Advice for a novice...

[gregorg]

Hi there. I'm completely new to gardening of any form! I've just ordered a vegetable planter as I love the idea of 'growing our own'. It's 180cm wide, 45cm deep and 45cm tall.

I've 'inherited' several bags of Westland Gro-sure vegetable compost and I've ordered some weed control fabric as the planter has no base.

I've found out quite a lot about what to grow when, what's suitable for 'container growing' etc. but am rather unsure about initial set-up of the whole thing.

1. Should I fill only with compost or mix it with soil from the garden (soil doesn't look that 'nutritious')

2. Anything else I need to add/have in the way of feeder, pest control etc.?

3. Mostly unsure about how much I can plant and how much space to leave inbetween the planted seeds?

Any help, hugely appreciated!!
Best wishes,
Gerald

[kris1960]

If you have only got one space to grow I would look at square foot gardening as a way of easily increasing yields, interest year round and variety. There is also lots of info on this forum and elsewhere. Beware: veg growing is addictive!

[muddled]

Hello and welcome,

I agree that square foot gardening is the way to go.
They recommend a mix of compost, soil and vermiculite (I may have that a bit wrong, it's been a while) but if you aren't going that heavily into it initially then yes, add garden soil to your bagged compost. The bagged stuff tends to be too light, not hold water well and be difficult to firm things in on it's own.

There are square foot threads on this forum and lots of information on the web.

Courgettes, pumpkins, sweetcorn and such I think will be too big but salads, kohl rabi, dwarf beans, onions e.t.c will be perfectly happy!

Good luck!

[gregorg]

Great, many thanks for the advice. Square foot gardening looks great.

One other novice detail (!) is it normal/better to plant seeds or already 'started' plants...? The SFG websites I've seen, mention how many plants to put in each square box, but is that also the number of seeds you'd plant...? Sorry if that's an idiotic question!

[Scarlet]

You can do either but I find it much easier to raise plants in little pots. Pot on into large pots and plant out when they are big enough to ward off a slug attack. The benefit of this is that as soon as you've harvested something you've (hopefully) got another plant waiting to fill the gap.

[Potstubsdustbins]

As Scarlet says get yourself some plant pots of various size's. Then you can start from seed and have a conveyor belt system where there is always something ready to take over in an empty space.

Doing it this way will make best use of the available space but you will have to add fertiliser to the main bed as you go.

A further tip don't plant to much of anyone thing at the same time. 20 lettuce all ready in a fortnight is not the way to go.

[maverick451]

Definately look into square foot gardening there is loads of free info and you can even get the book on amazon cheaply.

Id add a little garden soil to the compost but personally I wouldnt go overboard, 2/3 compost 1/3 soil to give it more weight is what I use.

I would also say that never be embarrassed about buying in plug plants, specially in your 1st season, for example its a bit late to sow Tomato seeds now but you can buy plants from the garden centre.

Also work out which way the sun is and plant the tall stuff at the back, I didnt do that well 1st season and made an awfull mess.

[out in the cold]

Only plant stuff that you actually like to eat. A glut of beetroot if you are not that keen can be a bit off putting.

Check out the local charity shops for any gardening books that might give guidance on plant spacings for each type of veggie.

Also, you could maybe use your compost bags partly filled to grow some spuds. If you place these on the windward side of the planter (assuming you can arrange this so it doesn't also cast a shadow on the planter) then it might help provide a windbreak for some of your low lying plants like salads etc which could get damaged by the wind.

[Bill HH]

A lot of good advice above, particularly not to plant too much of any one thing. sow a pinch of lettuce seed every couple of weeks for instance to get a constant supply. When they are big enogh to handle put them in 3 inch pots one per pot.
Containers dry out quickly so keep up with the watering.

[gregorg]

Getting there...

Planting box is assembled and nearly full of compost (mixed with a little garden soil - though once the rubbish was separated out, it was very fine and powdery...)

Hoping to get seeds and plants in today. Anything I need to do in terms of feed/fertilising/pest control?

The compost is one specific for growing vegetables in.

Looking forward to getting stuck in! :-)

[Potstubsdustbins]

Remember your compost will be dead in 5/6 weeks no matter what you put in it at the outset, so you will have to feed.

[gregorg]

Most of the vegetables I'm planting don't seem to need feed, according to growing instructions... Is that correct? Are you advising to feed the compost/soil specifically and if so with what, please?

Slowly educating myself in this new world of gardening...!

[Potstubsdustbins]

All plants need nutrients in the growing medium. If you are growing in open ground you can prepare this by added manure/fertilizer before planting and this will see you through on most occasion's.

When your growing in containers it is different, the nutrients in the compost will have disappeared/been used in 5/6 weeks therefore any plant that takes longer than this to mature for harvest and that is most of them will need feeding as you go along.

If you let us know what you will be planting we will be able to help with more advice.

[gregorg]

Ah I see.

I've just today planted seeds of:
Cucamelon
Mixed beetroot
Mixed leaf salad

And ready grown plants of:
Baby carrots
Spinach
Kale
Pak choi

Amazing website to be able to get first hand advice from seasoned experts! Thank you!!
😀

[Potstubsdustbins]

For those I would mainly use a 7-7-7 general fertiliser such as Grow more or blood, fish & bone. When the cucamelon starts to fruit I would use a high potash such as tomorite.