Growing your own veggies

[veganvic82]

Hi,

Just wondering if any of you grow your own vegies & if so, do you have any pointers? Last year i decided to try growing my own in a no-dig garden bed & i failed miserably. I prepared the garden bed correctly (at least i thought so), layering newspaper, organic soil & lucerne hay & planted a few different kinds of seedlings - lettuce, carrots, onions & broccoli. Within a couple of weeks they had almost all died & my garden was sprouting grass:pissed:. If anyone has any advice on starting a vegie garden i would love to hear from you, as i'm anticipating another disaster...Thanks

[Spud Addict]

I am definitely no gardener (I kill more or less everything I touch) perhaps I have no right to post in this thread, but my mum's always said something about growing potatoes and onions in the first year before attempting anything else.... something about nutrients in the soil?
I'm sure someone who actually knows what they're talking about will contribute to this sooner or later :D
Good luck with it :)

On a side note, I hope to get an allotment soon so I'll be following this one with a vested interest ;)

[Gorilla]

it hasn't been updated for a while but there are lots of posts from people growing their own veg in this thread: Today in the Garden (http://www.veganforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7507)

[Zero]

Buying small plants from a garden centre is a great way to start if you aren't very experienced, as grwoing from seed is more difficult.

I would suggest buying a book on gardening for food, which will tell you when and where to plant things and exactly what kind of care they need. Planting them in the right areas is important (i.e. shade, part sun, full sun)

One thing to remember is since you are in a hot climate, make sure you don't water your plants when the sun in blazing, do it in the morning and the evening when it is cooler :D

I grew quite a lot of fruit and vegetables when I lived in Colorado, I used the advice in a gardening book and it turned out great.

[loveganism]

Hiya,

I started growing my own veggies & herbs last summer. I bought them as small plants from the garden centre, like Zero said. I kept some of them in the greenhouse and they did okay- I used organic seaweed extract as fertilizer, which I think really helped.

Maybe it's worth keeping the young plants in pots (move to bigger pots as they grow) for as long as possible before putting them in the ground.

My favourite thing to grow is sprouts. You only have to remember to rinse the seeds in the jar twice a day and get a harvest of mung beans/alfalfa/fenugreek etc after a couple of days :D No mess or bug infestations to worry about!

[bradders]

for people with balconies or limited space spuds are easy, you get an old fashioned dustbin, fill it with soil and set some seed potatoes, a while later you have spuds. Easy peasy.

[veganvic82]

Thanks - gonna try the spuds & sprouts first... fingers crossed (sounds easy but i can't even manage to grow my own herbs - i end up with fresh 'dried' herbs) :)

[Kevin2]

I am using painter buckets (5 gallon containers) with a few holes drilled in to let the water run off. I have tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplant, onions, bell peppers (green and yellow) and yellow squash going (hopefully, growing) ::fingers crossed::

[Buddha Belly]

Due to not being at work this week I have started off well and spent nearly 5 hours clearing parts of my allotment that have been ignored so far. There was nearly half a skips worth of bricks, broken glass, plastic and buried carpets. I think there may of been asbestos but not totally sure. :( I buried it in next doors plot so it's fine ha ha

One of the previous owners, at least a few years ago, had made a vast system of brick and wooden sided compost pits. They were layered in plastic and carpet so it is a sodding nightmare. I have planted garlic, onion and have been preping it for a big planting on thursday. I have sweetcorn, peas and beans all growing in my living room getting ready for thebig outdoors. I will also be planting lots of wild flower seeds on bits i will not be using to attract the good flying things.

I have discovered a few chives and some other as yet unknown plants which was a bloody good result. I will also be picking some fresh nettle leaves in the next two days before i clear them. I am going to keep one section for nettles though and clear them in the autumn after second nettle harvest.

Anyway that is my essay. Hope everyone else is enjoying their gardens/ allotments this year :)

[whalespace]

Pots outside can dry out much more quickly than the ground.
If you can only water once each day then evening is best, as the plants have access to the water until the sun gets to them again...and plants do metabolise at night aswell.

Remember that a steady wind will dry everything out, even in cool weather.

If there are allottments near by, then go and have a look. You might remember things later on which you did not 'get' when you saw them.

[Ruby Rose]

One of the previous owners, at least a few years ago, had made a vast system of brick and wooden sided compost pits.

Sounds like you've discovered their nuclear bunker!

I have ambitious plans for my garden - I was really inspired by the Urban Homesteaders site... the only way to stick it to the coroporate behemoth these days is to grow your own food - and if you only grow your own herbs on a windowsill, it's still an act of political rebellion! That said, I have six tree stumps and half a ton of concrete to dig out of my wretched back yard before I can even start to think about beds and greenhouses. I'm going to try some veggies in pots this year to start off with. I thought radishes, onions, potatoes and Revolutionary herbs!

Do you need a greenhouse for cucumbers?

[harpy]

There seem to be some kinds of cucumbers at least that don't need a greenhouse RR - a friend grew them on her allotment last year and had a glut of them, from which I benefited :) I can ask her what kind she grew if you like.

[harpy]

My friend says "there are ones which you can grow outdoors (no need for greenhouse) , I sow seeds indoors then plant outdoors later on. Various outdoor ones, e.g. burpless tasty green from Marshalls."

Hers did extremely well last year I must say - they had a lunch party and no-one was allowed to leave without a cucumber :) I believe she started them off in her spare room.

[Buddha Belly]

I've started my sweetcorn beans peas and beetroot on the living room table. We have a few herbs too that will got out to the allotment at some point

[helen105281]

Ah thats what it is growing on the table, I wasn't sure :D

[harpy]

Where would we be without the internet, eh?

[Buddha Belly]

Ah thats what it is growing on the table, I wasn't sure :D

Have you noticed the sunflowers in the toilet?

[helen105281]

What?

[Buddha Belly]

What?

There is a pot on the windowsill with 5 sunflowers growing in it!

[helen105281]

Ah ok well that's above Helen height so wouldn't be able to see it. Will take your word for it:D

[Buddha Belly]

We will stop this MSN type messaging service now as Helen has to get back to work...ha ha:D