Indoor and Outdoor Gardeners

[Penny Golightly]

My posts about growing gourmet foods on the inside kitchen windowsill seem to have taken on a life of their own, so I thought it might be fun to start a little online club on this forum for anyone who's growing food indoors or outdoors, or who's generally growing houseplants and flowers and shrubs in their gardens.

My first posts on the regular blog were these ones:
http://www.pennygolightly.com/2010/02/k ... gardening/
http://www.pennygolightly.com/2010/02/w ... en-week-1/
http://www.pennygolightly.com/2010/02/w ... en-week-2/

Some things are growing really well so far, like fancy pea shoots, cress and parsley, but some of the other plants are taking their sweet time to get going.

I'm also about to make a new herb garden by the back doorstep, and will be trying to grow gourmet food on a tight budget as soon as it stops raining/sleeting/drizzling/snowing. I haven't grown vegetables for a while so it would be great to compare notes and swap tips with other people who are doing the same thing!

Please join in and tell us about your growing space, your gardening plans, and any success stories you've had so far.

[HappyProjectLDN]

My recent gardening activity is posted on the site www.thehappinessprojectlondon.wordpress.com - cut down, watered, got ready to be beautiful and full in Spring. Once it's warmer, I'll plant some herbs and maybe some veggies - I just need a bigger flat to put them in over winter!

Sasha @ The Happiness Project London

[Penny Golightly]

Hi Sasha - you've been busy with the plants this week Looks like you have the same sort of outside space as me too - a bit of patio, pots and small raised bed.

What sort of veggies are you thinking about growing? I find that a bit difficult - not sure whether should I grow the things I use the most (potatoes, onions etc) or grow the more expensive things that I love (fresh peas, sprouting broccoli, broad beans). At the moment I'm leaning towards the fancier things, especially ones that can be grown in containers and that give a relatively high yield.

[emmacossey]

Hey!

Think I'll definitely be needing any tips and advice! I've started to add my little growing adventure to flickr, which you can find here.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/50649405@N ... 494412874/

I've got a little herb garden I've started too, but I haven't seen any results yet. Do you know how long it usually takes for herbs to start growing? I've got them on my bedroom windowsill at the moment.

Thanks,

Em x

[Penny Golightly]

Hey Emma! Thanks for the link - it's looking good already... Can't wait to see the updates.

Herbs can be a bit temperamental at this time of year, the ones I've had the most luck with are parsley and chives as they don't seem to mind the cold and lack of sun. I also have some rosemary and thyme from last year - woody herbs like that seem to survive the winter OK but don't grow much until it gets warmer and sunnier.

I sowed a few basil and mint seeds in pots on the windowsill about three weeks ago and have had hardly any luck at all with them. I'm hoping they'll perk up later and am trying not to overwater them in the meantime. As far as I remember, the finer, more delicate herbs really get into their stride outside from May onwards, but maybe someone can correct me if I'm getting that wrong.

[HappyProjectLDN]

Love project grow emma - have joined you on flickr and also cant wait for updates! Will maybe put mine up there too. I also will be growing in relatively small pots.

Penny - basil takes a while to grow and grows very slowly, mint however once it gets out should grow a lot and smells just amazing, love it.

Not sure which veggies at all to grow - agree with you. Maybe rocket because it grows really well and tastes amazing, I'd love peas as I remember shelling my grandma's peas when I was a child, and maybe baby potatoes. Exciting stuff!

[Penny Golightly]

Hi Em and Sasha, feel free to post the occasional pic on here too. I think I set the forum up to allow that (famous last words!)

Thanks for the advice about the basil - I'm just going to have to be patient with it If it has just expired then at least I have enough seeds left to start again. As for the mint, that stuff normally grows like wildfire and I always keep it in a pot away from other herbs because it seems to strangle them. Strangely at this particular house I can't seem to grow the stuff indoors or outdoors - tried growing it in a trough in the garden last year and it was the only herb that failed to sprout. Suspect it's due to the shocking soil quality here (more about that another time maybe), so have now switched to proper potting compost and am hoping for the best.

A friend of mine grows new potatoes in a big bag contraption on his balcony as he has no garden. Asked him about it last week and he says you need something very deep for them to grow in or their roots don't develop properly, he says you can use an old dustbin or container like that. He also says to use seed potatoes not ones from the supermarket, apparently the supermarket ones can have a bad effect on the soil that may last for a few years. I used to grow them myself years ago and they are so much tastier when they're fresh. Have seen some seed potatoes for £1 in Poundland recently, but can't remember what type they were.

It's a real balancing act with some of these crops - I want them tasty and fresh but I also want them for less money than the supermarket. It's really easy to spend a lot more than you save, when you look at seeds, equipment, containers, plant food, pest control etc. It'd be great if we could share gardening bargains on here too.

Penny x

[Penny Golightly]

FREE SEEDS
Just been alerted to this RHS offer by PipNStuff on Twitter

"Grow Your Own 'Veg Pledge' sign up to grow veg in 2010 HURRY! 1st 10k get a fantastic FREE starter kit http://www.rhs.org.uk "
I'm not sure exactly what seeds are in the kit, but I'm sure it'll be worth the effort of filling a quick form in. There are 10,000 kits up for grabs so be quick.

You can also get some free spinach and beetroot seeds if you hurry:
http://www.britainonshow.co.uk/promotions/
Available to anyone in the UK, while stocks last.

[Penny Golightly]

Just posted a book review of 'New Urban Farmer' on the blog:
http://www.pennygolightly.com/2010/02/b ... oks-brown/

It's ideal as a refresher course for anyone who's growing food and herbs, and it's aimed at new gardeners. Contains excellent overviews of the gardening AND cookery year, and is well worth a look. There's lots of information in there for people with little or no outside growing space too, so anyone who's thinking about container gardening for the first time might find it handy to help them get started.

While the RRP is £14.99 you should be able to hunt around and pick it up for a fair bit less. Amazon are offering it for £8.99 as a pre-order, for example.

[emmacossey]

Thanks for the heads up on the free seeds Penny, I'm keeping my fingers crossed I got in there quick enough

I've added a few more updates to Project Grow, which you can see here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/50649405@N ... 494412874/

My Thyme seeds have grown even more since yesterday when I took the photos, though my other herb plants are still in hiding.