Little one on the way; what shall I grow?

[throup]

My wife and I are expecting our first child in December. We had the 12–week scan yesterday—absolutely amazing!

I have two questions for you all, if you'll be kind enough to help.

My first question has probably been asked before, but I'll give you all another chance to answer it:

What should I plan to grow next year that we can use when we start to wean the baby onto real food?

My second question is more important. When we first found out, I had the wild idea that I would plant some apple pips on the day it is born and keep the strongest seedling to pass on at some future birthday; “this tree was born on the same day as you”. Once I discovered how tall real apple trees grow, I decided this wasn't such a good idea!

So, question number 2:

What can I plant on the day the baby is born which will a) live for many years so it can be passed on; and b) be small enough to keep in a pot?

A suitable alternative would be a plant which breeds true so I can save the seed each year, although that doesn't seem quite as romantic idea as when I first thought of the apple tree!

Any ideas gratefully received.

[Glutton4...]

Plant a Rose - it can be pruned back each year.
Incidentally, many trees will happily grow in a container, they take years to get really big anyway, or you can stick to one on dwarfing root-stock, so it will stay manageable.
Some of the most beautiful Japanese Acers are reasonably small, and with the right care will last for many years.

Good luck with whatever you choose, and congratulations on the 'sprog' too!

[T8Ter]

How about trying a Bonsai from seed - many UK varieties are suitable and they can be kept as big/small as you want.
Congratulations.

[HayleyB]

No good on trees but as far as planting veggies absolutely anything would be good. Pureed veggies have no limits and it's best to go down that route as starting with sweet things like yoghurts means they refuse savoury later. Then when they move onto chewing you carry on with the veg but non pureed BTW carrots are brill for teething

[Incy]

I agree with Hayley,
As varied a diet of pureed veg as you can and get them eating raw carrots and things as soon as possible. My son loved his pureed veg as a baby and we still get comments from friends who have pickky eaters his age as to what a good eater he is (he's 11 by the way). We reckon its because we never went down the special food for kiddings route so at 9 months he would happily go out for a curry with his dad and sit and chew a naan bread dipped in sauce. Admittedly he did change colourt but no way was he letting go of that piece of bread...

[Lemon]

Congratulations to you both!

Carrots.... potatoes..... swedes....many vegetables can be pureed and as he moves on to solids you can add more cubed veggies to it...peas and sweetcorn would be nice, broccoli, cauliflower....

sounds a lovely idea - not only are you making your own baby foods, you are growing them too!


As for trees...apples and other fruit trees tend to be grafted onto a dwarf rooting stock so they are kept small for the garden or patio. The apple pip idea is lovely but may be difficult when it grows huge. (Although not sure how quickly it will grow.) Bonsai's stay small so do many Japanese Acers. You can buy kits to grow own bonsai from seed but the general idea is to keep it in a shallow wide pot and the tap root has been trimmed to keep it small.

[HayleyB]

CB is 12 and it's amazing how many of her mates won't eat this or that, drives me nuts. CB eats everything including fish - she ate moules the other night for the first time - I can't actually think of anything she won't eat

[Two_Sheds]

My sister gave her kids pureed Grown Up Dinner, and now they eat such things as chilli anchovies and hummous at age 5 (but they still hate pumpkin soup)

[lizzylemon]

The tree is a lovely idea and I think apple pips would work. Most trees will only grow to size of their roots so if their roots are constricted they won't get huge.

I've a Silver Birch that's still only 3 foot high because I've kept it in a pot for the last 3 years (from Grans Garden when she died so I don't want to plant any where I'd have to leave it just yet) which is the same principal as a Bonsai Tree, they're root pruned to keep them tiny (some trees are more successful than others though).

Also, Apple Trees in orchards don't get huge as they're kept small for easy pickings (through branch pruning though), but I have a Dwarf Twisted Willow which is now 12 foot tall because I've planted in the garden and it's reverted back to true.

Perhaps you have somewhere that's being made into a wooded area near by, or just some open space that you love to visit, in which case, you could the raise the tree until say a 16/18th Birthday and then plant it out in the wild where it will be for ever more and be visited no matter where you end up, say if you have to move or something.

[Hilary B]

I agree trees can be kept small by root control. Not sure an apple is a good one because growing it from a pip, you have no idea what the fruit would be like, and it seems a pity to produce a fruit you can't use. How about a nice colourful flowering perennial (some of those are trees)?
The idea of something that is at its best on the birthday seems to me worth considering. Since not many flowers are out in December, you might prefer to go for a berry-producer? Growing holly (as the obvious example) is tricky, because not all hollies produce berries, and by the time you find out you have a 'male' tree....., but there must be others!

[allotmentlady]

What about growing an acer? You can buy them really small, you can train them to be bonsai or let them grow really big! I have several varities and have watched them grow alongside my own kids, its amazing how tall some of them are now....something different, the redblood is a gorgeous acer, beautiful with sunshine penetrating through its leaves, glorious....

As for growing things to puree, well u cannot go wrong with carrots, swede, courgettes, squashes, all yummy tastes....

Congrats on the lovely news, have you an scan pics we can nosey at?

[Alison Adams]

Charlie would have lived on pureed pumpkin from about 6 or 7 months on, if we'd have let him, so plenty of time for you to plan some squashes. He loves curry too (he's 7 now) - once a restaurant brought him crumbled popadoms in milk to try and he loved that at 9 months and went from there. Cucumber is nice and cool for teething gums - a ways off yet, but a good thing to put in your plan. Also, choose things that dont need too much tlc as you will be too tired for gardening !
Congrats to you and the missus.

[throup]

Plant a Rose - it can be pruned back each year.

Nice idea. I have never grown roses before; if I kept it in a pot and pruned back, how long is it likely to last?

…you can stick to one on dwarfing root-stock, so it will stay manageable.

Again, nice idea, but it loses the “planted on the day you were born” angle.

Good luck with whatever you choose, and congratulations on the 'sprog' too!

Thank you!

[throup]

How about trying a Bonsai from seed - many UK varieties are suitable and they can be kept as big/small as you want.
Congratulations.

Bonsai's stay small so do many Japanese Acers. You can buy kits to grow own bonsai from seed but the general idea is to keep it in a shallow wide pot and the tap root has been trimmed to keep it small.

Nice ideas. Do they take much skill and effort to manage? I am quite happy to dedicate time and patience to a project, but “delicate”, “refined” and “precision” are not words on my CV!

[throup]

Most trees will only grow to size of their roots so if their roots are constricted they won't get huge.

Sounds like bonsai without the effort! I like it

I've a Silver Birch that's still only 3 foot high because I've kept it in a pot for the last 3 years (from Grans Garden when she died so I don't want to plant any where I'd have to leave it just yet)...

That's a nice way to keep a memory of your Gran.

Perhaps you have somewhere that's being made into a wooded area near by, or just some open space that you love to visit, in which case, you could the raise the tree until say a 16/18th Birthday and then plant it out in the wild where it will be for ever more and be visited no matter where you end up, say if you have to move or something.

We have woodland in almost every direction, so I'm sure we'd be able to find somewhere suitable. If we can expect to keep something alive in a pot for a number of years then we don't need to make the decision yet, but I will certainly remember your suggestion for the future.