I have a problem - I have no seeds. Thoughts please?:)

[gardening_gal]

Udate: Given up my grandiose ideas of organic this, that and the other. Got a load of cheap seeds from Lidl and I now have my realistic head on.

Some ordinary non organic seeds I'd been looking at online were £1.99/£2.99 a packet which is why I was expecting to have to shell out a lot of money but I got 5 packets of seeds for £1 in Lidl after baldy mentioned them so I'm a lot happier now.





I have had health issues which can be worsened by diet. So, I need to massively up my intake of:

Kale
Spinach
Cucumbers
Ginger
Apples
Lemons

(mainly)

I have a masticating juicer that I use to make green juice with, from these ingredients. It's amazing the difference it makes to your well being.

I also want to grow the usual suspects, potatoes, tomatoes, salad stuffs etc.

I'm 'supposed' to be eating organic versions of these but the cost is prohibitive which is why I plan to grow them instead. However even 'normal compost and seeds are expensive too and I am seriously seriously skint.

The council here doesn't do free compost unfortunately so it looks like I have no choice but to go down the beans on toast route for a few weeks, in order to get soil/compost for my raised beds.

As for the seeds, any suggestions for the cheapest place to source these right now? I'm assuming that a seed is a seed (unless it's a posh organic one, lol) and beggars can't be choosers so any seed is a good seed and will grow what I need in these circumstances. Bound to be better than shop bought veg anyway?

I had all these grand ideas of having a garden full of lovely fresh organic veg and I've come back down to earth with a massive bang now!

[nickdub]

I've never managed to actually save myself any money growing veg, so I do it for fun and the benefit of eating fresh produce - I do save money on fruit though.

My suggestion would be to work on sharing with others - either by helping someone-else on their allotment and/or by advertising the garden space you have for growing on Freecycle and see if someone will do a crop share with you where they provide a lot of the input costs, you help out with the work and provide the space - and then you share the produce.

[gardening_gal]

I've never managed to actually save myself any money growing veg, so I do it for fun and the benefit of eating fresh produce - I do save money on fruit though.

My suggestion would be to work on sharing with others - either by helping someone-else on their allotment and/or by advertising the garden space you have for growing on Freecycle and see if someone will do a crop share with you where they provide a lot of the input costs, you help out with the work and provide the space - and then you share the produce.

Ah! So my plan is flawed.Typical

Thanks for suggestions but no allotments and I'm in the middle of a housing scheme with a postage sized slab covered garden. Only until I win the lottery of course.

[Scarlet]

Start a compost bin.

Anything you start now won't need huge amounts of compost yet....
I don't think Ginger/ lemons /Apples - will be cost effective to grow to eat at home in the short term? Apple tress etc need to be grown for sometime before they produce. A bag of apples isn't that much more to buy than a tin of beans either these days.

Lidls do seeds for 50p each for the basics - which will cover you for the kale/spinach and cucumbers.
How many pots have you got room for?

[the big lebowski]

a compost bin is a good suggestion ,it will take a year to make compost so no good for this year but well worth it once you get it up n running , i go to wilkos for most of my stuff ,they are pretty cheap and normaly have a sale on at the end of the growing season (youll have to keep popping in as they dont advertise this ) ,ive found with ordering cheap seeds its still about the same price after p and p , if you have a small garden could you put a thornless blackberry on 1 wall ? that will give you lots of nice free fruit to eat ,cheers

[burnie]

Wilkos stores are sadly very rare in Scotland(I think there's one in Glasgow), so only available on line north of the border, but Lidl and Aldi do the cheapest seeds I have noticed, however, so of the major brands have certain seeds at reasonable prices and their germination is often better. Supermarkets like Asda often have cheap growbags for sale that would help to grow on a budget too.

[bikermike]

I doubt you'll save any money, but you will gain
1) more vitamins (veg loses nutrients the moment they leave the soil)
2) more vitamins/kg - modern commercial veg has less trace elements in it/kg - this is thought to be a result of fertiliser etc making them grow more quickly
3) better taste - fresh always tastes better.
4) more control over what they treated with (note "more", not total).
5) gardening is good for your mental well-being (although slugs don't seem to have read this bit...)

In terms of organic, pure organic seeds are very expensive, but as long as you pick reasonably traditional varieties of stuff, non-organic seeds will still represent an improvement over shop-bought as you control the growing process.

you can grow stuff in pots/bags on your slab garden. old recycling tubs are good, florists buckets etc


Compost is cheaper if you buy it in bulk. Are there stables anywhere near you? free poo (but make sure it's rotted).
Definitely start your own compost heap (get a plastic dalek), any raw veg peelings, eggshells, coffeegrounds, teabags, flowers, grass clippings etc all will make you some compost in time.


For most of the things you list (except spinach and kale) I'd think you'd want a greenhouse. How are you with strawberries? they are cheap and taste amazing fresh.

Good luck!

[Scarlet]

Remember pots don't need to be filled all with compost either - polystyrene in the bottom not only stops them from getting too heavy but also reduces how much compost you need to fill them with.

[gardening_gal]

Thanks all!

Never thought about Lidl!!! 50p? Yay! There is a Lidl 3 miles away, I'll visit there for sure.

No Wilkos as burnie says. Shame really as I've often seen good deals advertised for them.

I have 2 black 'Daleks' which I intend to get up and running but we are supposed to be due more snow so there doesn't seem any point in trying to get them going just now? Or is there?

No greenhouse, but I will have a tunnel up on the paving slabs at some point in the next few weeks. Not sure the neighbours will be too impressed but I'm a good quiet neighbour to have so hopefully they wont complain. Some of the gardens here are a wee bit rough or untidy so I'm hoping a tunnel will be seen as the least of the evils, I don't want to upset anyone.

I also intend putting pots in the front garden. Obviously I will try to keep it looking as neat as possible but it doesn't make sense to me to leave the space unused just because it's at the front. I could get many many pots/tubs/planters etc out there. Again, it is slabbed/stoned.

Strawberries are great. I'm thinking they might be ok at the front in tubs. Blackberry is a good idea, I have a side wall that might be ok for that. I eat a lot of fruit with porridge so again it would be good to grow my own.

[gardening_gal]

Remember pots don't need to be filled all with compost either - polystyrene in the bottom not only stops them from getting too heavy but also reduces how much compost you need to fill them with.

.......and I have just got rid of a load of polystyrene packaging! Aarrgh!

[bikermike]

Is there an Aldi near you - they have gardening stuff this weekend. I think Lidl's one was Thursday. Check the websites

It's never to early to start a dalek filling. It'll be slower until it starts to fill up, but it will all turn to compost.

[gardening_gal]

Is there an Aldi near you - they have gardening stuff this weekend. I think Lidl's one was Thursday. Check the websites

It's never to early to start a dalek filling. It'll be slower until it starts to fill up, but it will all turn to compost.

Aldi is about half an hour's drive away. Not a huge problem as such but Lidl is so much closer.

Thanks for the Dalek tip, will start keeping veggie scraps and loo rolls etc from here on in.

[the big lebowski]

I have 2 black 'Daleks' which I intend to get up and running but we are supposed to be due more snow so there doesn't seem any point in trying to get them going just now? Or is there?

its never too early to start putting stuff in your compost bins ,egg shells, teabgs any kitchen waste type stuff , once you get a decent amount of stuff in there and it starts to break down it will start to create its own heat and warm up nicely

[gardening_gal]

Someone 'up there' must be minding me!!! I just got this email from Quidco....


Start March on a high with our £15 bonus. Simply opt in and spend £10 before midnight, Monday 4 March to unlock your £15 reward.

Pick from over 4,500 amazing retailers!

So if I spend £10 or even £15 on seeds online I'll get that back so they will effectively be free.

[Lumpy]

More veg is good for smaller amounts of seeds. Packets from 50p. Over £10 and p&p free. Unlike the shops they have a reasonable amount of varieties for each seed type.
My next door but one neighbour uses the bags for life from the supermarkets to grow kale and spinach. 10p each and they have handles.
2ltr pop bottles mean a do it yourself mini prop. I wrap paper to obscure light around the bottom and the skinny garden canes (£1 shop) through the neck to secure the top.
Good Luck.