to vaguely follow the calendar that someone linked previously - it’s a great help. I’ve sown cucumbers and tomatoes a bit early as they will stay in the greenhouse and I have a heater so can keep it frost free. However, a few things it says I should be sowing outside now under cloches, I don’t own any cloches and I have thought to save the odd coke bottle we have so is it worth investing in some or are they just going to blow away/be a one season wonder?

Oh, I'm glad they taste nice QueenofThorns. I thought they would be fun for dd but actually edible is even better

I've had to move some of my more sturdy looking plants into a plastic free house thing because I've run out of room indoors. It's in a sheltered spot with plenty of sun and seems to be warming nicely so hoping they will be alright. If it gets really cold I might just have to bring some things in at night.

Moved some of my tomato plants outside too today Bigly, hoping the little plastic greenhouse will protect them! I've also put loads of eggshells around as we have plenty of slugs I put the nasturtiums and marigolds out too as they shot up indoors in the last few days, and the last of my Poundland plants - a purple climbing rose and raspberries. Fingers crossed!

It may have been a figment of our imaginations that they tasted better, Bigly, but they’re definitely edible!

I would just be careful over Tuesday and Wednesday nights this week - it’s supposed to get pretty cold, so your plants may need a little bit of extra protection. Or bring them in, as you suggest.

Can any of you seasoned growers ID this for me? It was on our plot when we took it over, under a little fruit cage. I feel like the twigs are too smooth for a raspberry, I'm really hoping it's a blueberry . I've planted a little blackberry and raspberry anyway, and there's a huge gooseberry Bush at the back of the plot, so we'll be all sorted for soft fruit if it is a blueberry.

Agreed re the frost warning this week! It could get pretty cold.
Happily a little bit of rain in the picture too though.

My butter nut squash plants that I planted too early survived their first night out in the greenhouse despite a light frost overnight. The Bright Lights chard is sprouting and also the first sowing of mixed salad leaves. I am planting a few at a time in plastic trays (mushroom type) with drainage holes then I can bring them in to use like the living lettuce you can buy. My little tomato plants are still on the window sill but are getting to big for their pot so I think I'll transplant them today but keep them in a bit longer. They will eventually go into hanging baskets (small tomato variety), I've done this before and it's a great space saver.

Mud it does look like the blueberry 'trees' that I planted, but I can't tell you if that's a definite identification!

We have a dog staying with us at the moment. She is (on the whole) very good but so far has ripped apart the box with my petunia seeds growing in it, removed and chewed all the canes from the sweet peas, and eaten the raspberry and purple climbing roses I planted at the weekend (luckily they were only the Poundland ones!). Oh and she's happily chewing any plant pot she can get her paws on!! On the bright side, she's very sweet and isn't chewing anything indoors

Mud I'd guess that that's a currant bush. If it is a blackcurrant, you'll be able to smell the lovely blackcurrant smell when you rub your fingers on the branch, or leaves. They tend to come into leaf first, followed by the redcurrants, then the white currants.

All can br prog a gated really easily from a bit of stick with buds/ growing pointa stuck in the ground. As long as you put it the right way up.

That was meant to read all can be propagated...

Do most of you have heated propagators for starting your seeds? Most of the seed packets I've got say they need to be started somewhere in the range of 18C-24C (depending on type) to germinate. My house has been around 17C in the mornings in the past week, and probably will be colder now the temps have dipped anyway. Is it better to start the seeds anyway or should I wait until it's warmer? I have some tomato, basil and pepper seeds still to start...

Mine just go onto my windowsill, we don't have the heating on over night either.

Potted on my tomatoes today.

My propagator isn't heated, just a basic box with a lid sort of thing. All my seeds have sprouted though and we tend to favour a slightly chilly house. I do get really good sun on the windowsill so I think that makes all the difference.

Same here, unheated propagator with a lid, but gets lots of sun.

My basil on the other hand..... used to absolutely flourish in the sun but is distinctly weedy at the moment. No idea why!

We have unheated propagators too. We got ours from Aldi a few weeks ago, they're nice and narrow for the windowsill. Currently taking up every available windowsill in the house!

I just realised I didn't mention in my last post that it's bigly badgers here, I just needed a name change.

We had a bit of frost this morning, but it's been pretty nice since, just a bit of a shower. Not even that cold. It's due to get a chilly again tonight, but all my plants seem to be fine.

Same here Badgers, chilly overnight/ mornings, but warm enough during the day. Actually it was supposed to rain today but has been ok so far.

Bought more compost so will start repotting the bigger seedlings and starting some new ones, hopefully we'll get some nice Easter weather and the flowers will start to come out.

More doggy casualties here, she's eaten more petunias and the handle off a fishing net. However she's still far less hassle than the DC, I'm thinking of swapping them for her - that's allowed, right?!

Hi there usernameismud
I call black currants - rub your thumbnail along the bark ... check for the ribena smell
if not then they are red currants (almost better)

Experienced gardener bitten on the bum alert : after the dry of the last two weeks and the current cold snap
I think I'll need to re-sow carrots, spinach and parsnips

That's a bummer!

badbad
but its the whole point ..... food production is NOT secure
and the more people who learn to understand that (again) the better