First year of container GYO!

[SeleneMourie]

Hi!
This is our first proper post (after reading many many many of your posts over the past few days) so hi to everybody

Last year my fiance and I grew some mixed leafe lettuce, strawberry and tomato plants in containers in the back garden. The strawberrys were fantastic The lettuce 'took to seed?' and the tomato plants got drowned out in last summers lovely weather lol

This year we have gone full gusto! (with no experience or idea what the hell we are doing! )

We are growing in containers outside now:

Strawberry plants from last year (which are huge and green with flowers on!)
Pea - Snap
Mangetout
Sweetcorn - Minipop (although after posts we have read i think we should not have bothered!)
Sweetcorn - Normal (not usre what it is called!)
Red onion - Red Baron
White onion - Marco
Carrot - Round carrot - Atlas
Minature Carrot - Little finger
Garlic
Rocket leaves
Mixed leaves - Spectrum
Garden Dill
Chervil
Mint - Got from Morrisons ands it's going crazy in a big pot!
Purple sprouting broccoli
Brussel sprouts
Courgette

We are growing in a heated propagater / pots inside now:

Tomato - Moneymaker
Sweet Pepper - California Wonder
'un metro ramp nero' Yard longs

We are growing on the windowsill now:
Coriander
Parsley
Rosemary
Basil

We have PROBLEMS though! Last years strawberry plants have lots and lots of 'white fly?' and the plants seems to be breeding lots of little thin smooth caterpillers which are eating the leaves! Two of the Sprout plants have half a leaf each been eaten away (they are about 6ft from the strawberry plants and not caterpillers to be seen).

We are on the North Wales coast in a high walled garden and the only ones in our 'block' to be growing vegetables and the only 'bird' life are seagulls.

Any and all help will really really be appreciated!

Thank you!

S & C

[solway cropper]

Nice to see you've got the GYO bug. One of the big hurdles to get over is the fact you are not the only one who wants to eat your fruit and veg

Bugs, birds and nasties are everywhere and just waiting to devour everything you can grow. Without knowing exactly what predators you've got it's difficult to say what the remedy is but you need to think seriously about crop protection in the form of netting and insecticides (organic or non-organic)

On the subject of mint going wild in a big pot...keep it there cos if you put it in the garden it will take over.

Good luck

[Snadger]

Pigeons lurrrrrve brassicas so could be attacking your sprouts?

Container gardening can be real fun and the beauty of it is you can move the plants around to suit different requirements!

[Jax]

Welcome to the vine, we are kind of in the same boat. I grew a little bit last year but this year we are growing everything we possibly can with very little clue as to what Im doing BUT its always an adventure

[northepaul]

Err I also have problems with strawberries in pots getting white fly - do you garden organically? If so, you could try making some garlic spray to get rid of them.(It repells them)
Also (although I am not sure how accurate the info is,) rue is supposed to be a companion plant for strawbs isnt it?
Caterpillars - pick em off squash em!
Any brassica needs netting, infact its easier in a pot than a whole veg bed. Or maybe try growing garlic or onions with them??

[cupcake]

I have to net my brassicas as the sparrows round here love them!

[SeleneMourie]

Pigeons lurrrrrve brassicas so could be attacking your sprouts?

Container gardening can be real fun and the beauty of it is you can move the plants around to suit different requirements!

I don't think it is piegeons, Being so close to the sea it's just the seagulls really, It looks litle tiny little munchy teeth marks to be honest! Will wrap them up with some protection.

Thank You!

[Two_Sheds]

the slugs have eaten a whole cabbage leaf overnight in my back garden. It will be slugs and snails, and sometimes they are clever enough not to leave any slime

[SeleneMourie]

the slugs have eaten a whole cabbage leaf overnight in my back garden. It will be slugs and snails, and sometimes they are clever enough not to leave any slime

Ohhhhh the sneaky bliters!!!!!
I've been looking through the threads and i think i am going to try crushed eggshells and coffee grounds. I also have onions and garlic planted just about everywhere with a spare space as i heard they help putting off some bugs etc...

Thanks for the advice!

[ginger ninger]

I put lots of broken eggshells under my plant's to try and stop the snail's and slugs it works for most of them, but there's always the S.A.S slug that get's through

[Fred Perry]

Whitefly don't like Garlic water, only problem is after heavy rain a recoat is needed.
All the best to all
Fred P