Complete novice wanting to grow something!

[SnowyTigers]

Hi all,

I am a complete novice when it comes to growing anything, but I'd absolutely love to have a go with my DD who is 7 as she seems really interested in trying.

We have a small front garden with a bit of grass which gets the full sun in the afternoon, and an enclosed back yard which gets a bit of sun in the morning but not loads as we live in rows of terraces so the sun gets a bit blocked by the houses to the back of us.

Our back yard has a stone raised bed along one side which has some herbs growing in there (a small mint plant which doesn't seem to ever get any bigger, two types of thyme, a huge sage and huge lavender bush). I've bought w garden waste sack so I can clear out some leaves and cut back the big sage and lavender plants, and once I've jet washed the paving I can build a small wooden greenhouse I ordered from Aldi.

Is there anything relatively easy we can get started with? I think dd would love growing something edible (maybe tomatoes?) but I'm totally clueless and open to ideas! I'd also love some sort of flowers for the front garden, maybe in pots? Am I better off just buying these ready done?

I know I need to buy some bits such as compost but I honestly don't really know what other basic equipment (such a pots etc?) I should have to hand. We have a spade, trowel and gloves

I'd love some suggestions if anyone would be happy to help.

[quote APurpleSquirrel]@SnowyTigers any spare plants/seedlings you have, why not offer around? You could approach local schools & nurseries or just offer them up on local Facebook pages/groups, I expect you'll soon get rid of them & you can always ask for swaps too if there's anything else you'd like to try?
Beetroot- it depends. If you want just grow them as a salad crop, ie harvest the young leaves, you can just sow the seeds in a seed tray. If you want actual beetroot they better off in a bed & you'll need to thin them out once they germinate. Ideally you need to sow them in the place you want them to grow. Beetroot seeds are in clusters so once they germinate & seedlings appear, you'll need to prick out some of the seedlings to allow those left in space to grow. They will take a while to get to supermarket size, probably not till late summer/autumn plus they could bolt - ie form flowers instead of the beetroot bulb. [/quote]
Yeah I'm really not sure about the beetroot! This is good advice thank you. I do have a raised stone bed I could plant them in but not sure what the soil is like (I dug up lots of cat poo recently!!). I'll offer around the seedlings as I'm sure people will take them, that's a great idea!

Beetroot leaves are delicious
I love a good roast beetroot but they are well worth growing even if only for those lovely leaves imo

Maybe I will try the leaves then. I don't think I've ever had them! I have some mixed salad leaf seeds to sow at some point, when I have space on my windowsills again.

I love them.
I don’t particularly like lettuce, I like strong vegetables.
Beetroot leaves, watercress, wild rocket (the proper perennial sort, not that mild tasteless annual shit), kale, carrot tops, pea shoots, baby spinach...

Just wanted to give an update. Here are my efforts all basking in the sunshine this morning! Not pictured here is lots of tomato seedlings, sunflowers and radishes which I've also been growing. I'm very proud of myself