Absolute novice in need of help to get started

[GirlyCM]

Hi Everyone,

I am in desperate need of some help and advise. I am having terrible trouble with my garden and vegetable growing. I have tried for two years to grow some crops of my own but so far I have go 2 tomatoes and 1 runner bean.

I have no experience in gardening and finding it very frustrating. I am hope you will be able to help with some advise about what flowers and crops I could try.

I will try and describe my garden a bit to give u an idea. It is a smallish garden with two decking areas (all crops have to be in containers) I have one decking area by the house which gets the most sunlight and a decking area at the back of the garden which is very shaded by trees behind the garden. In summer these block most of the afternoon sun.

The garden can become very waterlogged. Only the eucalyptus has done well. I have a big problem with slugs too, (they destroy every thing). I have pets and young children so I have to be careful what I put down. I do have two green houses. These are the metal frames with the plastic over them.

I would really love to be able to grow some salad and vegetables for the family in summer but I have no idea which ones to choose or what to do anything in the garden. Please if any one could help me get started I would be very grateful for any help.

Best Wishes

Rebecca

[FionaH]

Hi rebecca. I am new to gardening too so not much help. However if you use the search button on here and look for container gardening you will find lots of useful info.
Welcome to the Vine

[Two_Sheds]

Salads are easy. They generally like it cool, so don't put them in the greenhouse.
they do well in tubs, just protect from slugs.

A patrol at night with a torch and a bucket of salty water will sort them out

[Two_Sheds]

I am having terrible trouble with my garden and vegetable growing. I have tried for two years to grow some crops of my own

So what have you tried, and what went wrong?

[GirlyCM]

Hi

FionaH Thank you for the search tool.

Two Sheds, I tried salting a slug once and felt really guilty for about a day. Here is a list of what I've tried.

1. Strips of copper around the pots, but I think they just go up the holes at the bottom as I always find then when I am repotting.
2. Gravel I surrounded all my bedding plants with gravel but that didn't stop them. (they grow quiet large here.
3. Beer traps. These did not work at all.
4. Night time collections and trowing them away.
5. slug pellets but have since had pets so don't like to use these now.

I just get very dishearted when they eat every thing

Thanks again for your help

[Two_Sheds]

I tried salting a slug once and felt really guilty for about a day.

You need to get over that guilt, or you'll never get any crops

I meant, what crops did you try growing, and what went wrong? If it was just slugs, there's your answer. You need to kill the slugs

[zazen999]

Girly - where are you - if you pop your location into your profile it really will help when asking some questions.

Slugs, unfortunately, seem to be everywhere.

Have you tried the Organic Slug Pellets? They don't hurt other animals/humans and the slug just crawl away to die - it's worked for me.

[Plot17B]

ooohh..do have to say beer traps are fantastic. I can't bring myelf to kill the little blighters (they do after all actually breakdown leaf matter and other good things to help fertise the soil), but my conscience allows them to smell beer and tumble in and drown happy.
I just use small yoghurt or margerine pots dug down to ground level and leave it overnight. They absolutely love the stuff.

And only buy the cheapest corner shop lager/beer or get slops from the pub. They're not that fussy round here!

Last thing - a tidy garden means they go for the plants. If there are leaves and other piles of decaying plant matter here and there, the slugs/snails will head for that over and above the green stuff. (except for hosters of course!)
P17B

[Two_Sheds]

The problem with beer traps is they will drown good bugs too, like ground beetles

Try and put a twig in them so the beetles and spiders can climb back out

[stace]

hi girlycm, i am also really new to veg gardening so im afraid that i dont have any great advice as i am still learning myself.but ino completely where your coming from it is very frustrating!!
You just have to remember that when those first lot of veg (in my care herbs atm) hehe comes up it is soo rewarding and worth all the hard work!
x

[Eyren]

The past two years have not been kind to beginning gardeners - I think my OH would have given up, based on the results we've had on the tomato and runner bean front! So don't feel bad that you haven't grown much - even those of us who've been growing for several years and done well in warm summers have struggled lately.

I'm going to be trying the new wildlife-friendly slug pellets this year, as I'm had trouble with the slimy b**gers on my allotment! I did have some success with fine wood shavings as well - I wanted to try bran as a barrier, as that came out top in a test that GYO did last year, but couldn't find any big bags at the supermarket, so I bought the Tesco Value small animal bedding instead! You could also try standing containers (and your plastic greenhouses) in a shallow dish of water, like a moat

Try some seed trays of cut-and-come-again salad leaves in the plastic greenhouse - you could start it off at the sunny end of the garden, and move it to the shady end if we get a hot spell. Can you put up brackets and grow stuff in hanging baskets? There are cherry toms that are bred specially for containers, and probably other things too - and I defy the slugs to find their way up there!

[oldie]

Eyren you can get big bags of bran from pet shops or horse feed suppliers. It does help but supplement with other methods.
Containers are great but you do need to water well as they do dry out. A few chicken manure pellets with the compost helps. I've also used a seaweed foliar feed sprayed on as the plants grow. Red lettuce seems to be less liked by slugs.

[Eco-Chic]

Then there are the pesky Cabbage White caterpillars to watch out for. They have no problem accessing the hanging baskets

They turn your leaves into lacy doilies. Usually to be found underneath the leaves. They start off as teeny tiny yellow green dash (thinner than a piece of cotton). By the time my short-sighted eyes have spotted them they are usually the size of boa constrictors (well almost).

An old pair of tweezers is handy to drop them into a tub of salty water with the dratted slugs and snails. I compost the corpses as they may be too salty for the birds.

[GirlyCM]

Wow, thank you for all your replies. I can only get to look at this forum periodically (when my three month one daughter allows it J) but I am grateful and will get back here.

Two sheds, I am very embarrassed now thought you meant the slugs J.
I have tried to grow

· Large tomatoes – only got a few and when I went to pick them they had brown black dots on these where very late in the season compared to other people I know.
· Tomatoes, hundred and thousands – only one that work but I brought it already grown and ready so cheated a bit.
· Courgette – got one off plant, I didn’t know when was ready to pick so I left it on the plant too long.
· Carrots – slugs had these as soon as green shoots came up.
· Dwarf beans – slugs had these as soon as green shoots came up.
· Runner beans – two plants only produced 2 beans for me and again I left these on too long and they were very stringy.
· Strawberries – only got three berries and animals had then as soon an they were ripe.
· Lettuce – the one you take what leaves you want, slugs had these.

The slugs had all my bedding plants too.

I think I also get the timings wrong and start too late every year. I have updated my profile quickly to say were I am.

Thanks Plot17B and I’ll remember the escape twig.

I think I will give it all ago for another year. Should I only do a couple of this or what are the start things to start with?

[Two_Sheds]

· Large tomatoes – only got a few and when I went to pick them they had brown black dots on - this is blight (August). Try and grow your tomatoes earlier to avoid it

· Courgette – got one off plant, I didn’t know when was ready to pick so I left it on the plant too long. if you don't pick the fruits, it stops producing

· Carrots – slugs had these as soon as green shoots came up. try sowing in paper pots indoors to give them a head start

· Dwarf beans – slugs had these as soon as green shoots came up. ditto
· Runner beans – two plants only produced 2 beans for me and again I left these on too long and they were very stringy. as for courgette
· Strawberries – only got three berries and animals had then as soon an they were ripe. blackbirds probably. Try netting them

· Lettuce – the one you take what leaves you want, slugs had these. you really do need to take anti-slug precautions

I think I also get the timings wrong and start too late every year. The seed packets tell you when to sow, but March/April is usual for most things

Don't be disheartened ~ but remember you are growing food: that means food for animals & bugs as well as yourself! You must take precautions