Complete newbie from north coast of Ireland - what to grow?

[B00641103]

Hi guys,
I am privileged to have a back garden and would love to use it for grow vegetables.

May I ask what is the easiest to grow In conditions where rain is plentiful and sunlight is few and far between.

My favourite vegetables to eat are cabbage, Swiss chard, lettuce, spring onions and would love to grow these if possible.

Thanks

[Bigmallly]

Hello B & welcome to the Jungle, we have a few Irish members who may be able to give advice relevant to your climate.

[Lumpy]

Hello and welcome to the Vine.

How are you intending to grow? Straight into the gound, raised beds, containers etc?

[Jay22]

Welcome to the Vine Boo, just learning myself but there are plenty of experts here who (whom?) I'm sure will be willing to help!

[B00641103]

Hello and welcome to the Vine.

How are you intending to grow? Straight into the gound, raised beds, containers etc?

That's just it, I've never done any gardening or planted anything in my life. So not sure how I should tackle it.

I would also love a herb patch, basil, Thai basil, coriander, rosemary etc

I love garlic and chillis too!

[Baldy]

Welcome along B00 - with the exception of the chillies (which generally need greenhouse protection or similar) your veg. all sound do-able to me. Some of the herbs would be alright as well though some thrive better with protection / heat.
What is growing the the back garden at the moment ? What is the soil like - is it light and sandy or heavy clay for example?
Good luck with it !

[veggiechicken]

Hello BOO and welcome.
How much growing space do you have? Lots of veg & herbs can be grown in pots, although cabbage may not be so comfy in a pot.
I find Swiss chard and lettuce (or mixed salad leaves) are easy to grow from seed. Cabbage and spring onions more difficult but not too much.
With your herbs, Basil and coriander are annuals and need resowing each year. Rosemary would need a permanent space as its perennial and is with you for life
Chillies are better grown under cover in a greenhouse, but a sunny windowsill may be enough.
Garlic is planted at the end of the year so you have time to get some ground ready to plant the cloves.

Any questions, just ask and we'll try to help

[Guest]

Hi and welcome to the vine.

How you grow things isn't so much of an issue as you can always improve on your efforts, what is important that you have a go to start off with Lots of lovely, helpful peeps here whenever you want them.

[bramble]

Hi BOO and welcome.
I too have a back garden that I grow in.
I have light clay soil. I have grown cabbage, onions, garlic, potatoes, salad leaves cucumbers and celeriac without any problems.
I have my rosemary in a big pot by the back door with lavender alongside it.
Parsley, and corriander in another pot and tyme and a few other bits alongside.
I have strawberries in containers and the open ground.
If you are growing cabbage you need to cover them with fleece to keep the cabbage white butterflies off, also firm them in very well to keep the wind from rocking thrm sround in the groend.
Net your strawberries to keep the birds away..
Try to manure your garden as best you can.
What have you grown before.
Has the ground been tilled before. I hope this has been a little help.

[Small pumpkin]

Welcome to the vine.
I can't advise much with your growing conditions, but I think they are fairly similar to here. Most things you listed should be fine in tubs, beds, ground. Garlic can be a bit sulky if they get to wet ( not seen mine since I planted it at the end of March). And like others have said chilli's need greenhouse, polytunnel, window sill, and you need to be strong willed when growing chilli's or you will end up with far to many......like me

[Bren In Pots]

Hello Boo and welcome to the vine you can more or less grow the same things in the ground as you can in containers, containers just need watering and feeding more often.

[SusieG]

Aye up B00 And a very warm welcome from me, too!

You sound like you know what you want to grow - that's half the battle..!!

I'm a back garden veggie grower, I have had DH knock together some 'raised' beds, and I've a GH where I'm raising a plethora of chillis, sweet peppers, cucumbers, toms and I've started off kale and Brocolli in pots to be planted outdoors later. Oh and some plants for the border (hopefully)...

I also do lots of loose leaf lettuce in pots, Spring onions, garlic and other stuff I can't remember now...!

I've also made myself a herb/flower bed ...

It's a never ending learning curve, and I'm always asking questions of the kind folk here ..

Post us some piccies of your garden - we are a nosey bunch too...!

Most of all - have fun - some things work, others don't but if you don't try, you'll never know!

[WPG]

Hello and welcome Boo!

I'm on the border between counties Down and Antrim, so probably a fairly similar climate to your own. You'd mentioned liking cabbage, swiss chard, lettuce and spring onions...yes, from my experience these should grow just fine where you are.

Every year is different, depending on the weather, but there's some things that have consistently done well for me, and vice versa:

Potatoes have always been a success, until the inevitable blight strikes. But I've noticed we seem to get the blight later than a lot of other posters, and I've never lost a crop to it.

Broad beans have always done well..runner beans are fine too, but don't plant them out before May. I've had mixed success with french beans, weather dependent.

Peas have always done fine, as have all salad crops and beetroot.

I've found brassicas really like the cool wet conditions, especially purple sprouting brocolli. The exception for me has been cauliflower, which has always been a flop

You might be surprised what will grow - I'd mentioned on another thread that I'd tried sweetcorn this year, and am amazed how well it's doing (despite this awful weather)

Have had less success with outdoor tomatoes, the season just isn't long enough. And courgettes will grow OK, but again the season seems to be slightly shorter - although they do great when it's a sunny year. I've never managed to grow a butternut squash, and my attempts at pumpkins haven't done well.

So don't be put off by our cooler climate, hopefully all of the things which you want to grow will be fine. If you're interested in fruit, I've found blackcurrants, raspberries and strawberries like our climate, and my allotment neighbour always has great success with rhubarb and gooseberries.

Some good news - I've noticed that we don't seem to get a lot of the beasties which are mentioned on here. I've never had blackfly on my beans, or pea moth, or allium leaf miner...

One last tip, don't be tempted to sow seeds too early - if it says March on the packet, I usually leave it till mid April, or else the seedlings tend to go leggy before the soil is warmed up.

As SusieG says, have fun - you'll find that each years harvest is slightly different anyhow, which is part of the enjoyment of growing your own.