Just starting to grow my own

New to all this · Post by **New to all this** » 05 Feb 2008, 15:05

Right . I bought a small greenhouse last year, OH put it up for me and but all I ave used it for is herbs. Only problem is I am not really all that greenfingered. I was thinking about tomatoes in grow bags, courgettes, cucumbers, peppars, chillis. I have got some packets of seed but not really sure where to start. Do I Just sprinkle these onto compost in a seed tray?
Obviously I will then get loads of shoots - how do I know which are the best to grow on ?
Or should I just go and buy some plug plants - would that make my life easier?

Please help this soon to be (I hope!) gardener.
Faye x x

lancashire lass · Post by **lancashire lass** » 05 Feb 2008, 17:09

Oh Faye, "New to all this" by name and by nature :-D

You can successfully grow things from seed, but you are not exactly picking beginners plants!

First of all, no sprinkling of seeds on compost and hoping for the best! Buy some proper compost (that states it can be used for sowing seeds) and some seed trays or small pots.

Secondly, ^b:

read the seed packet - WHEN does it say to start sowing. Read some more, it might actually tell you sowing temperatures (for successful germination) and depth (eg 2-3mm deep), and with the courgette and cucumber how to sow the seed properly (you actually push the seed into the compost edge on)

Chillis, tomatoes and peppers are probably not good plants to start off with, but if you have the seeds now, then why not try sowing them. If you do not succeed, then the get out clause is that you can go to the garden centre, cheat and buy some baby plants and we'll be none the wise if you don't tell :-D

Chillis and peppers take up to a month to germinate, and they need it fairly warm too (so inside house rather than the greenhouse!). You can probably wait until late Feb/March to sow if they are for growing in the greenhouse (but READ instructions!) I've already sown mine indoors for outdoor cropping because they take longer to mature.

You can sow tomatoes now, but like the peppers & chillis, they get hungry for light - tomatoe plants can start to grow leggy very quickly (thin weak stem) so read what it says about growing in the greenhouse - you might not need to sow until March. Don't put the seedlings in the greenhouse just yet (unless you have it heated up to 20oC!) as the cold and frost will kill them. Immediately after germinating, put all the baby plants on a sunny windowsill but protect from cold draughts.

I've never grown cucumber for greenhouse so can't advise, but for outdoor growing, you'll need to wait until end March/April same as the courgette before sowing indoors, and then plant outside in May when risk of frost is low. Plants grown indoors to eventually be moved and grow outside will need a period of hardening off so that they do not get sunburnt or wind damaged. Plants to be grown in the greenhouse will be fine.

I hope I haven't made it sound too technical - sometimes a little experience (success and failures alike) can give you confidence for the next time.

New to all this · Post by **New to all this** » 06 Feb 2008, 09:30

thanks Lancashire Lass - by the way where are you from in Lancashire?
Have you any tips on what the best veg are to grow for a beginner?

lancashire lass · Post by **lancashire lass** » 06 Feb 2008, 11:37

Hi Faye, the short version: I was born in Farnworth, Bolton, emigrated to South Africa when I was 5, came back to live in Bolton when 19 (and worked in Bury) went to work in London when 26 (& lived with an aunty in Croydon), then finally to Nottingham when 30 (won't say how old I am now!) My accent changes slightly wherever I live but after even the briefest family visit to Bolton, everyone takes the mick because I come back with a broader accent. Apparently I might start off with a soft "eee" for some reason and everyone just bursts out laughing... :oops:

Beginners plants, let me think. For outdoors, courgettes & marrows, squash, beetroot, potatoe, radish, cut & come again type lettuce such as Lollo Rosso (but eventually even they bolt, that is go to seed), and onion (using sets - I don't do too well from seeds unless you don't mind harvesting a load of little onions for pickling :-D

) Carrots can be easy but you need to prepare the soil well (but don't manure!) and then there is the carrot fly which can ruin a harvest, followed by slug damage - I'm still mastering the techniques and this year I hope to get to grips with it once and for all. These include having at least a 2ft high screen round the bed or growing in containers (with the 2ft height) because carrot flies do not fly very well, or lay horticultural fleece over the top.

Growing brassicas (cabbage, brussels, caulis, swedes) need some special requirements - check your soil pH - if acidic, add some lime according to instructions, soil has been previously manured (although my friend has grown good crops on freshly manured soil) and apart from pests, most brassicas do well for beginners (except cauliflowers - definitely not a beginners choice) The major pests are the cabbage white butterfly (ie the caterpillars) so crops should be netted off, pigeons in winter (again, net), cabbage root fly (use collars round the base of plant - except swedes & turnips of course!), and slugs (slug pellets, or if you have concerns about them then the alternates are beer traps and different ideas some of which I'm not convinced such as using coarse or fluffy material eg crushed egg shell, soot, sharp sand etc around the plant)

I've realised I've harped on about outdoor veg, and you have a greenhouse - as you can see I don't use a greenhouse. Tomatoes and cucumber are supposed to be easy to grow once you have plants. You'll probably need some sort of climbing frame depending on the tomatoe variety (if you can suspend twine from the ceiling to the ground level and tie up the plant, that should be alright providing the ceiling will take the weight of the plants and fruit!). With tomato plants, you need to keep an eye out for shoots that appear just above where the leaf grows from the main stem and just pinch these out - that way the plant can concentrate its efforts into the fruit making and not into growing more green stuff. After so many trusses of flowers (can't remember how many, maybe 5th set), pinch off the growing tip - for the same reason of preventing the plant wasting its resources on growing and putting everything into fruit instead.

Remember with greenhouses that you might have to play bee and help pollinate the flowers. Greenhouses can get extraordinarily hot during sunny days, so plants will get thirsty much quicker. Some sort of ventilation is required such as leaving the door open (if you want to prevent cats making a home in there, perhaps construct a wooden frame with net door to suspend on the greenhouse runner.) White fly in greenhouses are notorious particularly on peppers and tomatoes - it comes down to ventilation and humidity, and once a greenhouse is infested, I think there are biological controls unless you want to use a pesticide :shock:

White fly extrude a sticky mess and this can lead to fungal and mould problems too.

I think I might start worrying you at this stage instead of encouraging you! Have a look at earlier posts in this section - I think there are 2 topics - easy veg to grow, and most difficult veg to grow and you'll see people have differing ideas of what is easy or difficult. I would say go for it - you might surprise yourself and do a lot better than you think, and you'll never know if you don't try. Sometimes our failures teach us for next time.

And most important of all, if you are at all worried at any stage, ask someone on this site and I'm sure you'll get a flurry of positive responses. :-D

Best of luck )t'

New to all this · Post by **New to all this** » 06 Feb 2008, 14:35

Ha - Your from my neck of the woods! Originally from Radliffe, moved to Holcombe Brook, Bury and now live in the Rossendale valley in Lancashire!! Small world!
Thanks for all the hints -

Faye x

lancashire lass · Post by **lancashire lass** » 06 Feb 2008, 16:00

I've got relatives in Radcliffe! And while working in Bury, I would often have to go to Whitefield & Ramsbottom quite regularly. Small world indeed! Oh you've just sparked a memory for me. I used to cycle to work (Manchester Road, side of Moses Gate station, Little Lever, Radcliffe then turn off to Bury) One day I had to go to Whitefield, and I cycled (okay, got off my bike & pushed it) up that big hill from Radcliffe! You would think I'd have enjoyed the ride back but I was so scared I had my brakes on all the time - they must have been red hot by the time I got to the bottom lol.