Idiot's guide to planting veg!!

[buzzy bee]

I'm after a bit of advice please...

I'm not very green fingered, but I really want to grow some veg. Last year I bought some seeds but didn't get around to planting them, and this year I am determined to...

I don't have a very big garden or a lot of money... can I just buy some sort of bags of compost to grow them in, or will I need to buy planters?

And if I need to use pots / planters, then what do I need - just normal compost?

I'm totally clueless!

Thanks in advance

[jumpinjen]

You could plant some things staright into the soil if you have some borders that you could dig over? things like beans, pumpkins, peas and potatoes are very forgiving and will grow almost anywhere! A bag of compost would work for planters but planters can be any old boxes/containers/wellies/tin cans etc with a few holes drilled or punched into the base for drainage! Lettuces and radishes grow easily too but the seeds are quite tiny for lettuces so if you plant into soil then the soil needs to be fairly 'fine'.

HTH, Jen x

[buzzy bee]

Thanks... I don't have any borders or flowerbeds at all - forgot to mention that!

When you plant stuff into small containers like tin cans, do you then have to move them to a bigger container once they've started to grow?

[buzzy bee]

Just reading my carrot packet... it says "sow thinly in a prepared seed bed in rows 25cm apart"...

what does "prepared seed bed" mean?

And I'm not 100% what "sow thinly" means but I'll do my best!!

Sorry I probably sound like a moron!

[JulieA]

You can grow a lot of things in a grow bag, either laid flat or end on if you need deeper.

[Toothfairy]

I'm not very green fingered and my garden is small and totaly paved over. I bought a book called Crops in Pots and it shows you how you can grow loads of vegtables in flower pots, planters and grow bags.
A fantastic book for beginners.

[jumpinjen]

We ignore that bit on the carrots - fill a pot with compost and flatten the top without pushing the top down if you know what I mean - then sprinkle the seeds over then wprinkle some more compost over them (just a thin layer) and water carefully or the gush of water will wash all the seeds around. They will be too close together for all of them to grow into big carrots but we enjoy 'thinning' them out by eating the baby ones raw as snacks!

If you plant lots of lettuces in a pot then you can thin them out into one per tin can for them to grow big - beans are 'hungry', meaning they need lots of rich composty soil so you could give them a little food if they are in a small pot.

Just go for it - if it goes wrong then try again - we tried for several years before we got the swing of things!!

Jen x

[mushpea]

I would do as jumpinjen says,, stick em in a pot an let them grow, as they grow if they are too close together pull out the smaller more weaker looking plant to make room for the stronger ones.
I have a trough with french beans in my greenhouse with a few canes for them to grow up.
tomatoes do well in a grow bag, plant them in a pot first then when they are big enough to handle move them to a grow bag,, you may have to gently tie the stems to a support such as a cane as they grow.
when putting plants froma little pot to a big pot hold the leaves gently and not the stem as you can bruise the stem.
broccli grow anywhere but take up quite a bit of room,, we grow peas in pots and use twiggy looking sticks to support them which is another activity as we go to the woods to collect them.
potaotos grow in pots or deep bags,, put about 6inch soil/compost in the bottom of the pot or bag then the potatoes then about another inch of soil/compost to cover them then as they grow and the stem starts too get taller you put more compost in up to the leaves, this is called earthing up.
peppers will also grow in pots,, I bought one of those little plastic greehouses last year and grew lots in there.

[miffy]

You can buy plastic vegetable sack planters from the pound shops or places like home bargains, they're good for potatoes, carrots etc.

Last year we gre tomatoes in hanging baskets which the children loved doing.

Miffy xx