Phil the non-gardeners garden

[Rapscallion]

Wilko Walk in Greenhouse Cover and Stage PE at wilko.com[/url]If I did get a slightly larger greenhouse (like this one maybe?), what other plants could I start growing?

I don’t have anywhere I can plant directly into soil, so will be limited to pots, grow bags, a square metre raised bed and hanging baskets.

Looking for something easy as I am clueless gardner!

Lucky in that I have a reasonable sized garden (for a city!) and it is very sunny - se facing.

[SarrissUK]

What veg do you tend to buy? Grow what you eat

[veggiechicken]

I have one of those that I use as a log store! You'd need to secure it to the fence and put paving slabs or bricks on the flaps at the base to secure it. It comes with guy ropes too.
You could grow most things in there - toms, cucumbers, peppers etc.

[Rapscallion]

I love pretty much all fruit and veg, tomatoes and strawberries, cucumbers, spring onions, herbs, salad leaves, green beans...

[SarrissUK]

There you go! That's a list of things to grow!

[cristalfiona]

All of those mentioned will do fine in pots or grow bags. Apart from the tomatoes, cucumbers and green beans they're all good to sow/put outside already.

[Rapscallion]

Thanks. I also have a square foot raised bed, 3 ft square, 6" deep, and have the materials to make another.

What plants would be best in the bed, and which best in pots (I don't have any spare pots, so will have to buy them).
I would like lots of strawberries, so how many squares should I allocate to strawberries. Should I plant a few different varieties so they crop at different times?
And which varieties of the other plants (cucumbers, spring onions, herbs, salad leaves, green beans) would you recommend?

[Rapscallion]

Ps thanks for the advice all.

[veggiechicken]

Six inches isn't deep enough for some veggies - should be OK for strawberries, spring onions and salad leaves. maybe some herbs - depends on what you want to grow.
Cucumbers and beans would do better in pots - like buckets.

[Rapscallion]

Hi veggie, roughly what size buckets would you get? I saw a few in Wilkos that looked reasonably priced.
Maybe a few of these?

[Rapscallion]

PS am also planting strawberries. I am planning on planting them in a raised bed (1m square, 6" deep). The local garden centre has the following varieties:

• Elsanta
• cambridge favourite
• strawberry honey
• Sonata
• Symphony

If wanted a pick and mix and a crop across the season, which would you choose? Or would you go elsewhere>

[KevinM67]

Hi veggie, roughly what size buckets would you get? I saw a few in Wilkos that looked reasonably priced.
Maybe a few of these?

Get yourself to Morri $ons - 8 flower buckets for 99p.
There's a great guy on YouTube - Home Grown Veg, who grows plenty of stuff in them. Cracking vids he puts up.

[veggiechicken]

Raps, M0rris0ns, Ty Glas, don't sell flower buckets any more but you may be able to get some from Asda free, if you ask at customer services.

[AkionTotocha]

If you get that greenhouse it's the same one I have, wedged into the corner of the courtyard and attached with ground pegs in between paving stones, a propane bottle, a heavy piece of wood bolted to the back as a potting table, and the guy ropes anchored to the wall with massive wall plugged hooks.

It wobbles but it doesn't move, even in those gales we had a few weeks ago. In the middle of a field with just the ropes it comes with... Maybe it will live up to its name. But you have a fence so get some idk L brackets, put them 6ft apart/120cm(?), level with the fabric loops, and put the long side of the GH against the fence. Anchor with strong cable ties to the L brackets.

Then get some long tent pegs and put them in the holes of the bars on the base of the GH, and then use the rest of the pegs to "catch" the bars on the base of the GH even without holes - a whole bag if you can (I think there are 5/6 holes in the actual bars, but you can just hold the bars with the hook of the tent pegs.

Use the guy lines to attach the other two securing tabs in the usual way.

I then would perhaps advise against tying the fabric skin to the metal frame - the frame holds your plants but the skin is what blows away, so having it as a floating structure means that even if the guy ropes and cable ties snap then the structure of the GH will remain. The exception to this is the small fabric tabs just on either side of the door, as when you open the door, the slightest breeze encourages the GH to get nakey without them. (The one on the left snapped off on mine so that's how I know.)

And then big heavy things as well to weigh it down.

I found some "outside" melons Amir F1, so I'm hoping even if we get a poor summer they will do well in the GH. Some Cucamelon seedlings have to be constantly encouraged not to strangle my tomato seedlings so they're going with the melons on the back wall (on a fan shaped trellis that I'll cable tie in place, more weight)

I find the joints get more secure when pushed down, and I used to perch on the support bar in the middle of the shelves until dahlia seedlings took my place.

But we can go on this £25 journey together this year Phill!

[Penellype]

PS am also planting strawberries. I am planning on planting them in a raised bed (1m square, 6" deep). The local garden centre has the following varieties:

• Elsanta
• cambridge favourite
• strawberry honey
• Sonata
• Symphony

If wanted a pick and mix and a crop across the season, which would you choose? Or would you go elsewhere>

There is a spread of varieties here, assuming by honey you mean honeoye. This is an early variety. Elsanta, Cambridge Favourite and Sonata are mid season varieties, Symphony is a later one.

Of these I have personally tried Elsanta, which I like, and Cambridge Favourite which is an old variety which is ok. Sonata is often available in the shops. I'm trying Honeoye for the first time this year and I have not tried Symphony.

My personal favourites are Marshmello (mid season), Elsanta (mid season) and Buddy, which is a perpetual variety and will continue fruiting from mid summer until the first frosts. I have never seen Marshmello in the shops so you may need to order it (I got mine from Marshalls), but it beats the others hands down for flavour in my opinion.