To all the keen gardeners

[samobaggins]

Now we have decided to stay at our current house I'm looking to plant fruit,nuts & veg. Basically anything edible. But simple to look after because growing things is not my strong point!
Looking for ideas. Thanks in advance S

 

[beezer]

best to do a little research. first find out you soil type, you can get tester kits from most garden centres. also knowing how the moister levels change over the year is realy important.

courgetts will give a good crop over a long time. i would stick to one plant at first as you can easily grow more than you want to eat.

potatoes are usually a safe bet. have a look at the thompson and morgan web site they have a lot of varieties to choose from. personally i have done well with charlotte potatoes.

garlic is well worth a go as well. i had a good crop up north when i was near aberdeen so you don't need good weather for them. they also copped well with the heavy clay soil that was always sodden. some were growing in puddles most of the time and just about managed.

 

[Kerne]

Spuds are great to get a veg plot started. They help to break up the soil for whatever you want to plant the next year. Keep the weeds down when they're starting then keep them watered and the slugs away and you don't need to do much much more.

Other "easy" stuff (veg): beetroot; runner beans; courgette/marrow; leeks etc.
As for fruit: red and black currants are easy once the bushes are established and can produce massive yields; rhubarb is also easy but you need to get the crown established.

Be Warned!!! Apparently, this is going to be a number year for slugs as the winter was so warm they didn't hibernate and spent the time fornicating and laying eggs (Well, why not?) You're going to have to keep on top of them.

 

[Corso]

my plumb tree throws out tons of fruit, more than enough to eat with plenty to store too

 

[daveO]

Get better at growing things, it's not hard and the interweb is full of advice for everything. We started off as total newbs and a few years in now we've got a decent set up on the go. My main tips would be to get decent tools from the start. Concentrate your planting now on stuff that needs years to establish (like trees and rhubarb) and stuff that self seeds or self propagates like raspberries, strawberries, gooseberries, blood veined sorrel (every garden should have it), chives, foxgloves etc etc. You onlu need a couple of plants this year to make a load ready for next year. Learn how to propagate useful herbs and shrubs and save seeds, you'll save a ton of cash very quickly. Wildlife is your friend, make sure your garden is full of habitat and the pests will be less of a problem. If you have bare soil do something with it, quick crops like salads and radish or green manure. And don't forget the pretty stuff, I like sedums and sempervivums so I tuck them in places all over the garden. They're easy plants to grow from cuttings so you never have to buy any especially if you keep your eye out when walking past people's gardens... If you know any local gardeners though they'll probably have a ton of plants and seeds they'll happily give or trade you.

 

[Fraxinus]

Search for and read anything by British Red re: gardening, the man is brilliant at documenting what he does + his blog.
I am too new at this to offer any other advice.(but we did really well at mixed beetroots last year)

Rob.

 

[nic a char]

growing suitable stuff outdoors in the ground is not hard, but you can avoid errors by:
reading the classic texts...
if that's too much you can't go wrong with HESSAYON - small, simple, cheap - and correct!
avoid the WHICH guides - it's a scam to get you signed up.

 

[forrestdweller]

Be Warned!!! Apparently, this is going to be a number year for slugs as the winter was so warm they didn't hibernate and spent the time fornicating and laying eggs (Well, why not?) You're going to have to keep on top of them.

not sure if this is correct but appearantly some breeds of ducks can be used to keep slugs under control: the ducks are kept free ranging and eat the slugs. (make sure to keep them of seedlings)

 

[beezer]

yes think that is true as well. also chickens or making your garden hedgehog friendly could be worth a thort

 

[forrestdweller]

yes think that is true as well. also chickens or making your garden hedgehog friendly could be worth a thort

chooks are more likely to scratch up your garden beds and hedgehogs aren't as tasty (in case you plan tyo get some meat as well; personally I cannot see ducks anymore)

 

[bushwacker bob]

personally I cannot see ducks anymore)

Duck blindness?

 

[forrestdweller]

Duck blindness?

nope:mucking a 60m x8m duck stable up to 2ft of ducks*** by hand in January ,3month of butchering/plucking ducks @the same place ( not all of them fresh and their method of killing them was to throw them alive in hot water-- I refused to do that) and the duck "" kitchen"" smelling like outer hell have very likely cured me for the rest of my life of eating duck....

 

[bigbear]

As said above, get things in the ground. Radish, lettuce, peas, beetroot will grow readily. Rhubarb and fruit bushes will reward you year after year. Jerusalem artichokes are an alternative to spuds for getting ground in order. Pak choi is a fast growing delicious veg, you can get several crops in a year, as you can for turnips.

 

[mrcharly]

I would only advise planting Jerusalem artichokes if I were moving out and hated the person who was moving in. Once planted, you will never be rid of them. They are the only plants that survived growing in a chook pen, and produced so many tubers I was giving them away. Anyone eating said tubers will produce enough methane to add several degrees to total global warming.

For a new gardener, I think growing many of the bean family is very rewarding. The taste of mange tout, sugar snap, purple podded beans straight off the plant will put you off supermarket food forever. They don't take much looking after and are prodigious croppers.

 

[forrestdweller]

As said above, get things in the ground. Radish, lettuce, peas, beetroot will grow readily. Rhubarb and fruit bushes will reward you year after year. Jerusalem artichokes are an alternative to spuds for getting ground in order. Pak choi is a fast growing delicious veg, you can get several crops in a year, as you can for turnips.

just be aware that crop rotation is very important with members of the cabbage family: otherwise your soil can get contaminated with clubroot.....

 

[RonW]

Not just crop rotation, but companion planting as well.