unclebuck

...vegtables!!

I'm thinking of turning part of my garden over to growing my own vegtables in order to:

a: Get a bit more exercise and
b: Enjoy the satisfaction of growing then harvesting and eating my own produce.

Has anyone had any experience of doing this, or is currently trying it? Is it worth it? How much time does it take? How difficult is it to get started and are there any good websites/sources of info you could recommend?

cheers.

ub

The Saint

UB,

First step is to get the soil tested for ph and minerals etc, this will to some extent determine what you can grow, what you need to spread on the soil to get it to grow etc.

There are loads of veggie books out there, try the "Vegetable Expert" (I think its called, inexpensive, and quite good).

Next, get your tools, spade, shovel, a good fork, spraying equipment etc.

Next get planting.

Do you have a garden shed? Very useful, especially if you stock it up with booze, TV, radio etc. Allows you to get far away from your loved ones and potter around for hours, all under the quise of good old hard work.

Hardest work is preparing the garden for the ist planting. Start off with some spuds, easy to grow and they break up the soil nicely. Mange tout are goodm and dead easy to grow.

"Old Muckspreader"
<ps you are a bit late for muchspreading, but it might be ok if you use very well rotted stuff, and dig it in well, and turn it over regularly>

OM

Popeye P1

Or become an Arthur Fowler and get an Allotment Unc Buck you old git. LOL

barge

please stop you are scaring me

next you will be asking if there are any plough attachments available for the scooby

The Saint

I gave up growing my own some time ago, now by organic from some geezer who sweats blood to grow "the real thing".

WRT the plough attachment, I would not be at all suprised if some of the old pickups were used for this very purpose. Remember it the somewhat agricultural heratige of the Subaru that makes it so relaible.

Old Muckspreader

unclebuck

Saint

Good thinking. A soil testing kits are easy to get hold of I presume.

Got most of the hardware except spraying kt. I’ll find out more about that.

LOL No – got a garage for that sort of activity

It was a jungle when I first got to it. I’ve removed old Hazel trees, Honey Suckle etc in preparation of restoring it and all the top-soil has been dug though and roots, rocks and stumps have been removed in preparation. It is a ‘blank canvas’ ATM

What is a likely source of good ‘muck’?

Why was that?

BTW I was thinking about a small Poly Tunnel to increase the yield and broaden the scope of what I can grow. http://www.firsttunnels.co.uk Is this sensible??

Thanks UB

The Saint

Source of good muck =

well rotted horse manure.Well rotted cow **** is much better, your local farmer should help you out. Chicken **** is ace.

A polytunnel is a very good idea. You can then grow tomatoes, peppers, chillis, corgettes etc etc and extend your growing season.

Check out : http://www.soilassociation.org.uk/

I stopped growing my own as I moved from a small croft in Scotland (8 acres) to something with a formal garden, still in the glens though. I am starting to think about a small chicken run (another good source of manure) and maybe a greenhouse.


Old Muckspreader

Josh L

My Wife started growing stuff in her little veggie patch at the bottom of the garden a couple of years ago.

She hasn't gone overboard in what she grows though. The first year she concentrated on some weird and wonderful spuds, together with a few beans and stuff. I have to admit that it's great being able to just pick/dig up what you need, when you need it.

She's taking it a bit more seriously now, and has taken an allotment nearby, and bought a little rotorvator (spelling?). She now does the bigger stuff (beans, tomatoes etc) at the allotment, and does things like onions and sprouts in the garden. I'm not a lover of veg, but the home grown stuff does taste a hell of a lot better.

Josh