Grow Your Own Magazine

Hi.

I only have a small garden andI would like to grow as many veg as possible in containers/growbags. Can anyone please give me any suggestions as to what I could do and maybe some tips please? Sorry if i am asking a really stupid question. I am going shopping shortly to get the bits so all ideas would be hugely appreciated. I got married two weeks ago and we got some garden center vouchers so we thought we would start growing our own veg - all tips an suggestions are hugely appreciated. Thank you.

Sue
x

I recommend tomatoes, courgettes, dwarf beans, runner beans.

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Mark

Vegetable Kingdom blog

Thank you very much. Anything else?

Sue
x

Strawberries and potatoes. Did you have anything in mind?

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Mark

Vegetable Kingdom blog

I believe the following will do well in containers (as well as Capsids suggestions);

Strawberry, most herbs (especialy mint as it needs to be contained) peppers, potatoes, lettuce, raddish, garlic, carrots, spinach, rocket, cucumber.

Thats all I can think of for now. Good luck and congratulations on your wedding.

Tammy

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You can bury a lot of troubles digging in the dirt

When my kids become wild and unruly, I use a nice, safe playpen. When they're finished, I climb out

You will always be your child's favorite toy

Thank you for the congratulations!

I dont know really want i wanted to grow - well no i suppose i did - i fancied sweetcorn, potatoes, lettuce, tomatoes, courgettes, squash, peas, broadbeans, carrots, cucumber and strawberries!

Do you think all of these would be possible? Its potatoes i am most wary about growing!! I am off now to see what i can buy!! I will let you all know when i return what i have ended up with - then please please feel free to give me any tips!!!

Thank you all for your help and advice so far.

Sue
x

New Potatoes in pots/bags are easy peasey!!
Just put a couple of inches of compost in the bottom of the bag/pot sit the potatoes in and cover with more compost, as the new growth starts to appear "earth them up" ie cover with more compost until you about 3/4 of the way up your container then wait for them to develop, with new pots its usually when the flowers have died and the foliage is yellowing.

You'll be munching on home grown spuds sooner than you think!!!

Good luck with it x

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Always aim for the best result possible not the best possible result

Forgot to add a few recommendations:

Fruit Trees, Apples, Pears, Apricots, Cherry, Peach
Raspberries
French Beans, dwarf or climbing
Peas, Mange Touts and Sugar Snaps
Onions, Shallots

Hope that's some help

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Always aim for the best result possible not the best possible result

Hi

All of your choices are ok for containers, apart from sweetcorn which might be a bit more difficult, unless you find deep and wide containers [they need to be in a block or grid to pollenate properly].

I'd go for what you enjoy eating most of; and use the first year of growing as your experimental year; and see what happens. For the price of some seeds, which no doubt will grow - it's worth trying whatever you want.

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Andrea :wavehello

http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...logs/zazen999/

moon trials completed:
tomatoes
[46% increase in crop per seed sown and 10% increase in crop per plant]

currently underway:
calabrese
garlic

http://linearlegume.blogspot.com/

try looking at a selection of baby vegetables i am growing a baby turnip called tokyo cross its the size of a golf ball,and a baby leek called attal.definatley consider it.

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joanne culyer

vegtable newbie congrats on your wedding

I grew peas in containers last year and they were a bit of a disappointment although I had 3 tubs full I never really got enough at one go for a meal.

Did enjoy eating them straight out of the pod though

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Bren

Congratulations on your wedding, just the best isn't it?

I think you've had some great suggestions already. If you're looking to maximise space, grow things that climb - peas, beans, courgettes/squashes to some extent.

Good luck whatever you decide to go with!

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A simple dude trying to grow veg.

http://haywayne.blogspot.com/ - 1st update of 2009 - 6th January

http://tickers.baby-gaga.com/p/dev036pr___.png

Wow - this is a lovely friendly board. Thank you all very much. I had a lot of success with shopping but also some disappointment!! I hope this post wont bore you all!!!

I wanted a raspberry bush - they had ran out of those but i got a Tayberry bush - looks very similar - anyone know what they are like?

They only had one potato left which was Orla - are they ok? They are a bit wrinkled up with sprouts on is this ok? I am going to plant them in old tyres so how many should i plant?

I also got the following seeds:
lettuce
sprouts
rocket
sweetcorn
radish
spinach
carrot

I also wanted Broad beans, cucumber and courgettes but i went to three places and they had all run out i have to admit to being a bit disappointed!!

Does anyone have any tips for me on growing these please?

Thank you very very much

Sue
xx

if you pm me your address i will send you some all green bush courgette seeds x

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joanne culyer

oh wow, thank you that is very very kind. Would you like some money for them?

Sue
xx

no its ok will post in the next few days.i grew my courgette plants in the most sunniest part of my flower border last year and got tons off three plants,they do like to be planted in the ground so if you have got a space for them i would def plant in the ground.

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joanne culyer

Have a quick look on the seed swap section - there may be a few left on there. Don't always need to swap, some are happy to just give them away. I gave away some seeds recently, broad beans included.

Good luck with your quest.

Oh, and I'm not sure how many spuds to grow in the old tyres, but I would gor for one in each. That said, I'm new to all this so I'd wait till someone else came along with some knowledgable advice.

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A simple dude trying to grow veg.

http://haywayne.blogspot.com/ - 1st update of 2009 - 6th January

http://tickers.baby-gaga.com/p/dev036pr___.png

hi there

i am new as well to growing, i am lucky in that i have a greenhouse and a small plot, i am growing in pots

strawberries
carrots
toms
cut and grow lettace
cucumbers
sweetcorn
radish

and in the ground (only a small plot though)

radish
runners
spinach
onions
beetroot

I also have lots of spare seeds, so if you are missing anything, please give me a PM and i will post you some,

as i am new to this, i didnt know about all the different varieties until i came on here, but the people on here are lovely and are helping me so much

also get yourself a composter, i got mine from the council and it is really going well and i am loving living like the good life.

good luck and congrats on the wedding (i have been married 16 years and it feels like a lifetime ha ha ha )

Su x

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Gardening - A labour of love that begins with daybreak and ends with backache!
http://clarkiesveggieblog.blogspot.com/

All the suggestions you have had are good. And you could add Pak Choi and red onions. Here's some pics of mine. You can use the onions in salads while you're waiting for your spring onions - they do well in containers too.

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From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.

Thankyou all very much.

Really only one potato in there? Blimey i would have put them all in - pleased i asked now!!

Squashysu - i have PM you - Thank you.

Sue
xx

Yes Congratulations....Shouldn't you be off on honeymoon?

May I just make a couple of suggestions.

1. Get a simple book, most people suggest Dr Hessayon's 'veg and Herb expert'
2. Grow things that you like to eat...especially if they are expensive or difficult to buy.
3. Sow little and often( Not beans and sweetcorn) but definitely with salad stuff
4. Look around and get yourself down for an Allotment
5. I ALWAYS take my wife a cup of tea in bed in the morning, we sleep on a problem but not an argument and the rhythm method doesn't work.

Also I'd say your not going to manage sprouts in a pot ..They need firm ground. Remember that anything in containers is relying on you for water and feeding...It will need to be in a daily routine.

Three spuds in tyre pile, add more tyres and soil as they grow up. It saves on soil if you pack the rims with straw. They can also be grown in buckets etc.... fill up as they grow

Good luck and don't worry we will all be here to help.

PS I have some courgette seeds if you need (bush type too...rambling would be difficult for you)

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Paul

hi
welcome to the world of plotting. if you are growing in containers/buckets get them free from asda or tesco's. they throw their flower buckets away so just ask when you go in. drill some holes in the bottom and hey presto. if you pm me your address i will send you some strawberry runners for next year. they arent ready yet but will be in the summer. just plant 1 runner in a bucket and leave it outside and watch it grow. you can leave it out all winter as they dont mind frosts. i can also send you some herb seeds and any other spares. good luck

Hi Vegetable Newbie, Orla is quite a nice potato - I've got a few in a large pot. The fact that they are wrinkled isn't a problem at this time of year - they are putting their energy into the sprouting bit - be careful not to break it off when you plant.

Tayberries are brilliant - don't know about a pot though. They are a climber - do you have a bit of fence they can be tied in to? You tie in the growth that the plant made last year and it fruits on that. At the end of the year there will be new growth which will give you next year's fruit, and you prune out all the stems that fruited this year. Give it a BIG bucket and some pelleted chicken manure if you really can't put it in the soil.

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If a man is in the garden and speaks, and there is no woman to hear him, is he still wrong?

www.vegheaven.blogspot.com

Updated January 3rd - Birdwatching.