Novice Questions

[shropshirelad]

Hi I'm new to gardening, but really am keen to grow my own.

I so far have two raised beds, one rectangle and one square (for A frame for beans).

The rectangle I have split into 4 beds, carrots, spring onions, green leaf lettuce and broccolli.

Also got a patch for herbs (only got basil at the mo) and the awesome chap who owns the garden has also given me space in greenhouse so I'm going to grow tomatoes and peppers in grow bags.

I have a couple of questions:

a) This may sound silly but: I have sewn some seeds yesterday and wasn't sure how many to put down! In the end as they looked so small I scattered them in a row. Should I have just put one seed down at a time?

b) I have enough space for two to three rows for each crop. So far i have sown just one row per crop. Should I now wait a few weeks before sewing the next or put them all down now? My seed packets say to sew again in 2-4weeks. Does this mean another row or on top of what I've done?

c) Herbs - I have basil, what else will grow outside this time of year

Any help and advice is much appreciated.

SL

[Novice Gardener]

I'm growing herbs outside - I've got two types of sage, some rosemary, thyme and parsley that I bought as small plants from the garden centre as well as coriander and basil that I sowed from seed. I've also got mint in a large hanging basket and tarragon in a pot. All seem to be doing fine apart from the basil that keeps getting eaten by slugs.

[Demeter]

Hi Shropshire lad - welcome to the vine. I've not been here long myself and it's my first proper year of growing my own too. Everyone on here is so willing to offer help and advice and the search button is great for finding old threads where those same problems keep cropping up!

To have a go at your questions:

(1) How many seeds - depends what they are - also what it says on the packet, but with small seeds scattering seems to work best. Just make sure you don't make the mistake I made and scatter too many or you will get a tangled forest when they all germinate! I think you get a bit of a feel for it after a while as well.

(2) Sowing more rows now / later. If you sow more seeds at different times, each lot will be ready to harvest at a different time so you don't get 100s of carrots all at once, instead you get a manageable amount spread over several or even many weeks. Don't sow them on top of the ones you've already sown, just put them in whatever space you've got where you want the next lot to grow.

(3) Herbs - there are lots that will grow outside. I am growing rosemary, thyme, parsley, coriander, sage, chives, garlic chives, peppermint, chamomile, lavender, borage, lemon balm, soapwort and cumin... Think about what you use a lot of and try it - there's also a separate forum on here called "the Herb Bed" specially for herb questions. Also bear in mind before you let something loose in the ground that some herbs can be very invasive, especially mint, so will do better to go in a pot by themselves.

Good luck and happy gardening!

[Alice]

Welcome to the Vine Shropshire lad. I think Demeter answered your questions.
Tip for the future - if you break your questions down into separate posts you'll get more answers. Happy gardening.

[Two_Sheds]

I've never successfully grown basil outside...it likes it really warm. Don't know where you are ~ could you put your location in your profile? It helps when giving advice.

[TrulyGreen]

Agree about the basil. I've got lots of herbs in the garden, but keep the basil inside on a window sill.

[rew15]

My basil is doing o.k in a pot tower by the back door with parsley and thyme.