whats your advice then????

[blutone]

ok peeps,as i said only got a patio,so got lots of containers,big an small,tell me which veg to grow,(remember im a novice)
i have spring onions in,toms on the windowsill,an little gem lettuce,oh an some peppers.so any advice on other veg that are not too ambitious???
im watching.......

[Jardiniere]

Rocket.
Herbs - coriander for instance.and Basil

[Rocketron]

Courgettes and dwarf french beans grow well in containers, in my (limited) experience.

[gardenplot]

have a look at this site Royal Horticultural Society - Grow Your Own VEG: 3x3m Veg Plots

[Seahorse]

I grew sweetcorn in a big tub last year (about 45cm across). Only five plants but the corn was the best I've ever had. We ate it raw, within seconds of picking

[Snadger]

............. corn was the best I've ever had. We ate it raw, within seconds of picking

The only way to enjoy sweetcorn methinks!

[terrier]

Potatoes, dead easy to grow in tall narrow containers (black buckets for instance, 69p each in wilcos)

[snake the squadie]

strawberries mate its the future

[veg4681]

Then there's watercress, rocket, spinach, leafy salad mix, spring onions, Oriental leafy vegetables (harvested as baby leaves but requring successional sowings), mangetout, aubergine, chillies and cucumber. Some people here have grown carrots, potatoes and maybe even beetroot in buckets (like your orange B&Q ones). I think the most obvious and doable ones are tomatoes, lettuces and frech dwarf/bush beans. Courgettes are nice one to go for but get the pots really big to ensure a higher crop yield. If you must grow the chunky Brassicas, there are the mini variety of cauli and cabbage, apparently.

[Sue]

Hi Blutone
If you check out the Thompson & Morgan seed catalogue you will see they have a couple of pages of mini-veg - patio veg I think they call them. These are mostly intended for growing in pots.
Sue

[blutone]

cor this is great loads of answers to look up,many thanks all,!

[shirlthegirl43]

Think of the veggies you enjoy eating but which cost lots and give those a try. I think I would be tempted to try asparagus if you have a really big container (although it is not recommended) since the crowns are cheap to buy in Wilkinsons. You can also put a rhubarb crown in a large container but you shouldn't harvest any stalks this year.

[Cutecumber]

Blutone - Don't try and take on too much in your first year - concentrate on a few things so you can give them adequate care and attention. You will need to water and feed everything because they are in pots, so take this into account. Also, if you only have a patio you need to think about where the old compost is going to end up - it can be reused to a point, but not forever.

You're starting well with the spring onions, tomatoes, lettuce and peppers. Later in the year - say late March or April (i.e. after any last probable frosts) you might try some french beans (the dwarf ones) and perhaps a courgette. Courgettes need quite a good amount of compost and are big eaters, but should produce well for you in a warm sheltered area. Just one plant (sow a couple of seeds and pick the strongest) may be enough.

Carrots and beetroot are quite fun and fairly easy to grow in pots, giving you a small but tasty crop. Sow very thinly in a pot (at least 10-12 inches depth), cover with half an inch of compost, water and keep your fingers crossed. As they grow, remove a few seedlings to give the strongest ones some space.

[Winged one]

Peas up a pyramid of bamboo canes works very well in a tub - have done it for a few years now.

Also, if you only have a patio, consider a few hanging baskets of things, especially tomatoes like tumbling tom or I think there are strawberries that are suited to that as well.

[Protea]

The first time i grew my own veg was at university, and most of it was in containers - some more successful than others! I've learnt what works and what doesn't since then and still grow lots in pots on my patio.

climbing french beans are great in a large barrel or pot, with a wigwam of bamboo canes for them to climb. Last autumn i grew some carrots in a large tubtrug, and although not massive, they were nice 'fat finger' sized and really sweet, you can get stump rooted varieties such as Parmex for this purpose, but i just use normal varietes and eat them young.

I grew loads of potatoes last year in black bags (Thompson and Morgan sell them, but i've discovered you can also get them from here for much less money and in different sizes - i used the 15 inch diameter ones for potatoes, but smaller ones would be OK for individual tubers. These plastic pots would also be good for growing other veg in - cheap, and reusable, and easy to store over winter! TRANSPOTS alternatively re-use compost bags for this purpost (this is what my parents do and it works a treat)

Lettuce, rocket, spinach, chard etc. all easy to grow, especially in troughs or grow bags (cut the top away and tie the middle together with string so it doesn't fall apart). obviously tomatoes, chillies, and sweet peppers are all good for pots.

I've got lots of fruit in pots - strawberies, raspberries, blueberries and even 2 minarette apple trees.

Be experimental - grow what you actually like to eat and see what happens!