Trying to grow veg for the first time

I thought I'd keep you updated with a progress report on my first ever attempts at growing vegetables. I have been inspired by reading about it on here and decided to give it a go.

To date, I have:

Some lead salad indoors in the conservatory. To date we have had 3 salads from it - yummy.



Then I gently persuaded (should read: forced!) hubby to build me a raised bed. It's the height of two gravel boards, to prevent the dog from marching right through it. We filled it with many many bags of compost from the garden centre (our own is now quite ready yet):



It gets the sun from 10.30 am until sunset, so I hope that it will do well.



We also constructed a small strawberry bed and planted it up with strawberried from my parent's garden:



They also gave us raspberries. I put them in the groudn in January, little brown sticks about 2 inches long. This is them now:



I am trying to grow some potatoes, and bought these (they contain three different varieties):



The veg box was painted and given some permanent supports for beans and things. Then a neighbourhood cat came and visited 4 nights in a row, digging everything up so that all my seedlings were ruined. I have never seen such carnage. So I have put a mesh over the box for the time being, but I don't quite know what to do as and when the things I've sowed get bigger - if I dare to lift the lid, I expect the B&*%$£ cat will be back and ruin it all again.



(The white roll on the right is a roll of fleece, attached to a long piece of timber, so it's a bit like a horizontal blind. I drape it over the veg at night to guard against frost!)

 

Rosiemongrel.

Being a first time veg. grower myself I'll be following this thread with interest. The raised bed looks great. I hope you continue to enjoy the fruits (or veg) of your labour.

Ant.

 

Me too, we are just starting out and have 4 raised beds, we are growing loads of stuff and hoping for some success, we have had a problem with cats too (our two included) digging in the beds before we planted anything, we have bought some citrus sprinkling powder and hoping that will deter them now I have covered one of the beds (with potatoes in) with some wire and bought some netting to cover the one which will have carrot and parsnip seed in - hoping that will work

 

Hubby will be pleased to hear you say that. We don't have one of those electric screw driver thingies, so he put all the screws in by hand. He had the blisters to prove it! I said it'd all be worth it when he got to eat his own peas. He said he liked the frozen variety just as much!!

 

Rather belatedly, an update. Thes pictures are from June, so about 4 weeks old. Will try to update with more current ones later.

The strawberries did well:





And I got 6 different tomato plants from a friend. I planted them in pots in growbags, where they are doing OK:



I got some red chillie plants which I keep in the conservatory. Here they are as babies:



I kept the veg patch cover on for quite a long time, because I didn't want the cats to ruin it all before the veg were nice and big!



It's all got MUCH bigger and MUCH more impressive by now (I have beans! and peas! and baby carrots!) More pics to follow.

 

It's all looking pretty good. I would have thought you woul be safe to take the net off now, my neighbors cats only seem to like the more bare soil.

 

Well, the anti-cat net did come off several weeks ago. This was my wee veg empire today:

The raised bed - literally overflowing! (note to self: everything grows REALLY BIG and therefore needs lots more space!! Will do better next year.)



It contains: a little row of carrots. Dill, parsley, basil, potatoes, beans, peas, rocket, perpetual spinach, and baby gem lettuce. Too much stuff, I know, but I was enthusiastic!

At the back of the raised bed, a dwarf pea variety:


Actual, real-life peas!


Potatoes, French climbing beans at the back, runner beans on the right.


Runner beans along the fence, in between the raspberries and herbs.


More runner beans along another fence, tucked in behind the hardy geraniums.


More - you've guessed it, runner beans, in a grow bag. Lettuces at the front.


Lettuce, pepper plants, rocket and spring onions:






Potato grow bags:


Dwarf French beans and lettuce in one of my patio troughs:


With baby beans!


Baby tomatoes!


My other veg trough on the patio (planted up with red cabbage and broccoli). I had NO IDEA it would grow so much - it's all a wee bit crowded here. Sorry, brassicas. Will give you more space next time.



It is rather attractive, don't you think? Gorgeous leaves.

 

Quick update:

Harvested our first beans (French and White Lady) on Sunday. Harvested our first potatoes yesterday - Charlotte and a red skinned variety that I don't know the name of. They were all beautiful and completely unblemished. Guess what's for dinner tonight? There are loads of green tomatoes everywhere (but sadly no ripe ones yet), and two courgettes growing nicely. They wil be picked at the weekend I think. There are now also enough peas to scatter over a salad - yummy! We have enough lettuce to feed an army, and the raspberries (autumn-fruiting) are growing nicely. The most exciting development this week was the discovery of a green pepper on my pepper plant! Can't believe I've grown one of these on my patio, in a flower pot.

I have realised all the mistakes I've made in terms of spacing and lay out. I think I will have to take notes on things to improve upon for next year, so I don't make the same mistakes twice.

Photos to follow!

 

Wow Rosiemongrel - very imressive - I am inspired for next year - will make the beds this autumn!!!!

 

That looks fantastic...

Really well done for your 1st go

 

well done. looks great.

note to self: ask Himself nicely if he will build me a raised border round the veg patch....

 

Honestly Rosie I am totally bowled over. I was thinking about growing food next year but after seeing this thread I have decided it is a definite for me now.

You really should be immensely proud of yourself, everything looks delicious.

I will be watching this thread intensely, so now you have an official apprentice you have to keep posting and keep me up to date.

Nice one Rosie!

 

My goodness you have done well Rosie all that veg and right on your doorstep you lucky lass, thank goodness we don't know where you live otherwise Bob might just nip over your fence and nick all your lovely peas...after all he is THE PHANTOM PEA PICKER! :D Hel.xxx.

 

OK, here are some photos!

Harvest time:

charlotte potatoes





Some other variety:


Beans, courgettes and a few peas waiting to be turned into a kind of ratatouille


The chillies are turning red, so we have added some to curries recently:

They really are a doddle to grow, will definitely be doing that again.

 

This is Cos lettuce:


It is hearting up quite nicely now:


Sadly, with all the rain we've been having, quite a lot of my lettuce crop has been nibbled by slugs and caterpillars, so it looks rather moth eaten. :(