Another hello...

[Notbob]

Hi All

I want a garden. Well, I want things I can eat & some things that look nice!.. and some bugs and birds would be nice too!.. I have only got a 48in by 18ft alleyway/path in which to achieve this, and so far my efforts have been pretty much a disaster. I have bought nice pretty stuff from the garden centre, which is now either dead or pretending to be.. so I am here for help and inspiration!... I have tried a few gardening books but I dont understand stuff like 'pinch out the new shoots below the bud' or 'leave it in a cold frame'.. so, what do you reckon, is here a good place to be?

Thanks in advance....

[Flummery]

It certainly is - and welcome. Mainly we will need to know what you are growing, what you're growinmg it in (the ground, tubs, size, what compost etc?) and how much light/water etc they are getting. It's also handy if you can pop your approximate location into your profile. Advice that's great for Essex is rubbish for Caithness!

Don't despair! Most of us here have killed more plants than you've had hot dinners.

[Two_Sheds]

4ft x 18ft ... that's not too bad. What aspect is it? north facing, south? Dry, damp? What's growing there already? Any weeds?

---------
why is stuff dying? is it too dry or over-watered? give us a clue!

... and welcome aboard

[Notbob]

Thanks for the welcome!..and super-quick response.. dont know whether 'quick-reply' is the right option but I will try anway.

Ok, the alley is walled both sides, 8ft on one side and the house on the other. I'm not sure which way it's facing as doesn't that depend on which way you look at it? Its completely concreted. Stuff (some of it quite pretty) is growing out of the walls, but I didn't put it there. Im quite happy for it to stay though. I have bought some big green planters(?) which I put some potatoes in, which grew tremendously at first, I had potato trees!, but Im not sure when the potatoes themselves are supposed to appear. I also bought 2 Clematis(?) which I hung on the wall because somebody told me they would grow up it which I thought would look nice. They had some flowers for a while but now they're just a big tangled mess, with a few green bits and a lot of brown twiggy bits. I watered everything last Saturday, but I don't know whether it was too much or not enough. How are you supposed to know? I bought some BabyBio which I gave to everything once but I don't know whether it did anything or not. I also bought a very small mini-greenouse thing which has a clear plastic cover and 4 shelves. I put some herb plants from the supermarket in these and I ate the herbs which seemed to offend them as they havent grown any new leaves....

Hopes that makes it clearer....

[Two_Sheds]

the alley is walled both sides, 8ft on one side and the house on the other. ... I had potato trees!, but Im not sure when the potatoes themselves are supposed to appear.

I expect it's very shady?
that's not good for vegetable growing. It's why your potatoes got so tall: they were striving to reach the light.
Have a dig in their pot to see if there are any spuds in there: most people's are finished now.

[Two_Sheds]

I put some herb plants from the supermarket in ...they havent grown any new leaves....

they won't, they aren't meant to. You'd be better off sowing some seed

[Two_Sheds]

I also bought 2 Clematis(?) which I hung on the wall because somebody told me they would grow up it

hung?


they'll need something to cling to ... some trellis or something.
As for watering, if you are growing in pots you'll need to water every day or two. You could really do with a saucer under each pot to conserve as much moisture as poss

[Notbob]

Ok.. Already I now know more. I bought some 2 £4.00 metal archways for the clematis, and I hung them from about the 4th rung. They did grow everywhere and now look like spaghetti, but its mostly brown leaves and twigs

So, the herb plants don't work. If I get some seeds should they go in the greenhouse? in the same pots? in compost from the garden centre?

I just checked & there's nothing in the potatoes besides the original potato and a gooey mess...

I can't really put saucers under the clematis but I can under the herbs. Do you water the whole plants or just the pot itself? Cos Im going to need a ladder if its the former?

The whole yard is quite shady, Does that mean the growing stuff is going to be a non-starter?

Thanks again...

[ginger ninger]

Hi Notbob, and welcome to the crazy gang, your going to fit in just fine. If it's possible could you take some photos of your ally garden and post them on here so we can see what your gardening with, I'm sure everyone will be able to help you much better that way, Thanks. Well, well I don't know if you noticed, but you've got two of our "Gardening Guru's" helping you...your honored.

[Notbob]

Oh my.. I didnt realise I was in the presence of greatness.. I do now... and thanks. I'd rather have the best... ;-)

I will take some pictures over the weekend and post them here..

Cheers

[vicky]

Hi Notbob (who is bob then?) Welcome to the vine! Looking forward to seeing those photos

[Flummery]

If the area is shady you'd do best trying with leafy plants. I think salad leaves are boring but some people adore them. They'd do well in you alleyway I think.

[Two_Sheds]

the clematis, ...did grow everywhere and now look like spaghetti, but its mostly brown leaves and twigs...Do you water the whole plants or just the pot itself?

Plants drink through their roots, not their leaves ... so yes, you water the pot. Lift it: if it feels light, it needs watering.

Clematis flowers, then dies back, then re-flowers the following year. Depending on what sort you've got (there are 3 main types) you need to prune it around March time. If you don't, you will end up with lots of brown twigs with flowers right at the top, out of sight.

[Two_Sheds]

I just checked & there's nothing in the potatoes besides the original potato and a gooey mess...

OK, that didn't work: compost it.
Potatoes need lots of water and light, and ideally open ground. I grew some in pots this year, in lots of light with lots of water, and they still didn't produce much.

[Two_Sheds]

So, the herb plants don't work. If I get some seeds should they go in the greenhouse? in the same pots? in compost from the garden centre?

Seeds... fresh compost ... clean pot. Hygiene, hygiene.
Nice video linky here: Herbs - growing basil from seed | How to | Projects | BBC Gardeners' World