RIGHT!! I don't want to give Mr Sainsbury/Tesco/Asda my money for tasteless vegetables imported from outer mongolia (think of the carbon footprint!),

[lucyellensmum]

I want to grow my own. Last year i managed a bumper crop of tomato's and runner beans, my corgettes were a disaster! Now i wan't carrots etc - Ive done nothing yet, where should i start. I am going to dedicate about 8" x 4" for veggies, i'll still grow my beans and tomatos up the fence - My fingers couldnt be less green - HELP.

I think the difference in taste between home-grown cucumber and shop bought is amazing, when I next move and have a garden I will definitely be growing some. I think everyone had trouble with courgettes last year because of the lack of a summer, they would probably do much better this year if you try again.

Yesterday's Sunday Times had a great article about potagers, if you can get your hands on the Home section do because it's more useful with the diagrams and photos.

Ohhh, home grown carrots and parsnips are lovely compared to supermarket ones. You need some quite fine soil to grow them in or you can dig a small trech and fill it with compost and sow deirectly into that. If you soil isnt too good go for shorter rooted varieties and try a canker resisitant parsnip if you want to grow those. Parsnips are in the ground for a fair while. I've had sucess with carrots in pots too. Home grown leeeks are fab too.

I would also recommend 'cut and come again' crops if space is limited. Swiss chard is lovely or perpetual spinach. Radishes grow really quickly so you can sow them and pull them before the opther veggies need to space. Every year I grow a really good salad mix call spicy leaf mix. It grows really well in pots, grow bags or beds. It germinates really quickly and you can harvest it 4 times easily before it won't grow back. It's lovely and the supermarket equivalent is very expensive. I tend to grow things which are expensive to buy from the shops or are relatively tasteless unless home grown.

If you are growing your beans and tomatoes in the same spot as last year try to swap their positions over so tomaotes go where beans were last year etc. Planting things in the same place each year can lead to a build up of disease and a depletion of nutrients.

here is an idea of what to sow now and where.

Thanks for the links - OMG - its full on isnt it ?? Well, in for a penny!!!! wooohooo

No, it's not really all that full on, just certain people enjoy it rather a lot and like to go on and on and on and on.....

You can put in as much or as little effort as you like really but it can be addictive so you have been warned