advice and tips on getting started

[bools321]

firstly im gonna buy a mini greenhouse, like the 4 tiered ones out of asda.
so i can keep most of the veg in growbags/containers but does eveything have to go in the greenhouse. for example, runner beans can i just get an arch and have them out of the green house?

also can most veg grow in tubs/containers/plant pots?

sorry im so new to this but so eager to get going.

shopping spee tomorrow so i want get as much info as poss and get my list written down

[tamsin]

Runner beans are fine outside.

Things like peppers and tomato like it warmer so a greenhouse is good most other things can go outside though.

You can grow anything in tubs/pots if you have big enough ones. It depends what you are growing how big a pot it will need.

[BumbleB]

Hi bools321
You can grow salad into containers and they germinate and grow quite quickly outside. Lettuce, radish, beetroot, rocket etc are great in tubs troughs even hanging baskets.

Your greenhouse will be fine for toms in large pots or growbag if you use the bottom and they grow quite tall.

Are you growing from seed or buying plants?

[bools321]

from plants. easier for me. also do you feed you plants with anything?

[Rabidbun]

I put most things in the mini greenhouse this year to germinate as it was hotter in there than in my glass unheated one. All of my garden is containers apart from three raised beds as I have absolutely solid clay front and back. Crops that I started off with last year though were:

Potatoes (bought a kit of planters with a few seed potatoes online - fabric or plastic ones did equally well)
Lettuces/salad leaves (in washing up bowls with eight holes drilled in the base) - kept them small ish and cropping throughout summer by pulling off the outside leaves when they got big enough - around eight to a bowl
Spring onions (also in bowls)
Parsley (other herbs have been working well this year also in the bowls, though I have kept the basil in the greenhouse this year)
Chives
Peas and beans in large pots, quite closely spaced and trained up a tripod of poles with string between them

With the container growing you will have to keep things watered a lot more often (apparently a mulch on the top of the pots will help, but I haven't tried this yet) and make sure to fertilze the plants regularly. It's great for moving things about your space though if they aren't growing well!

[Two_Sheds]

also can most veg grow in tubs/containers/plant pots?

In June, yes - off you go!
Growhouses are mostly used for bringing on seedlings, but at this time of year they can go straight outside.

It is vital to get a saucer for every container that you have. Otherwise watering is so much harder ... the compost dries out, the water runs out the bottom ...having a saucer will save you time, money and crops.

Feed with a drop of tomato feed once a week or so.

[bobleponge]

Plenty of people have no greenhouse/glass covered areas at all, and still continue to produce good crops year after year.
There are somethings that I wouldnt try without a greenhouse, but before I had one, everything was on windowsills indoors or straight outside.
Toms/peppers etc do like heat so benefit but if you have patience then they will all work outdoors, if the summer is anything like reasonable.

[tracey14]

Welcome to the world of GYO I am sure you will have fun watching things grow, A few tips to help with recyclying some of your supermarkets rubish that can be put to good use in your garden, plastic bottles can be cut in half and used as propagators, and even used to sown seeds in , use your big joint meat trays to sow seeds like lettuce to put on your kitchen windowsill. Also the prepacked trays as well are useful.

If you have a WILKO store near you they do sell cheaply and quite competitive with internet prices. They even sell STUART POTS cheap! I also have 4 roses arches from WILKO's , what I have done is get some 6 ft canes 2 for each side and placed them in the middle of the arch sides tied with cable ties ( take alook at my pictures for example) this will mean that you could also sow some sweet pea or even more beans this will encourage the beas to come.
You could also make use of a bit of hose to go over top of arch, cut a bit of and push onto the top of one cane on one side of the arch and take it over the top onto the opposite cane. My arches provide me with 4 sides to each side, thats a good bit of growing space.

You could plant up 4 seeds now and then in a few weeks plant a few more this means you will have acontinuous supply. I hope this helps you get going! Take some pictures for us all to see what you have done that way you get lots of encouragement from everyone! GOOD LUCK