Growing veg in my small council house front garden

[voicebox]

I was asked to put some tips on gardening in a small space about 25 foot by 15 foot, in two halves... I tried to grow as much vertically as I could because space was limited...So here goes:

 

This year I experimented with how much I could grow and different techniques.

I grew potatoes in sacks, spinach and lettuce in fish pallets, beetroot in tall, round containers (fish feeders I think) carrots in a raised bed made from an old wooden container, mange tout and leeks in sheep feed containers that I dug ino the ground (the red and blue ones) and raised seedlings in a dismantable greenhouse, the toms and cues didn't do so well and got a fungus due to it being so damp I think but I will try again in 2012.

 

So what happened?

 

The potatoes did very well, ok, you're not going to get the same yield than you would from growing them in the ground in rows but they were a good size and it was fun to try. I collected 7 nylon potato sacks, put in a layer of compost, drop in the chitted potato and then earthed up as required finally filling the sack to the top. Very healthy plants too. I gathered a few pounds of tatties from each sack.

 

Beetroot. I grew the long, cylindrical version using these tall containers. I filled them with stones at the bottom (got rid of the stones I dug out the garden) this also added weight to anchor them, filled again with compost and transplanted seedlings when ready. A good yield which gave me several jars of pickled Beetroot.

 

Containers in the ground. I dug holes big enough to hold these red containers, cut the bottoms off so you're left with just the sides and then sifted the earth

back into them, this way you manage the soil better, dug in some chopped up seaweed and waited until Spring. Planted my transplanted mange tout into the containers one side and added leeks in the other. I was getting a yield of Mange tout (equiv to two bags of Tescos mange tout) every 5 days right into October...the leeks are still in the ground will harvest those this week. Next year I will increase the amount of mange tout seedlings.

 

In all I put in 8 red containers. Someone suggested I just dig holes in the ground but the sides helped me to turn the soil and keep it better managed. The worms seemed to be abundant, had to be careful when I turned the soil there were so many which was great.

 

Got a good number of carrots from the small raised bed, as it's quite a high wooden box I can grow the long carrots.

 

The fish pallets served well for growing lettuce and spinach, very high yields.

 

Also grew various herbs in containers which did well. Parsley, chives, thyme, sage.

 

I try to add as much seaweed to the red containers in Autumn so by Spring it's broken down and really ready to grow in. I have two compost bins which I turn regularly and already have had some good, rich compost from it over a year and a half of composting.

 

Yes, I used a lot of compost, you coud say monetarily that the tatties were very expensive because of this but it was fun to experiment... Everything else really paid off! If you had plenty of soil fom somewhere you wouldn't need to keep composting the spent compost. But I'm only in a small council house with no land to draw soil from.

 

Also the nice thing about eating mange tout is there's no waste, you eat the whole pod!

 

That's what you can do in a small front garden with a little patience and thought.

 

Hope that's useful, next year I'll photograph the garden when it's in full swing.

[piggywiggie]

I am hoping to start growing my own stuff next year. Once my father has rebuilt my greenhouse... it kinda died on me!

I Hope to grow tatties and some other herbs and veg (my amazon wish list has gone wild). So any information on how to grow things will be fantastic!

[voicebox]

I Hope to grow tatties and some other herbs and veg (my amazon wish list has gone wild). So any information on how to grow things will be fantastic!

 

Not sure you'll be able to grow veg from Amazon, it's not hot enough!!

 

Mind yu, it'd be humid enough...

 

Yeh, it'll be fun - how much land do you have? I grew my seedlings in a plastic, dismantable greenhouse, after season over, I stored away in my garden bin cage from the ravaging winter storms.

[piggywiggie]

I have a quite a large back garden and decent front garden too. back garden is where the green house is being rebuilt. only problem is i have two wild labradors running about all the time if you have ever passed you may have been barked at hehe!

[voicebox]

I have a quite a large back garden and decent front garden too. back garden is where the green house is being rebuilt. only problem is i have two wild labradors running about all the time if you have ever passed you may have been barked at hehe!

 

You could, Er, Tie them up when you're working out in the garden?

[piggywiggie]

You could, Er, Tie them up when you're working out in the garden?

I could never tie my babies up!

[skylad]

Great stuff. Hope you are making your own compost for next year. You could also try broccolli which does well up here and other cut and come again veg such as chard and perpetual beet, ideal for small spaces. Dwarf Sutton Broad beans have a high yield and are good for our climes. If you grow a few cabbage and harvest them by cutting the stalk then cut a cross in the top of the stalk you can get four more small cabbages which gives a bit more from the plant. The Shetland Horticultural Society are now taking memberships and orders for seeds. They are so cheap and the varieties they sell are good for Shetland soils etc. There is a good book by Bob Flowerdew about container veg growing, the Library may have it. Also be nosey and ask what others are up to, the Society have tours of gardens and look out for the open gardens , there is a great veg garden at Sandness they would help you . Good luck, veg growing is addictive.

[voicebox]

Thanks Skylad, real good tips there, I shall follow up!

 

I'm always making compost, got two bins going...

 

Thanx again.

 

Any other tips I'd be glad to have...