Newbie with ideas needed

**Two_Sheds** · 20-04-2009, 07:51 AM

Grow what you want to eat.
Easy!

**Jillyreeves** · 20-04-2009, 07:55 AM

I agree with Two Sheds - grow what you eat but also grow what is expensive to buy in the shops

**Two_Sheds** · 20-04-2009, 08:06 AM

Originally posted by needideas View Post

Also I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on growing things in ...plant pots

there are 100s of older threads on container growing, have a go with your search button.
Here's one: http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...read_5662.html

**TEB** · 20-04-2009, 08:46 AM

Dont look at veg and seed catalogues look at food recipes is what one veg writer wrote and I thinks its a great way to plan, also think about growing something that you haven't eaten before.

**bluemoon** · 20-04-2009, 11:30 AM

Also consider those things which lose their flavour quickly once picked such as peas, asparagus and sweetcorn. Unless you grow these things yourself you'll never know how delicious they can be.

**needideas** · 21-04-2009, 07:50 AM

Thanks

Hi all,

Thanks for all your replies.

As I'm a complete novice I just wanted to make sure I was doing things right.

Can anyone also answer this question. Do I have to 'feed' the veg/fruit? if so whats the best thing to use? I've seen loads of products for feeding including multi purpose and blood, fish and bones.

Hope someone can help

**TEB** · 21-04-2009, 08:11 AM

It will depend on the veg/fruit type and how you are growing them and what preparation was done to the soil beforehand. Things like toms, cucumbers, chillies, pepers wil need a tomato based feeding regime once the flowers have set. I tend to feed the soil during the late Autumn/Winter months or at time of sowin/planting but it is as mentioned down to the veg type.

**needideas** · 21-04-2009, 08:28 AM

Hi

Thanks for that TEB here's a list of what I'm looking to grow

Potatoes
Onions
Garlic
Chillies
Coriander
Mint
Chives
Rosemary
Parsley
Cucumber
Beetroot
Strawberries
Rhubarb

**TEB** · 21-04-2009, 09:00 AM

The cukes, toms and chillies - tomato feed once fruit has set (I do mine every 10 or so days)
Strawberries feed fortnightly with weak tomato feed
Rhubarb - not much needed but you could mulch when leaves have died down - mulch with compost or well rotted but dont touch the leaves - around February give a sprinkling off general fertilizer (I use chicken pellets).
I dont typically do anything for the rest as I would have prepared the soil beforehand other than give them a nettle tea or similar.

**Lottieval** · 21-04-2009, 09:03 AM

Your feeding regime will basically depend on where your plants are. Things in pots will require feeding, anything that has a fruit on it e.g. Toms, cukes, chillies will benefit from regular feeds with a tomato feed. if your herbs are in the ground then they will probably fend for themselves. If your plot has not been used much beforehand for veg then spuds, onions and garlic will probably be ok, but as TEB says autumn/winter preparation with well rotted manure and compost is the key, but you can get feeds for root crops and all others. As a general rule lots of green on top, e.g. cabbage etc, need nitrogen(N), fruits, strawbs,toms etc, need potassium (K) and roots e.g.parsnips, carrots, beetroot need (P) phosphorous. All feeds should have proportions of these in their info. It's not as complicated as it seems and certainly things in the soil get along ok. particularly if you rotate your crops each year and dig in plenty of organic matter. Pots do need feeding as they reckon that compost only has feed in it for about 6 weeks.
Good luck, you'll enjoy it, there's nothing so exciting as picking your first crops1

**Demeter** · 21-04-2009, 08:56 PM

The trick is not to get so bogged down with details that you forget to have a good time growing the plants!

Get stuck in, read about what other peeps are up to on here, ask questions if you need to know the answers, but don't sweat it too much. Good stuff will happen even if mistakes are made - most plants thankfully just want to grow!

**Two_Sheds** · 22-04-2009, 07:24 AM

Originally posted by needideas View Post

Do I have to 'feed' the veg/fruit?

I grew salads and tomatoes on a windy Brighton balcony, in pots. I never fed anything

There is a certain amount of feed in most composts anyway (about 8 weeks worth).

I wouldn't worry about feeding, at this stage. Just get planting.

**needideas** · 29-04-2009, 02:05 PM

Sorry all me again lol

I was wondering about potatoes.

Can I grow them from ordinary potatoes I have bought?

I saw on Jamie Oliver's programme once that he had potatoes and he just put them in soil and grew them.

Is that possible?

**Bramble_killer** · 29-04-2009, 02:44 PM

yes, it's possible to grow the potatoes you have bought from supermarket but it's not guaranteed to be disease free.

seed potatoes aren't very expensive (they were about �1.50 in wilkos) and you get a lot from one tuber

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