Hello from sunny West Sussex

[Bren In Pots]

Less successful were the cabbages that got huge but never really formed heads,

Hello and welcome to the vine Katy

I've never had much luck with cabbages either so now I grow kales, my favourite one to grow is black Tuscan kale it crops well plus it looks pretty in the garden.

[Lumpy]

Hello and Welcome from me as well.

[Baldy]

Welcome along...

[Chris11]

Welcome Katy

[Small pumpkin]

Welcome to the vine

Sounds like you've got the veggie growing bug . You will fit in here with the rest of us obsessed veggie growers.

However, we are renting so although the landlords are happy for us to do what we like with the garden, it could all be taken off us at two months notice...

I know that feeling!

[Mr Bones]

Hi Katy and welcome to the Vine

[Snoop Puss]

Hi katy, welcome to the Vine. Sounds like you're having lots of fun and not deterred by the inevitable setbacks (we all get them).

Renting is difficult if you're investing time, effort and money in a garden, I know. Have you thought about seeing if you can get an allotment? Especially useful if you're likely to remain in the area but not always easy, as there can be enormous demand for them depending on where you live.

[katyhasclogs]

Hi there,

I've been lurking around here for a few weeks, absorbing and searching for information, so it seemed like a good time to join properly in case I need to ask questions.

The boyfriend and I moved into a house with a garden at the end of May last year and started growing things almost immediately, but this year will be our first full season.

Last year we bought a lot of small plants discounted at garden centres, planted them out quickly in the bed that was already in the garden and our blowaway greenhouse and had reasonable success. Lots of chillies and runner and french beans, the tastiest carrots we've ever eaten, giant calabrese that all formed heads in the same week, excellent sweetcorn (even if half of it fell over) and onions that produced a sustantial crop with no attention whatsoever.

Less successful were the cabbages that got huge but never really formed heads, the leeks which we were cut off from caring for by giant brassicas, the strawberries that went mouldy before they ripened and the tomtoes that got blight in August just as they were producing lots of fruit. Oh, and the blowaway greenhouse lasted until the first week of this year before tearing in half down the middle...

This year we've expanded our growing space lots by adding some raised beds we found discounted at Bunnings. We're starting lots of things from seed as well, which is exciting!

However, we are renting so although the landlords are happy for us to do what we like with the garden, it could all be taken off us at two months notice...