Hullo from a newbie in the UK

[Insufficient]

Hi all,

I just joined. I have been trying (not necessarily succeeding) to grow vegetables and sustain our family of 5 as much as possible from my little garden. Any tips/links etc would be grateful. I am not an expert in much, but I am quite good at planning and preserving. I have a dehydrator and 2 big freezers. 8 raised beds provide potatoes, onions, spinach, broccoli, courgettes, carrots and more. My greenhouse if full of peppers and chillies.

I am hatching chicken eggs - so there's another little bit of help in reducing waste and getting eggs

I have never been successful in saving my own seeds, so that's where I am starting. Nice to meet you!

Becky

 

[Britesea]

Welcome, from Oregon US! Sounds like you're off to a great start! What kind of chickens are you hatching, and how long until they hatch? I've got a mixed bag of Speckled Sussex, Auracana, and Rhode Island Red, with some month old Black Australorps and Welsummers, and a batch of Light Brahmas coming in sometime this week from the hatchery.

I've not done much with saving seed either, although a couple of my Kale plants survived the winter and are putting out some flowers now so I think I will let them finish setting seed before I yank them out to make room for something else. I saved some seeds from the melons that managed to ripen last year (no mean feat in a mountain garden where you can get frost during any month of the year) I tried to start seedlings last month, but I think they got damping off. I'll try again next year as I've already decided to grow more Delicata squash instead in that raised bed.

How big are your raised beds?

 

[wyoDreamer]

If you can find it, the book "Square Foot Gardening" is great for growing a lot in a small area - it might be a website online also. I managed to grow enough spinach, zuchinni, peas, beans, tomatoes and green onions in a 3.5 foot by 7 foot raised bed for 2 of us. And that was in Wyoming at 7500 feet in elevation.

 

[wyoDreamer]

One bit of advice I have is to find plants that have been bred for growing in containers. I grew a "grey Zinnie" that is a zuchinni plant for containers and they are really tasty, produce well and grow very compact plants so you need less room.

 

[Hinotori]

Welcome from Washington state.

I found most summer squash do well in pots. Just make sure you fertilize them regularly. I use a lot of chicken litter in the potting mix which does great. I had good luck with a smaller butternut squash as well though it spread far from it's pot.

We have soil and rain issues that some plants just dont do well in the ground here. Tomatoes do best where I am under cover to help prevent late blight.

 

[Lazy Gardener]

Welcome. Glad to have you here. Many of us have put our general location in our profile. that way, it shows up, for quick reference in future conversations! Location is key to good advice!

 

[Britesea]

Welcome from Washington state.

I found most summer squash do well in pots. Just make sure you fertilize them regularly. I use a lot of chicken litter in the potting mix which does great. I had good luck with a smaller butternut squash as well though it spread far from it's pot.

We have soil and rain issues that some plants just dont do well in the ground here. Tomatoes do best where I am under cover to help prevent late blight.

there is also a Bush Delicata Squash that isn't much larger than the usual summer squash.

 

[flowerbug]

Hi all,

I just joined. I have been trying (not necessarily succeeding) to grow vegetables and sustain our family of 5 as much as possible from my little garden. Any tips/links etc would be grateful. I am not an expert in much, but I am quite good at planning and preserving. I have a dehydrator and 2 big freezers. 8 raised beds provide potatoes, onions, spinach, broccoli, courgettes, carrots and more. My greenhouse if full of peppers and chillies.

I am hatching chicken eggs - so there's another little bit of help in reducing waste and getting eggs

I have never been successful in saving my own seeds, so that's where I am starting. Nice to meet you!

Becky

welcome to SS.

learning by doing is how things work for me in a lot of ways. when i was a kid there was an old Reader's Digest book about plants and plant propagation techniques. i tried everything in there i could do. had a lot of fun, learned a lot from mistakes on inexpensive plants given to me by neighbors, i grew roses outside and gave them flowers in return. i still have that book and many other bookshelves full of all sorts of books, some i've not read.

never give up, but what i never give up on is how to do things simple and easy and paying attention to my expenses and making sure that the aims and goals are mostly working together in the right direction.

 

[CrealCritter]

Hi all,

I just joined. I have been trying (not necessarily succeeding) to grow vegetables and sustain our family of 5 as much as possible from my little garden. Any tips/links etc would be grateful. I am not an expert in much, but I am quite good at planning and preserving. I have a dehydrator and 2 big freezers. 8 raised beds provide potatoes, onions, spinach, broccoli, courgettes, carrots and more. My greenhouse if full of peppers and chillies.

I am hatching chicken eggs - so there's another little bit of help in reducing waste and getting eggs

I have never been successful in saving my own seeds, so that's where I am starting. Nice to meet you!

Becky

Welcome Becky, a good start to seed saving is to grow true heritage/open pollinated veggies. Hybrids may replicate from seed but often not. GMO steer clear they won't replicate. If they do you might grow a pig or something. <--- ever heard of cabbage patch kids?

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Hi! Welcome from Texas - glad to have you here!