Advice for beginner on what to grow

[starr]

Before I ask my questions, you need to know that I'm a TOTAL beginner at any kind of gardening apart from growing herbs in pots on my windowsill (and even that doesn't always go that well...does anyone know how to get rid of those tiny green creatures that appear out of nowhere on basil??) so if you're kind enough to respond, please assume that I know nothing at all and need everything explained!

I bought my first house last year and I'd really like to grow some veg, mostly because I eat lots of veg and a lot of my favourite things are either expensive to buy or are way way tastier if they're homegrown. I don't have a lot of space, time or knowledge, so I'm looking for advice on what might be easy to grow in a small area.

My front garden is tiny but gets loads of sun and is fairly sheltered. It has an L-shaped bed with 1.5m high fences along the back of each long side - the long sides are 2.6m and 1.8m long and the bed is nearly 1m wide.
The back garden is mostly paved and quite shady, and is also fairly sheltered. There are 2 slightly raised beds, one at the side which I intend to use for planting herbs, and the other along the back fence, which gets sun in the afternoon and is about 2m long and 0.8m wide and has a 2m trellis fence along the back. There's also a fair bit of space in the back garden for things in pots, so I was intending to keep some of the more invasive herbs (mint!) in pots so they can't take over the whole garden. I had some strawberry plants and tomato plants in hanging baskets last year, but they didn't really ripen because the weather was so bad. I'll give them another go this summer.

Here are my top few things I'd like to grow if they don't need much space, and aren't too time-consuming or difficult to grow:
- asparagus
- jerusalem artichokes
- carrots
- borlotti beans
- sweetcorn

I was thinking the artichokes might work well in the back garden, with it having the high fence behind, and also I've heard that artichokes aren't too fussy about how much sun they get. Everything else would have to go either in the beds in the front garden or in pots at the back.
I've heard that beans, corn and squash grow well in a bed together - is this an easy way of growing them or would it be complicated for a beginner?

If anyone can offer any advice/suggestions/help deciding what to grow and where best to put it, I'll be massively grateful!

[xandra3004]

Hi Starr

welcome to the forum and to a lifetime of gardening - once the bug gets you you have it for life!!

Asparagus is one of my favourites too but unless you have lots of space its not great - simply because firstly you need to set the plants about a foot apart each way and because if you grow from seed it will be 4 years before your first crop and 2-3 years if you get crowns. Having said all of that asparagus was the first thing I planted at my allotment even though I don't have stacks of space - only another year to wait before my first harvest.

Jerusalem artichokes on the other hand are easy to grow and are not too fussy, they will need quite a bit of space and can from 8 foot high but they are very rewarding especially as you can harvest right through until christmas. All you need do is plant them approx 8 inches apart and 6 inches deep and leave them too it.

Carrots - I planted 3 different varieties last year and didn't get a single decent carrot so I am not sure I am best placed to advise on these - you should not plant carrots in ground which has been recently manured (as you'll get funny roots) and they like fine sandy soil which is easy for roots to grow though.

Borlotti beans are very easy whether dwarf or runner variety - simply plant straight in the ground late April/May and then wait for the beans - delicious.

Sweetcorn - start off inside in pots (individual ones so you don't disturb the roots too much when you plant them out - I used the middle from toilet rolls last year filled with compost then planted them straight out) when planting plant in blocks or at least 2 rows close-ish together so you get good wind pollination - they are very good to grow in same bed as squash as the latter are low growing but will take lots of ground space and the corn are high growing but skinny (I am not sure about beans being grown in same place though)

If you are going to do tomatoes again and grow them outdoors you need to have your seeds sown pretty early - I planted my toms out (indoors and out) last year in May and had an abundance of ripe tomatoes both indoors and out.

Some other good things to try are anything quick growing as (if you are anything like me) I am impatient to get at my first crops. Try sowing some rocket or other salad leaves, radish, spring onions and baby turnips (I grew Tokyo Cross last year for the turnips in succession sowing and had baby turnips from about June - November) and spinach. All of these seeds you can really just sow straight into the ground and make sure that they are kept moist - you can also put some fleece over them to give them an extra head start.

If you haven't got the space for potatoes - get a few grow bags and then split them down the middle so that you have 2 bags you can stand on end and look like a pot. Pop a few holes on the bottom and a couple of seed potatoes (or some of the sprouted ones you will have in your cupboard!) in each bag water well and keep moist. Feed every so often with a pellet fertilizer (you can get special potato fertilizer or just use pelleted chicken manure or grow more) and in a short time you will have great new potatoes. I grew potatoes both in bags and in the ground last year and got greater yield from the bags!

I think thats about it for now - but good luck and let us know how you get on!

[Eyren]

I reckon Xandra's covered it pretty well!

Carrots are a little bit tricky - the slugs love the seedlings so they get mown down almost as quickly as they come up, and you can't easily raise them in modules and transplant them, as they dislike root disturbance. I would suggest trying a fast-growing variety like "Early Nantes", raised as follows:

Sow in small patches about the size of your palm and cover each patch with a 2L soft drinks bottle with the bottom cut off, pushed well down into the soil - that will protect them from the slugs and also keep them warm at this time of year (I found it helps to put a piece of bird netting over all the bottles and pin it securely to the ground, to stop them blowing away!). After the carrots come up, thin them so you are left with seedlings about a centimeter or two apart, and harvest as baby carrots for a great value-for-money crop!

Sow a few batches every month and you can have baby carrots almost all year round

Native Americans traditionally grow beans, squash and corn together (known as Three Sisters), but in our cooler climate the corn doesn't always grow tall enough to support the beans. However corn and squash still make a good combination, and you can always grow the beans nearby, trained up canes. They are all pretty easy to grow - just make sure you keep them well-watered in dry weather, and feed the squash as it needs lots of nutrients. A good tip is to cut the bottom from a large plastic bottle and half-bury it upside down next to the squash when you plant it - you can then use it like a funnel to water/feed the squash directly at its roots where it will get the most benefit.

[starr]

Thanks both of you, that was really helpful!