Just wondering if anyone has experience growing plants?

I've decided that im going to try and grow potatoes, going to buy a dustbin as they need deep soil for their roots and our garden is stone heaven!!!! theres NO way im digging up any more stones! So the dustbin seems like a nice easy idea hehe!

Im also going to grow strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and maybe give grapes a go! Will try carrots, parsnips, tomatoes, courgettes and aubergines too. I feel really lucky that my MIL is really green fingered so she can help me :) Im going to try melon, normally we have about 4 plants between us but only get a melon the size of my fist which is tiny!

I like the idea of having home grown/made produce. We dont buy bread or rolls as i can make that, same with baked stuff (obviously) and iv even bought dh a doughnut maker for xmas so that means we dont even need to buy doughnuts!!!

I've even asked my brother to buy me a chilli plant (if i didnt tell him what i want id get nothing).

Anyone else grow their own food? I know we dont have the room to live completely on our own veg but a little bit is better than nothing at all :)

Love
Stef, Matthew and Alexander

Hi there

We took on an allotment last April. As it was quite late for us to get it up and running - and I was 7 months pregnant we only did potatoes, onions and beetroot last year, but it was great fun. The potatoes did really well as did the beetroot and onions. This coming year I'm planning to do loads more, but I'm no expert, I just put stuff in and hope!!

My older boys (2.5 and 4.5) love helping, so it's like a family project.

Good on you for giving it a go. As seeds are so cheap, you can afford to experiment.

Love Jo

Hi Stef,

I'm impressed, you really do lead "the good life"! Where on earth do you find the time for all these activities?!

I've only grown tomatoes I'm afraid. We also have blackberries and sloes that grow over the fence but they just appear, I don't cultivate them. I'm not very green fingered but I do like to have a go. A friend of mine grew potatoes in one of those garden bags, she said it was quite easy and got quite a few.

Ellie xx

Hi,

I've been growing Strawberries for a few years now, had to freecycle some recently as we had way too many, we've also had raspberries for the past couple of years and tomatoes sometimes when the FIL starts them off for us.

Both DH and I grew up with garden show parents so were actually a bit anti it all but since having kids it seems really nice to know where food has come from and whats been put on it.

Jo

Thanks for the replies, hopefully my plans will go well, but most importantly we need a fence (and i wanna tear down this awful hedging!!). Our garden is shadey 90% of the time, so hopefully some of the plants will grow... even if they arent HUGE or only have a little fruit/veg its better than nothing!!!

Ellie - My Matthew is keen on making a mess, when we were sorting out our garden he was in his element with a trowel and all these worms!! he loved it. We've already planted daffodil bulbs which did take a while cos he kept digging them up!!!!

Love
Stef, Matthew and Alexander