Hello from West Sussex

[SuperGrowSteve]

Hi,

I have absolutely no experience with growing my own but it's something I have always wanted to do and I'm keen to learn as much as I can. I have recently bought my first house and have a patch set out for growing so any tips and advice is greatly received.

First thing I would like to ask is I have a very large shed, now I am thinking about replacing it with a smaller one and a green house but before I do is there anything I could use the exiting shed for growing? It has large windows all down one side and is well built so would be a shame to get rid of it but it takes up so much room, take into account I am a complete noob so it may seem a stupid question

Cheers all
Steve

[Jeanied]

Hi Steve and welcome to the vine! My advice is to keep the shed and try out your growing for a year or so to see what you really love to do. That will help you make your mind up if you want to go for a greenhouse/ more planting space or keep the existing shed. What do you plan to grow in 2010?

[Burnzie]

Hi Steve,

get the green house, you wont regret it

the taste of that first ripe tomato, straight off the plant................

magic


good luck

Burnzie

[weekendwellies]

Welcome to the Vine Steve. You will get plenty of advice from everyone here, as many opinions as there are people.
I don't use a greenhouse myself so can't comment on this one. But someone will be along any minute who can.
Enjoy yourself, grow what you like to eat, don't overdo it to begin with or you will do your back/arms/legs in.

[ginger ninger]

Hello Steve and welcome to the vine, You say you have a shed with windows down one side, which way are the windows facing, if there south facing I wouldn't bother with the green house this year, try things out first see how you get on...then invest in a green house, what were you thinking about growing???

[sweetiepea]

Keep the shed if you can AND get a greenhouse if you can fit it in. I wouldn't be without mine (I just wish it was bigger!). You can use the shed for storage and potting etc. There are loads of very experienced and knowledgable grapes here, so feel free to ask lots of questions. Good luck with the growing SGS and a very warm welcome to the vine.

[binley100]

Hi Shed and Greenhouse both good keep both if you can.

[Two_Sheds]

You can't grow much in a shed, even if it does have windows on one side. A glass roof, that's a different story. Wait a while though, don't go to lots of expense until you're sure you're into this gardening thing.

[SuperGrowSteve]

Hi all thanks for the replies, I will hang on to the shed for now then and see how it goes. I am hoping to have a go at growing carrots, onions, tomatoes and hopefully runner beans which I tend to eat a lot of. I am also hoping to start growing some chili's and corriander as I make a lot of curry so a homegrown supply would be handy

[Bigmallly]

Welcome to the vine Steve. I wish I could say be patient but then I'm not very good at giving advice.

[Janek]

G'Day Steve!

A very warm welcome from a very hot and humid Down Under! I don't have a greenhouse but 18/12 ago I converted my front landing into a sunroom using Laserlite which is guaranteed to last a lifetime. Whilst we get frosts down to -8C in winter I am now able to overwinter my potted chilli plants and have ripe fruits all year round. The sunroom faces east so within 15 minutes of the frist rays in the morning the sunroom is already 5 to 10 degrees warmer than the outside temperature. I have a table and chair in there too so the plan is when it is cold and miserable outside I can go into the sunroom, be in a lovely warm place and get my daily dose of Vitamin D to boot.

I'm a tomatophile with a collection around 350 strong. I'm with Burnzie on this one - there's nothing that can beat that first vine-ripened tomato of the season. We experienced that this season with Chandler, a great tasting red tomato of tombola size and not available commercially anywhere in the entire universe. In the next few weeks I will have enough to begin sharing seeds with the lovely folks at this forum. Its days to maturity (DTM) is less than 50 days yet its flavour belies its earliness and it just 'whips the pants off' many other tomato varieties with a DTM double that of Chandler! It has been a real eye opener and so, so delicious!

Cheers.

Janek

[Florence Fennel]

Hi Steve and welcome to the vine!

[shoreham_steve]

Well you can never have too many Steve's from West Sussex in my opinion ! Welcome.

[quark1]

Hi Steve - I'm from just across the border in East Sussex!

Best of luck with your growing exploits this year - there's plenty of help for novice to expert here and you'll find the folks very amenable. Lots of peeps who also specialise in the odd and unusual - and before everyone shouts - they don't get much odder than me!

Re your 'large' shed. My advice would be to stay with what you have this year. Moving house is an expensive exercise and if you intend to purchase equipment for growing you may find yourself short of funds to do the 'essentials' if you're spent out on a new shed and greeenhouse. You could try a cheaper option greenhouse with one of those plastic covers - around £20-£30 from the likes of Robert Dyas etc - just to see how it goes. Also you could consider a 'bed-sized' up and over thingy for ground sown items. There are plenty of ideas for make-do and recycle here.

And you may underestimate the need for storage capacity as you acquire tools, pots and other stuff as the year progresses. Once the gardening/growing bug bites most of us see potential in loads of things which would otherwise be thrown away.

Enough of me for now - enjoy your time with us - you'll make friends fast!

[FionaH]

Hi, welcome to the Vine