First timer wanting to grow food

[sickofteenagers]

After being away and enjoying tasty real veg I'm wanting to grow some of my own foods. As a total beginner and everything will be in pots, what do you suggest? I love the idea of growing tomatoes, cucumber and corn. I know the timing isn't right but I'm planning for the year ahead. Any tips welcome.

Are you limited on space?
Look at where is sheltered/warmest.
Tomatoes are easy to grow so are a good starter. But need sun to ripen properly.
Some plants - like corn, need a lot of space so might not do so well in a pot - think about the size of the plant too. Herbs, salad veg are good for small spaces.
Get a tonne of slug repellent.

Forget corn.

Cucumbers, tomatoes, courgettes, all sorts of salad veg, peas and beans, aubergines, strawberries, blueberries are all good pot candidates. Potatoes are possible but probably not worth it unless you want really unusual ones.

I’m a terrible gardener and have had success with
raspberries
potatoes
peas
garlic
salad leaves
courgettes (some years)
herbs

i have a little cold house that I start things off in and then plant out when it’s warmer

i believe you need a greenhouse for aubergines and cucumbers (or at least not be in the frozen north like I am!)

start with lettuce / salad of various types

strawberries are good in pots

raspberries are good in flower beds - take a couple of years to get going but are great when they do and much better than the shop ones.

peas are great some years, not so good other years.

I'm lucky I have a south facing garden, not large though with a 10ft trampoline. Which will be going after this Summer

How far north?

Sweetcorn takes lots of space and each plant will only give you one or two ears of corn - I grow a few because my kids love it but it’s a lot of effort for one or two meals.

Tomatoes are straightforward - ‘sweet million’ has always given a good yield for me. I’ve got some in the greenhouse and some outdoors.

Autumn fruiting raspberries are easy - just cut to the ground in February and then they’ll fruit on the new growth between July and October (I’m in Essex, may be slightly different depending on where you are).
Blueberries and strawberries grow nicely in pots. I’ve got a blueberry ‘pink lemonade’ with pink berries which is not something you can get in the shops.

Cut and come again type salad leaves can be grown in planters as can spinach and rainbow chard.
Carrots can be grown in containers if they’re deep enough, and home grown carrots taste great.

Cucumbers haven’t done well at all for me this year, but peppers are looking like they’ll be plentiful. They are both in the greenhouse.

I have grown sweet corn very successfully ( far south ) bit you need a lot of space as need to we planted out in blocks ..Also you do need to love it , as it sll ripens at once .
Courgettes :- seriously only plant one plant unless you really want to eat it every meal in which case plant two and pick every day because they turn into marrows quicker than you can blink .
I have.raised bed for lettuce.. succession sowing here.. and its also great for carrots which need fine soil to develop roots .. plant those with spring onions and chive s to deter carrot fly ..
Tomatoes cucumber and peppers also grow well here but best in s greenhouse..small ones are worth investing in..As are as many water butts as you can get on your roof drainpipes ..

I grow herbs in pots: basil both from seed and by potting on supermarket plants
And parsley is easy also
If you dont already, get into watching Gardeners World ( friday evenings) .. Monty Don has fab advice

But dont expect to save money by growing your own veg !! It gets expensive.. ( and addictive)

Runner beans always grow easily for me. Red Emperor is the one I grow. A bit boring flavour wise but as I said easy and can be frozen.

I grow in 30cm square pots: runner beans, climbing french beans, broad beans, beetroot, kohlrabi, chard, all 4 to a pot. Magentaspreen, purple sprouting, cavalo nero, tree cabbage one to a pot, sugar snap peas 9 to a pot.

In slightly smaller pots, tomatoes, strawberries, slightly smaller still (10cm dia) lettuces, chillis.

Courgettes need as big a tub as you can manage.

And I have a recycling box with holes drilled in the bottom which takes 3-4 cucumbers.

i believe you need a greenhouse for aubergines and cucumbers (or at least not be in the frozen north like I am!) There are greenhouse varieties of cucumbers (don’t need pollinating and any male flowers need picking off) and outdoor varieties, which produce copious male flowers and do need pollination

We had lots of success with carrots.