Help with growing fruit/veg needed!

I've used the water crystals before, and yes they are good, but I found that the blobs sometimes work their way up the surface. It tends to only happen if you really really over water, to the point where the compost is no longer compost, but more slop.

Another useful trick that I found (I can't claim the idea as mine, I just mean I've also tried this) is to cover the exposed surface of the compost with pebbles. Water can still drain through them but it keeps the sun and the wind off the surface of the compost, so it holds its moisture better. The extra weight also helps to prevent the pots blowing over when the wind gets up a bit.

 

Hey guys, advertised my idea on a local selling page around my area! getting a lot of positive feedback and even got offered a landscaping job!!! Unfortunately I cannot drive yet so he cannot take me on but very, very good news!

 

Hi, You can buy Water Crystals quite cheap in places like pound stretchers etc, BnQ charge a fortune. A little bit of it goes a long way. Some make the mistake of adding them straight to the compost, so when you water they swell, and retain the moisture in your pots, or hanging baskets etc so compost stays wetter for longer. You only need a couple of tablespoons, to make half a bucket of crystals. So, this is what I do, I make up the water crystals in a bucket. Plenty of water and leave to sit for any hour or two. They will swell to their largest capicity, and then add to your pots etc.This will prevent you adding to many crystals to any pot, and then they swell causing the compost to be pushed out. So preparing them first is my best tip, and you need not worry about plants drying out, nor pay super expensive compost prices, for a fraction of the cost.

 

Keep an eye on Freegle for things that you'll need such as small plastic pots, garden tools etc. I "won" several dustbin loads of vermiculite last year - enough for several years for me.

Get a couple of large compost "bins" made now. Not much use to you this year, but you'll be glad of them in the long run.

Get a growing area sorted for seedlings now. You'll not get away with just digging, popping the seeds in and walking away with the money in your pocket! Your customers will be looking for something tangible. Offer unusual varieties wherever possible (eg; round courgettes)

Remember that you will have to go back at least two weeks after the hard work has been done to weed and then plant up when everything has settled.

 

I've stopped using Water Retaining Gel Crystals. I read some scaremongering that the chemistry involved in the break-down products may well be harmful, and I couldn't be sure that spent compost from tubs and containers (i.e. containing water retaining gel) would not go on the compost heap / get mixed in with other compost used for growing on veg. etc.

 

Hi Chris

Firstly best of luck in your new venture and as I see it you have already had some good advice from other GC members so I won't go over that again.

Possibly what you need now is some local knowledge and hopefully I can help you there as I have gardened in Huddersfield for the past forty years which is only about fifteen miles from you.

Over the years from setting up I kept diaries of what I did, what worked and what didn't then when I retired I amalgamated my diaries into a website,which you can have a look at here; [ur]http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Indexes/index.htm[/url]

In here you will find timings for your area of when to carry out the gardening tasks you are most likely to come across.

I have to say I wish I had had such information when I was at your stage!



Next,I would suggest you knock up a bit of a " Flyer" on what services you would offer along with easy contact details e.g. Home telephone, mobile telephone number and e- mail addres etc.

Don't offer anything you know you can't do as you will be soon found out and that is the last thing you want, what you want is; each customer to be a potential gateway to your next customer, I.e. word of mouth recommendation, and you won't get this if you tell lies, in fact quite the reverse might be the case!

Once you get your flyer drawn up try and get them pinned up in garden centres, Homebase, B&Q etc.

You might also find that such places once they get to know you, they might offer you good terms helping you to make a bob or two, or indeed put work your way!

How I started off, although a bit morbid,was;

An old lady who had just lost her husband wanted to keep his lifelong passion with his garden alive so we worked on a deal to keep it alive, in this case I grew the fruit and veg and gave her what she wanted ( which was not very much)

Cutting grass and weeding the flower beds was extra!

This worked well until she died but word had got round her church and I soon had a replacement garden with similar arrangements.

So in fact I got into a niche market through not overcharging and my customers were very happy because they I was deemed " trustworthy"

On one occasion I was even mentioned in the will to receive all the gardening tools left by the deceased.

You are young and inexperienced so do not take on more than you can handle as then you will more than likely tagged as; Unreliable if you do not complete the works when you say you will.

There is a limit to how much you can blame the weather for your problems!

Sorry for the fatherly talk but even in this day and age people want quality and reliability at a reasonable price, or put another way.........value for money!....so try and give them this, then you will soon find that this system beats all forms of advertising!

I hope this info has been helpful in some way, but what ever you do keep in touch with us all on GC ,particularly if you have any practcal problems as I am sure there are many here who can help you in some way!

Best of luck...Tg

 

When I finally bite the bullet and have a go at making some money by gardening, I plan to start with what I know I can do. Simple tidy-ups.

Every neighbourhood has a good range of gardens that are a bit out of control, often through no fault of the owner. The old lady next door to me is a lovely old stick. Her gardens are dire. Despite having a gazillion family members who often come to see her, none of them do her garden. Maintenance at the front consists of me trimming her side of the hedge when I do my side. Maintenance at the back consists of some unreliable chap that comes round once in a while, charges her some money (no idea how much) and then goes away again without having actually done anything. It is people like my neighbour who would be happy to pay someone to just come in every couple of weeks during the growing season and keep the hedges tidy and pick up all the crisp packets and pop bottles that the passing kids drop in.

While building up good relationships by doing this sort of easy work, I'll be honing my skills in my own garden in more advanced stuff, ready to start easing into that too, and build up from there.

 

Clueless1, wish you luck when you finally start gardening for someone else. I tried it 2 years ago and it was hard as I didnt have the petrol/battery kit.

Last year I gained pretty much all the kit through my computer clients giving me lawn mowers, parents helping out and my own purchased. Problem was it rained all year and I could never get to to the gardens when it was not raining.

This year I will have strawberry plants and rhubarb plants for sale plus the fruit so hopefully gain a little money.

 

Getting a lot of interest from child minders/schools who think this would be great for the children. Spoke to my uncle as well and the local farm by him is letting him use their polly tunnels and land to grow on! Everything is just taking off better than I could have imagined!!

Thank you all for the advice and tips you have given me, it has really helped! :D My gardening/growing books have arrived at home today so can't wait to get home tomorrow to read through them. Can anyone recommend easy fruit/veg to grow? as the teachers said they want the easiest to grow so that the children can do it themselves.

Thank you all!
Chris.

 

I think there is a marketing opportunity for a "Lady Gardener" being particularly attractive to older widows / spinsters who are likely to feel more comfortable with having another female in the house, and probably looking for companionship as much as actually getting the garden done - which is weather independent of course.

 

They'll want you to be CRB checked I expect. Might be worthwhile getting that done up-front? and then as part of your sales pitch you can say "Of course I already have the CRB Check paperwork" (I know squat about CRB, I presume you don't need to do it once-per-location where you will work)

 

Hey Kristen, I have been CRB checked but this was last year. Their is still nothing on my record but have been told that if you want to say 'I have been CRB checked' then it has to be very recent as you could have done something since your last check.

I have created a facebook page were I am going to mainly do all of my advertising through (I think) still needs a lot of work and I still need to do my research, but happy for any of you to take a look and give me some more constructive feedback! - http://www.facebook.com/mothernaturesmiracles?fref=nf_fr

 

I have thought for some time that the whole CRB concept breaks down on this very point ... Red Tape for Red Tape's sake ...

Ho!Hum!

Anyways, if a School needs you CRB checked they can ask, and I suppose that on that basis if you already had one done "recently" then they might be pleased that it won't be necessary to have it done again.

 

I'd say if the school says they want you to be CRB checked, then I'd tell them fine, as long as they pay for it. Or, at the very least, I'd want to see a solid contract promising employment to a certain minimum value subject to a good CRB check result. Otherwise you could end up paying the fee (about £80 I think), just for them to turn round and say they've hired someone else. Then time passes, you end up in the same situation again, and fork out for another check.