New here and to gardening

Hi, so I am painfully new.

So I've always loved gardening even as a child but I've never been very good at it. I'd love to learn more but it's quite a broad subject. My dad does a lot of gardening but his back isn't great so I'd like to help more too. Most of our garden is grass but we have a fair bit of soil around it and some baskets and troughs.

I'd like to grow wildflowers or fruit and veg though we've never done well with those. It I don't really know how difficult these are to do and whether I should start with easier things?

Basically I'd like any tips for new gardeners but also for maybe growing in troughs rather than deep soil and for this time of year.

Asking too much? Sorry?

 

welcome to the forum. Fruit n veg wise try to grow what you like to eat,within reason,so no mango`s
Bush tomatoes or toms in hanging baskets are great and easy to do and a good confidence boost to newer gardeners.
Strawberries in troughs,lettuces,herbs and in the autumn through to next summer some garlic maybe.Enjoy

 

hay, I've used old guttering and put three rows on the garden fence panel and filled it with soil and it's great for growing lettuce! Defo an easy one to go for lettuce and it's great just being to cut it of the plant and street on to your sandwich!!

 

Hi....welcome to GC Ask as many questions as you like

 

to GC @Wolfsbane

Difficult to advise because you don't say which fruit and veg you have been unsuccessful with so we can't compare what might be deemed "easier"

I think, when it comes to starting out as a gardener, cost is a key factor - hey, who wants to spend £14.99 on a fruiting shrub only for it to fail?

So, with that in mind, this is what I did when I first began:-
- visit the low budget chains (e.g. B&M; Poundland; Poundstretcher) Only yesterday I saw blackcurrant and redcurrant plants for sale at Poundland - that would make a great start for little outlay. Previous years I also bought a couple of raspberry canes from the discount stores and they served me well. Now, none of them look anything much more than a twig with a leaf when you see them in those discount stores. But, if you choose the healthiest you can see, you are in with a good shot at it.
If they are unsuccessful; hey, it cost one pound and you have earned an education
- buy "sow direct" seeds. Again, when I started out, I bought seeds that could be sown directly into prepared soil, such as Broad Bean Aquadulce; some peas (yup, even those dried peas from the supermarket shelf in the dried pulses section) and some dwarf beans. Kept weed free and watered before they dry out, Bingo! Don't overlook things such as radish, spring onion and carrots - all of which I grew during my first season here at GC

My first attempt at "wildflowers" was simply one packet of seeds and cast in an area I had just created and ... hoped for the best (basically!). That year, they rewarded me. Subsequent years, nada But, maybe that is because I a) didn't bother harvesting the seeds for the following year; or, b) I was too busy doing other things to that same area

to GC @Gingergardener
I did this last year too. I had lettuce in one row and perpetual spinach in another. It's a good way of getting a productive harvest from a small space, quickly and reliably Oh, and mine were placed where the sun doesn't shine, so double bonus!

The thing about being a beginner is: The Learning Curve vs cost! If you are starting out and learning, you don't want to waste a lot of money. Don't be shy of using those discount stores to kick start your learning/experiences. Then, when you become more focussed/experienced, you can invest in the Big Boys (aka "specialist" stuff at a higher outlay ).

Don't be afraid to "play"; you learn a lot through trial and error

 

Quote " Oh, and mine were placed where the sun doesn't shine, so double bonus! "
Unquote

Too much information :-)

 

Welcome and as others have said just give it a go. Agree with @"M". possibly failing with a packet of seed is no great deal but purchasing the wrong type of expensive plant for your soil/climate is a bit disheartening when it legs up......have plenty of personal experience of this!

3 bits of advise which I found useful when I started gardening many moons ago.

1.Look at other people's gardens in your area to see what grows well/you like. Most people are quite happy to tell you the answer to "what's that nice plant you have ?". Perhaps avoid asking them what some miserable 1/2 dead specimen is tho altho just as useful.

2. Most of the important/hard work in gardening you don't necessarily see other than in the results. Getting you soil into a good structure and nutritious is unfortunately the key to great looking plants. While you can buy fertilizers and just sprinkle them about, the hard labour of digging soil and adding compost/manures etc does so much more.

3. Do not expect you plants to look anything like the glossy photos on seed packets, in gardening books, etc. Most of the photos are decidedly enhanced and verging on the impossible to achieve. Bit like models/celebrities having their photos airbrushed!

Hope you take the plunge and discover like so many here on GC that gardening can be fun/infuriating/satisfying and seldom boring.