Topic: my garden shopping list

[benji26]

hi all

can someone give me a hand with what i need to get started please? ???

obviously membrane and gravel are a priority purely for the cosmetic state of my garden at teh minute - it looks horrendous at the minute.

But as far as sowing/planting goes i dont know what ill need (have emailed my fahter who is a keen veg grower but no word back yet)

ok recap - i want to grow carrots, strawberries,peas and herbs

so obviously ill need tubs. I know its better to get terracotta pots rather than plastic so they dont blow over and they need drainage holes but what size/depth?

also what else do i need??
compost? if so which ones best?
soil?
manure?
twine - to tie up pea plants when......if they get that big?
what about drainage? gravel in the bottom of pots? polstyrene?
id like to not use chemicals if at all possible seeing as the gardens are communal and next door has two young girls so is there anything else i can use to prevent that pea moth bug thing on peas and the carrotfly?? or shall i just keep my fingers crossed?
 
crumbs - anyone fancy a veg growing apprentice???  :) think i need a mentor! :-\

[jo9919]

Hi,

I'm a newbie to this site too (I think we both started posting at the same time) as well as a newbie gardener, so I'm following your posts and the answers that you get with interest.

It will be interesting to compare what we both decide to grow, and also how we both do!!!

Good luck,

Jo.

[kt.]

Tubs dont necessarily need holes in the bottom as long as the watering of the plant is the right quantity. Some teracotta pots have holes in them on purchase.

Depending on what you want to plant - enter a search on this site for what you decide. There are dozens of links on most topics. I am sure you will find everything you need to know. Anything missing then just pipe up and ask.

[cambourne7]

Hi Guys,

Welcome

Pots - let me be the first to introduce you to the wonders of morrisons black bins which are cheap and versitile. You might want to pop 1/2 a brick in it to stop it blowing away or walking away 2 easly.

see http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/joomla/component/option,com_smf/Itemid,91/topic,24508.0

In terms of what you want to do with membrane, make sure you rotivate or dig it over first removing any weeds and there roots. You might be able to get some manure from a farm and pop that on and leave for a week or so to let the frosts get to the soil.

Then you have 2 choices you either cover in membrane and then pop your beds over the top cutting the membrane out inside the beds or you just put down membrane in the paths around where you want the beds.

I did this and by the time i had finished the membrane had started to disintergrate so learn from my lesson and get the best you can aford the black one you want will have a while line though it.

You might want to call local tree surgons and see if they have any shreaded wood you can have for free as this will save you having to pay for gravel.

This is what i did and it works to an extent ( ie. getting enough )

Cambourne7

[watkin girl]

hi there. i grew strawberrys for the first time last year and i grew them in a terrecotta strawberry pot. i just used multipurpose compost,poped them in and they did well,not a huge yield buut apparently the second cropping year is better. just make sure you water well in the summer. 

peas- again grew for the first time last year. i can recomend HURST GREENSHAFT fantastic taste and good yield.  planted in a 16" by 16" pot again using multipurpose compost. just popi n the seeds i did mine 3-4" apart.when the growth gets to about 4" i put canes in at each seedling and tied them at the top teepee style.
 

[benji26]

right

ok  - tomorrow i am sorting my garden

im buying my membrane tomorrow morning and the pegs to hold it in place -  no rocks to weigh it down with - (and weed killer) so that is my mission for tomorrow to get that laid down.  :)

Plus ive decided im going to get like a small trough planter to put the peas in which will be kept at the bottom of my garden next to the fence in a nice sunny patch. Plus hopefully i can get some netting and put that over the fence for them to climb up.  :)

Also tub sizes for carrots - i looked in wilkinsons today and they have a plastic tub which was 43cm tuscan pot - would this be ok to grow in?? or do i need bigger?

strawberries i couldnt find a strawberry pot there but i have a focus just up the road from me so ill try in there - seeds wise - ive been offered carrots and peas so i think ill just have to get soem strawberry plants and some tomato seeds. how many plants would i need or does that depend on the size of the pot??

[manicscousers]

don't forget, all the gardening magazines, grow your own, kitchen garden, etc, will be starting to give free seeds away soon, so tomato seeds are a certainty, also, you'll get a good read out of it,  ;D

[supersprout]

top tip from someone on this site was to use grocery bags of earth or weeds to hold the black plastic down. You can tuck the edges into the soil with a spade. I use pegs and doors as well - it's lethal in a high wind :P

[benji26]

ooooooohhhhhh now then - using carrier bags full of dirt would be handy as im going to have plenty about.

not sur how deep to dig down before i lay the membrane - im thinking it only needs to be a few inches and so i get a good depth of gravel really so ill have plenty of dirt. - am considerign getting a pot tomorrow to turn into a mini compost bin to be kept in the corner of the garden - we seem to have lots fo fruit and veg waste here - could put it to good use in there. do i need to put worms in it?? or just leave it in there?

[sea chelles]

hi there if your intrested i found this earlier on the kitchen garden site:
http://www.kitchengarden.co.uk/offers.php that should help you get going on the cheap! ;D

[Marymary]

Looks good SC, thank you from me too.

[artichoke]

What is the membrane for? Is it to cover ground until you are ready to sow? Or is it to make weedfree paths?

I use mine to make a weedfree perimeter around my plot to stop unreconstructed meadow creeping backinto hard won beds. Couldn't bear to dig all that perimeter area as WELL as the beds, so laid down thick newspaper/cardboard on top of the thick grass/weeds and stapled (big ground staples plus roofing nails) the membrane down on top. Agree it should be best  quality membrane - I have been forking out for 1m wide Mypex.

After 8 months I am pleased with the result. Very few weeds are creeping out from under the edge into the beds, and where they do, I dump a grobag on top of them (to be used later in the year) and they get discouraged.

I am going to these lengths because every other allotment on this nice empty site is being re-swamped by meadow grass/weeds, except where they have sprayed.