Any tips for a not-quite-a-garden?

[Kthebean 10]

Moving house soon to a flat with a 'yard' - its about 3 metres by 2 metres concrete. I've already got a herb pot, but I want some other things to brighten it up.

 

What sort of things can you buy for hanging baskets or have in outside pots? I would like some flowers and also some veg but I'm not sure if you can grow veg in pots?

 

Also where is the best place to buy such things? Would rather use local garden centres than superstores.

 

Please bear in mind when giving advice that I have NO gardening knowhow at all

[Pritt Stick 10]

Get a chimnea and some chairs from B & Q for £50.

[joeyannie 10]

I grow peppers, tomatoes, aubergines and courgettes in pots in my yard...also thyme, rosemary, and lots of lavender. I noticed in tescos last week on abbeydale road that they had sets of 6 vegetable plants for about a fiver that were ready to plant out (included aubergine and a couple of tomato varieties).

roses also do well in pots, as do fuschias and also strawberry plants!

happy "gardening"!

 

PS, good deals to be had at garden centres, where the plants can be better quality than those found at supermarkets and DIY shops, although I have had some good shrubs from b and q on penistone road

[viking 10]

At the moment, I am growing Potatoes in tubs (£5 each from Wentworth garden centre) Tomatoes in grow bags (£1.45 each from garden centres)

 

Strawberries in a pot.

2 types of mint in long tubs (around £1.50 each)

 

Carrots in tubs and Peas in tubs. I will take photos if you like to show you.

[neeeeeeeeeek 10]

Plasic greenhouse from the cheap no frills DIY place near the Leadmill, they are ace, I nearly took one to the Big chill with me last year so I could sit in it but it never rains at the big chill so did not bother.

 

Also good for growing tomatoes and chilli's and stuff in.

[viking 10]

Here are some photos Kathy.

GARDEN MINT

CHIVES

POTATOES

PEAS

STRAWBERRY POT

See, you could grow all these in a yard.

[Tracie 10]

A lot of veggies and practically all herbs can be grown in containers - in a way, it's probably better because you can move them in and out of the sun and it's easier to water and weed them, etc, etc In a smaller garden I guess you just have to plan carefully to make sure you use all the space available effectively

 

As Viking has already pointed out, potatoes grow well in containers, as do leeks, carrots, asparagus, courgettes, tomatoes, lettuce and spinach and probably loads more I've forgotten

 

I have a book called 'Kitchen Garden' from Collins 'Practical Gardeners' series - I'm pretty new to gardening and have found it very useful for learning all the basis and get info on the requirements for different plants. If you're in the city centre during the day you're welcome to borrow my copy

[Strix 11]

how about a couple of fruit trees?

 

We once had a really small garden, so we had some minarettes in pots which we got from Ken Muir

 

You keep them pruned into a column, so it gives your planting scheme some height, as well as being 'productive'

[Kthebean 10]

Wow thanks guys! Potatoes! I'm amazed!

 

Thanks for the pics Viking thats great, I will take some of my 'garden' when its up and running. I had no idea you could grow so much veg and fruit without a plot of land. I think I'll buy that book myself Tracie but thanks for the offer and the tips.

 

I'm really excited, move over charlie dimmock

[medusa 16]

If you go to scrap metal merchants you can sometimes pick up things like old metal fertiliser drums, which after a very noisy afternoon you can cut in half round the middle to give yourself 2 enormous pots which are big enough to grow anything (including trees/runner beans with stakes/whatever) in.

 

Or you could follow Bob Flowerdew's method of potato growing. He grows them inside a stack of old tyres, so to harvest them all you have to do it to lift off the tyres one by one to reveal your crop.

[lauren84 11]

And next year I would like to sort it out. I moved in to my house in July 2005 and just got round to thinking about my garden. My mum has a little veg patch but her garden is huge. I would like to grow a variety of foods but I have limited space and would like the garden to be practical in terms of barbecues, sitting out in the sun next summer as well as looking beautiful. I also want to put a shed in the garden (as all of my blokes DIY stuff is currently stored indoors!) I also would like to grow herbs. Can you grow them in a planting tub? I am only 21 so I dont have much experience in these things and I dont think my mum has much time to help me (she has 3 daughters at home, a full time job and the housework to tackle!) Can anyone help. (Not many friends really want to grow veg!!!!)

[viking 10]

Use Tubs Lauren.

We have used loads this year and grew: Potatoes, carrots,radish,peas, beans, shillots, alsorts really.

Il'l look for a photo.