Grow your own veg

[Lazylifter]

The make your own yogurt thread got me to thinking about veg growing.

I love growing food, I think its also kinda handy if you try to eat healthy, or lose weight.

My garden is really quite small and when I first moved hear only 3 summers ago it was just a paved back yard.

So I wondered if any of you guys are growing any of your own stuff this year?

This is what I'm growing

Potatoes
Hot Chilli peppers
Tomatoes
Runnerbeans and courgettes (very suited to the UK climate)
Broccolli
Soya beans
Herbs: parsley,coriander,oregano.etc
Fruit trees: Blueberry, red currant apple and pear.

Very excited about the soya beans cos I've always wanted to grow them, for the first time someone has developed a strain for the UK climate. Can anyone give me any tips for the soya beans, I know they are quite popular in the States??????

[5kgLifter]

We used to grow our own veg when we lived on Stronsay; we grew: kolhrabi (nice!!!), beetroot, lettuce, radish, parsley (italian), onions, swedes, carrot, peas, cauliflower.

The stuff grew really well, and tasted great, but we had a bigger garden there and it was already cultivated, so it made sense to grow the stuff; but since there was only the two, we ended up giving a load away to friends and neighbours, not that we minded, as it was only a few pence to grow a large amount and why not benefit others rather than throw the surplus away. The beetroot we pickled, and it was huge, but soft. Home-grown is definitely nicer.

[Lazylifter]

Yep I must admit I thought we were gonna be buried alive under a moutain of courgettes last summer! LOL
Couldn't give them away either nobody else knew what to do with them.

I try and grow just a few of lots of different things, but I havent gott he heart to throw them out once they are growing. At the moment I've got twenty tomatoe plants and I've only really got room for five.

[stikfigure]

I've got a sweet cherry tree in the back yard. That seems to keep me supplied the month of June.

Last year I tried planting veggies in barrels (because I have dogs that like to trample and pee on things) but found that I just don't have enough sun and a few too many inch worms! So far the brussel sprouts survived the winter and we'll see if the asparagus comes up this month - I still don't think I'll have an asparagus harvest for another few years though. My backyard even in it's sunniest spot doesn't have enough hours of sunshine a day to make anything of my gardening aspirations, so I've surrendered and simply joined a farm share

[roversbabe]

First attempt this year and I have a really tiny garden but plenty of room for pots & containers. I have peas, onions, leeks, beetroot and rhubarb in my tiny little plot. I also have 2 potato bags (3rd to go in at the end of next month).

I also have strawberry plants in a planter, 3 veg bags for carrots, more leeks and brocolli - seedlings are in the worlds smallest greenhouse at the moment. There is cut and come again salad leaves, spinach, chives, radish & herbs in planters + tomatoes & cucumber plants that will be going in the growbak.

We won't be going hungry (if everything grows!)


rb x

[wolffmut]

i have tomatoes, sweet and hot chilis, green beans(actually, a double duty bean, green when small, soup when dry), cucumbers, canteloupe, watermelon(2 kinds), broccoli, lettuce, and green onions. i also grow flowers, like snapdragons, calendula, and larkspur. oh, and i forgot cilantro.

[Lazylifter]

@Stikfigure: Hmmm yes I have a simmilar problem with my cats. I've put wire mesh over the bed of potatoes to keep the cats off and the other day one of them was sunbathing underneath it!
Its tricky if you don't get much sun, but I bet corgettes would grow anywhere, have you tried them?

@ Rovers Babe
Sounds like you've packed quite a lot into a few pots. I've got some potatoes on pots cos you can keep them close to the warmth of the house then tend to crop earlier I think.

@ Wolfmutt. ALl sounds good, but I had to Wiki Cilantro to find out what it was

[stikfigure]

Originally Posted by Lazylifter

@Stikfigure: Hmmm yes I have a simmilar problem with my cats. I've put wire mesh over the bed of potatoes to keep the cats off and the other day one of them was sunbathing underneath it!
Its tricky if you don't get much sun, but I bet corgettes would grow anywhere, have you tried them?

@ Rovers Babe
Sounds like you've packed quite a lot into a few pots. I've got some potatoes on pots cos you can keep them close to the warmth of the house then tend to crop earlier I think.

@ Wolfmutt. ALl sounds good, but I had to Wiki Cilantro to find out what it was

ah. I just had to google "courgettes" which I know as "zuchinni" funny the translations that get lost across the pond ...I might just try those...I missed the opportunity to enrich my soil with groundcover but maybe I'll just wing it this year and see what happens! You guys are getting me motivated again - plus the sunshine has made an appearance this weekend - hooray!

[roversbabe]

Hi Lazylifter

Got 3 veg bags, 3 spud bags, a few planters and about a 5metre x 1metre plot so its quite well spread out! The tomatoes are right next to the house so here's hoping that the warmth helps them out. I have got a bit of space left so I'll try moving one of the spud bags too.

I'm really enjoying watching them grow and my little boy is fascinated by it all.

I had to wiki Cilantro too - never heard of it before! I've got some coriander growing in a herb pot.

Tesco are having a sale on gardening stuff starting tomorrow if you're interested. I need another couple of long planters and was told in store today that the sale starts tomorrow.

rb x

[wolffmut]

HAHA that's funny, cuz i ALWAYS called it coriander, but EVERYONE around here calls it cilantro... i do a LOT of Indian cooking....so i actually use the seeds as opposed to the leaves. i WANT mine to bolt!!!!