Help........

[ENIGMA]

Right,after being away for soooo long,and with the start of Ramadhan,I thought i'd get in the growing mood,proper like.

Anyhoo, I need some proper advice.

Ive never grown anything,not flowers,fruits or veg. I do not have a garden :violin: but only a back yard.

I have put my name down at a local allotment so hoping thats gonna come in soon.

I really want to get into gardening along with my family(wife and 3 kids :)) but really don't know where to start. Just been flicking through a few threads and I just want some advice on where to start.

Can we have a sticky on guide to words such as germinate etc so noobies like me can refer to them easily. Need to know what type of compost etc. Im a complete noob so i need to start from ABC123.

So,like I said,I dont have a garden so will be growing stuff in pots. Kirstens lemon thread looks great. Thats the kinda stuff I want to start with,stuff I can grown in small quantities and managable.

Sorry for the long post.

[ENIGMA]

Im looking to grow things like Lemons,strawberries and herbs such as mint etc.

Any other types of everyday fruit and herbs which can be grown in pots and are easy?

Also looking for a quick guide on when is the best time to start growing what and how long do those things take to grow.

[Kirsten]

Hi ENIGMA and welcome!!

When to start growing (and what) will depend on where you're located (I'm not sure if you're from Morocco based on your other thread) since temperatures will vary so much.
Just a backyard is not a problem at all - that's great! You'll be surprised at how much food you can grow out of a tiny plot if you plan well :) A lot of herbs can be done from seed and can be kept in either household pots near the kitchen for easy access or planted in the garden. Strawberries are usually done from plants - do you have a local plant nursery or gardening store?

If you want to grow lemons, you will probably have to buy a tree from certifiable stock to be sure that it will grow edible lemons and plant it outside. I grew mine from a seed when my sister made lemonade LOL and while it's currently providing my desk with some lovely green foliage, it will probably never produce lemons. (Not to mention that I don't live in the right part of the world for citrus :( ) but it certainly is fun to try and grow things from foods you eat to see what you can get!

At this time of the year (again, depending on where you are) it might be too late to start veggies such as eggplants, tomatoes, etc. but you may be able to get away with a winter crop - potatoes, chard, cold veggies, and some indoor herbs. We'll be spending the long winter months planning and dreaming of next summer's harvest!

Germination is basically the first step of getting from seed to plant. After a few days of being planted the seed will start to send out a root like this (http://4hgarden.msu.edu/Connected/germination/startgerm.jpg) which you may or may not be able to see if it's under the soil, but that's basically germination :) I use that term to refer to the next part (when the stem begins to come up, too). That's usualy what people mean when they say things like "5-7 days to germination".

I can't think of any other terms off the top of my head right now, but if you ever have any questions, please feel free to ask!

Good luck :)

[ENIGMA]

Thanks for the reply :GreenThumbs:

Im actually from the UK. Morocco is where I want to visit :)

[Riz]

sallam enigma..

well its really too late in the season to grow much vegetables, remember its nearly September ( autumn). Our growing cycle usually starts from march onwards.. so its a little late too start off anything, but you can plant spring onions for next year harvest, and garlic in October, you can also sow some types of salad seeds which grow through the cold weather...


Its cool though you can read and prepare yourself for next season inshallah, and do some reading up in MG forums and we can help you out, and even send you some seeds if you want :).

next season you can grow anything that you see in the grow threads in pots or in the ground,

what happened to you anyway, you registered in April and then you disappeared for a while :) its nice to see you back brother :)

[ENIGMA]

Its nice to be back actually.

Its Ramadhan which has got me back here funnily enough.

So what kind of stuff can I grow in plant pots from now throught winter. Im looking to start with something very easy but something I can actualy use.

Ive always wanted to grow things like mint,tyme etc.

so if someone can do me a very basic noobie guide on what I need and what i need to do,im hoping it will get me started and the bug will catch.

I know im asking alot but really,with 3 young kids in tow,I can only do easy stuff at the moment :)

feel free to PM me peeps with your advice

[Riz]

carrots, leeks, kale, radishes & others such as broccoli, cauliflower & onions, broad beans ( root vegetables)

It would be a great idea if you just start reading up with our help with questions and get totally prepared for next season,,

you can grow almost anything in pots.. if you buy the 99pence BnQ buckets and drill some holes in the base, you have a huge pot :) i have lots and lots of the buckets they come in orange and black, or you could by the 1.00 pound terracotta pots albeit they are a bit smaller..


i usually buy the multi- purpose compost and i germinate all my seeds and grow plants in that medium.. and ive never had any problems, but now i have a compost bin so things will be even cheaper for me :)


you can buy almost all the seeds from bnq they have a great selection on the seed rack or try on-line seed vendors.... i have purchased seeds from these online vendors lots of time and they are all reliable and based in UK, you can even request a free seed/veg and flower catalogue which they will deliver to your door :)

http://www.thompson-morgan.com/seeds1/vegetable-seeds.html

http://www.nickys-nursery.co.uk

http://www.marshalls-seeds.co.uk/vegetable-seeds-cid308.html


ps.. have a look at this sowing timetable for growers in UK

http://www.nickys-nursery.co.uk/seeds/pages/vegetable-calendar.htm



here is a youtube video on how to germinate, there are lots of vids out there and lots of different vids and techniques

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfbGPcaxjsI&feature=related