how do I use this space?

[novicegrower]

Hi All,
I have a 6' x 4' brick unheated outdoor "shed" with a double glazed window in it, 1 very small plastic greenhouse and a 2' x 10' raised bed. I also have a number of containers big enough to grow potatoes etc in, about 8 I think....
Can anyone advise me how to get started for the coming season?
By end of Jan I will not be employed, so I want to start growing some food for the 2 of us and would like to think that I started at the beginning and not halfway through a season.
Any suggestions would be very helpful. Also, is it too late to sow garlic? I have about 3 bulbs from local shop, is it worth trying to grow from these?

thanks in advance

[Bigmallly]

I would sacrifice the 3 bulbs & split them into cloves & plant them. The weather is still fairly mild for the time of year & if it gets too cold, you could always cover them. The prize is greater than the loss with approx 30 garlic bulbs gain next year. You could use the shed to start your seeds against the window then use your plastic greenhouse to harden off before planting in your bed. I would also be tempted to use some of your pots for carrots & parsnips in nice soft compost to avoid them becoming mis-shapen. I am sure better ideas will follow. Good luck with whatever you grow.

[novicegrower]

great start, thanks for your time, will get the garlic in tomorrow then.will also check seed packets for the earliest stuff to get going with, as you say, by the window in the shed.
thanks for your help. will keep my eyes open for more pearls of wisdom!

[sarraceniac]

I think the thing to remember is to grow 'economic' food that you like. Mally is (of course) right on the garlic and I'd grow some onions from seed as well. Good time to start them off in trays in the house. They should be sprouting in about a week then they can be transfered to the plastic g.house BUT there is a cheat. If you get some Japanese onion seed, Radar or Senshyu then you can save g.house space for other things. Get them going in the house and once germinated just move the trays outside. (I would post a piccie of mine but it is a bit dark, cold and rainy to go tripping round the garden at the moment.) Then in early spring just put them in the bed. Don't worry about spacing, just give them a few inches to expand, you don't need to walk between rows. Next year get some salad stuff going in the bed. Lettuce is very hardy and can be started in early spring. The main thing is you don't have enough room to tie up land with brassicas which can take an age to grow. So look for fast growing stuff as well. If you can't grow cabbage and sprouts (too slow) then grow spinach beet which is excellent as a green veg and grows like the clappers. In looking for early planting stuff then don't forget to look for how long it will take to grow, possibly tying up valuable land.

[Reb Williams]

sarraceniac's advice is excellent and I'd definitely second the comment about spinach beet. Very easy to grow, very very tasty (much nicer than spinach) and can be used for salads as well as a cooked veg.

Good luck. We're rooting for you... that wasn't a pun. ooops.

Reb
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The perfect present for allotmenteers who can laugh at themselves - Grow Your Own Cows

[SarzWix]

Peas would probably be a good thing to grow next year - you could fix some pea netting to the side of your brick building and grow a tall variety such as Alderman in a biggish container. Because they're tall, you get more pea for the space (They can be sown from March)
Also, climbing beans for the same reason - larger crop from a small space. They would need a large container, or space in the raised bed, and a wigwam of canes to grow up. They would need to be sown in April/early May indoors and not planted out til the risk of frost is past.

[Bagpuss]

Have a think about all the veg that you can keep by freezing too. I had a massive amount of runner beans (Red Rum) this year which I managed to freeze. I have a tiny garden and managed to get four decent plants in a large tub. We're still enjoying them now. Tommies are always great, can be cooked and frozen and are seemingly happy in pots. I had great successes with cut and come again rocket this year which saw me through the summer months.

[Two_Sheds]

While lettuce & salads are lovely (& expensive to buy) they don't do much to fill your tummy.
For protein, make some space for French beans (climbers will give you more crop for less space than bush beans). I have spare seed if you want to PM me.

[solway cropper]

I'd agree with the climbing beans. If you can grow them up a trellis or something on the shed then you won't take up space in the plot. You can get an enormous crop from a square yard of ground or a big container. Like bagpuss we still have them in the freezer. With such a limited space I'd be going for any veg that grows up rather than out.

[Eco-Chic]

If you have Wilkinsons &/or Pound Shops near to you check them regularly for inexpensive seed, netting, fleece etc. It's very annoying to spend a lot of time growing only to find you're feeding caterpillars, snails and birdies.

With a small growing area it is sensible to grow the more expensive veg you enjoy and the buy in the readily available stuff.

[smallblueplanet]

Or grow stuff that you get more than one crop from, things that 'cut and come again' such as salads & calabrese (look at 'kabuki f1' its a small variety)? We've just discovered how tasty tuscan kale (and curly kale) is (as well as very good for you) and grew some last spring/summer for the 1st time. It is better than cabbage/cauli in my opinion as you can take as many leaves as you need at the time. Its good in salads when leaves are small and bigger leaves can be added to lots of dishes or eaten as a 'side dish'. They are also very winter hardy so I'm thinking they should start growing again quite early in spring, but I don't know as I'm new to them.

Although when the leaves are bigger/older you have to take out their stem from the leaf the easiest way to do it is just tear the 'greenery' off. Much easier than cutting with a knife.

We sow our garlic into modules around jan/feb and plant them into the ground later, but we grow a 'spring growing' variety - solent wight. You can start off your onion seeds now, 1st time we grew them from seed we kept them too wet, easy to do in colder weather, but now we start them in modules around New Year time and they are also easy to grow.

If you are trying to save money as well I guess you have to decide which veggies you like that are costly and which might take up lots of space but are relatively cheap, say like spuds?

Anyway there's plenty of advice on here - good luck.