Garden produce

A question about : Garden produce

(bout time we had a gardening sub-forum)

I've grown some veg for several years now but this year going for it big style (for me anyway). This is what I'm growing:

peas
runner beans
tomatoes (3 varieties)
lettuce
onions - grown all these before so know what to expect

herbs (got mint/thyme/parsley/sage/rosemary/pineapple mint/peppermint/chives/bay and will have basil)

garlic (I think it was Penny-wise who had a tip about this on another thread so I've put some in my kitchen window - boy it grows quickly!)
radishes
leeks
potatoes
Swiss chard (haven't got a clue what to do with it but they were free seeds)
carrots

Any tips/advice about the last few gratefully received.

Got two plum trees and an apple tree. This year have planted two blackcurrant bushes, two raspberry bushes and a blackberry bush (apparently won't get fruit off these this year)

Didn't have success with shallots last year so not bothering. Want rhubarb next

Best answers:

• You really need the rhubarb sooner rather than later as it also takes a year or so to establish.
  Why no courgettes or marrows? They really are very easy to grow and give very good value for money providing you keep picking them to prevent them getting too big.
  Spinach is also very very good for you and very very easy to grow.
• I so wish I had a garden
• Only I like courgettes/marrows Ted - thought it would be a waste of space to grow them just for me.
  Can't get hold of rhubarb yet - am trying!
• We grow tons of stuff, people give us growing tips but each plant seems to have different instructions so we ignored all advice, bunged seeds in the ground and watered them every day, everything grows really well Have you got a greenhouse? Home grown cucumbers and peppers are much tastier than shop bought, you get tons more tomatoes too.
  Oooh, and try growing celery and sweetcorn.
  Never heard of swiss chard :confused:
  Make sure you've got loads of spare earth for the potatoes, as they grow you need to cover the plants a few times, either that or bury them very deep, I can't dig down far in my garden cos it's clay and it's far too much hard work
• Growing the spuds in huge tubs Troo so they don't take over the garden!
  Got a greenhouse and will have my tomatoes and some peppers (forgot those!) in there apart from one of the tomato varieties which is an outdoor tumbling one. Never tried growing cucumbers so didn't want to have a go this year but friend tells me she has some spare seedlings so will probably end up with some!
• I grow my potatoes in compost bags. It's easy to start them off and just keep filling up the bag as they grow. Then when they are ready, no digging, just tip them out.
• Your like me pol!
  I grow mine in the black buckets that you get from the florist.They are more than happy to give them away. You can move them around easily aswell.
  i just fill one third with soil ,put two tubers in and cover with soil and compost and away they go.
  When the flowers die off i just tip them out and they taste great !!!
  How easy it that ??????
• So far I've got carrots, leeks and spinach planted, plus a patio pear tree, gooseberry bush and blackberry and strawberries, I already have a large apple tree, rasberries and a huge rhubarb.
  I'm going to grow the leeks in dustbins which will help with blanching and will do tomatoes and peppers in my grobag greenhouses. I only have a small patch to work with so I'm fitting in what I can. I want some salad leaves but I'm having a hard time finding anything other than the obligatory lettuce.
• Curry Queen
  I have no 'garden', only a paved area for tubs so all mine are containered. All herbs on the wondow cills. Theres always a way for free food. The satisfaction of watering and dead-heading before and after work was imersable. Deep self satisfaction.
• By jingo I've got it!!
  An allotment.
  A 'bit' more trouble but soooooooo much more satisfaction. Back to the drawing board i feel!
• Very long waiting list for allotments in some places - I'd like one too but no chance!
• if you are lucky enough to get an allotment they can be quite big and daunting. I thought this and got together with another family friend and we shared the workload and the produce, thus halving our family costs for seed and plants, but still having plenty of produce. four backs are better than one when it comes to turning over the soil!!!!!
• There is no better time than now to try for an allotment, if we don't use them we will lose them when every council is looking for unused land to build housing on. On 2 other websites I use people are complaining that their allotment land is at risk because of lack of users.
• i am squeezing the following into my inner city garden
  bok choi
  pak choi
  another cabbage i cant remember the name of
  squashes
  rhubarb
  redcurrants
  gooseberries
  chillies
  spring onions
  herbs - sage, basil, mint, oregano, 2 sorts of thyme, bay tree, chives
  borlotti beans
  !!!!ake mushrooms, and button mushrooms in the cellar
  hope to fit in a couple of chickens at some point!!!
• s_h_i_take mushrooms
  I overlooked the fact that this contained a bit of a naughty word
• Hmmm - still don't know what to do with Swiss chard? Anybody...
• I guess I could try growing mushrooms :confused:
• could do C_Q - you don't need mush room for those!
  Sorry - that is supposed to be silly and not a dig at your lack of garden!