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Low maintainance veggie growing for complete novices - 8/8/2009 10:18:01 AM
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cherish405
Posts: 32135
Joined: 4/11/2005
From: The Land Down Under
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I've never grown anything in my life. Not vegetables, flowers, nothing.
I'm thinking about getting some plastic tubs/pots and growing some vegetables. I don't want to put them in the ground as our dog will probably trample them as he runs after his tennis ball.
Anyway, as I was saying, I'm thinking about getting some plastic tubs/pots and growing some vegetables.
Do you have any suggestions about vegetables that would be very easy to grow, and that are low maintainance? I have fibromyalgia which is extremely painful, and I don't want to be doing a lot of lifting or heavy work.
Are vegetables better grown from seed or seedlings? Are they going to require some kind of 'feeding', or do they just go in the ground and stay there until you harvest them?
Any other help you can give to somebody who's never done anything like this would also be really appreciated.
_____________________________
From this time forth, with the powers vested in me, this post serves as public notice of the issuance of one unrevocable lisence to cherish405 to have special dispensation in the matter of drive-by huggings as she sees fit. ~rayofson~
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RE: Low maintainance veggie growing for complete novices - 8/8/2009 10:33:09 AM
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Szaftoo
Posts: 502
Joined: 4/13/2005
From: So. Calif.
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My veggies are easy and very low maintenace. I buy herbs that are already established plants and put them in pots. I put the label that comes with the plants on sticks to put in the dirt to identify the herb. I plant my tomatoes in upside down plant hangers and hang them from our patio. It's very easy and we get tons of tomatoes. It's also a conversation piece. You can also use them for other veggies.
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RE: Low maintainance veggie growing for complete novices - 8/8/2009 10:48:09 AM
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agapetos
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Hey Trish ~ I think it's a great idea for you to try growing some veggies and stuff! You may want to join this thread too (though I wouldn't worry about reading all the previous posts unless you have nothing better to do with your time!).
What veggies do you like? What fruit?
Pots and tubs can work really well ~ but they can dry out far faster than the ground, so take that into account ~ though you can get water-retaining compost (it has gel in it) that will save you watering as often.
You do need to take some care about growing some veggies. I've grown beans, carrots (round ones, not long ones as the tub probably won't be deep enough), spring onions, salad leaves, beetroot and tomatoes in pots. I also grow strawberries in hanging baskets. And I grew potatoes in bags similar to small compost bags last year.
I think salad leaves are good for a beginner, as are carrots and onions. They're pretty much sow and water then pick things (ie don't require much care). Salad leaves being things you can have in a salad, but instead of picking the whole plant (like a lettuce) you pick the outer leaves so get a continuous crop.
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Stovie, Stovie, what am I going to do with you!
Maggie
September 09
My blog
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RE: Low maintainance veggie growing for complete novices - 8/8/2009 10:53:29 AM
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agapetos
Posts: 9743
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quote:
I plant my tomatoes in upside down plant hangers and hang them from our patio. I've thought about those but didn't like the original price, but they're on offer right now ~ and am thinking about them. I use these in a grow bag and they work really well. Tomatoes do require feeding though (but that's easy enough to do!).
_____________________________
Stovie, Stovie, what am I going to do with you!
Maggie
September 09
My blog
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RE: Low maintainance veggie growing for complete novices - 8/8/2009 11:19:35 AM
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cherish405
Posts: 32135
Joined: 4/11/2005
From: The Land Down Under
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We had strawberries in a strawberry pot a few years ago. For some reason, they didn't grow very well though.
We've got an apple tree, orange tree, lemon tree, nectarine tree and peach tree. I think that pretty much covers the fruit side of things. Other than tomatoes.
I like carrots, silverbeet, corn, tomatoes, cucumbers, snow peas, lettuce, eggplant. Sometimes we use capsicums, (bell peppers) and spring onions. We're not into herbs. We're pretty plain eaters and they tend to upset our tummies. Things like chillis wouldn't be something we'd grow.
Thanks for the heads up over the pots drying out quicker.
I'd wondered about granules to put into the soil before adding seeds/seedlings
Would you need to build the soil up with anything before adding the seedlings/seeds? Blood and bone? Manure? 
_____________________________
From this time forth, with the powers vested in me, this post serves as public notice of the issuance of one unrevocable lisence to cherish405 to have special dispensation in the matter of drive-by huggings as she sees fit. ~rayofson~
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RE: Low maintainance veggie growing for complete novices - 8/9/2009 10:40:39 AM
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Szaftoo
Posts: 502
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From: So. Calif.
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quote:
ORIGINAL: agapetos
quote:
I plant my tomatoes in upside down plant hangers and hang them from our patio. I've thought about those but didn't like the original price, but they're on offer right now ~ and am thinking about them. I use these in a grow bag and they work really well. Tomatoes do require feeding though (but that's easy enough to do!).
The upside down bags you showed are the ones we have and we paid $19 each. We got them on-line and have used them over and over for a couple of years. We originally got them because I wanted to be able to see them when I was inside, sort of like hanging plants. We also didn't want neighborhood cats to get themand they have since paid for themselves.
I love the grow pots you suggested, they would be perfect for my mom. Thanks.
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RE: Low maintainance veggie growing for complete novices - 8/9/2009 12:35:15 PM
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cherish405
Posts: 32135
Joined: 4/11/2005
From: The Land Down Under
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Grow pots are good if you've got limited area to grow things. A patio or something. We've got a garden that could be turned into a vegetable garden, but it would mean a lot of bending for me. Something my back just wouldn't take.
As an off-the-cuff comment, I flippantly asked about the effectiveness of using polystyrene boxes instead of plastic pots/tubs. We have a lot of them from Christmas food deliveries, (hampers), and it would mean I wouldn't have the expense of buying pots/tubs. I was told that that should work. So I might try that.
_____________________________
From this time forth, with the powers vested in me, this post serves as public notice of the issuance of one unrevocable lisence to cherish405 to have special dispensation in the matter of drive-by huggings as she sees fit. ~rayofson~
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RE: Low maintainance veggie growing for complete novices - 8/9/2009 1:12:25 PM
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agapetos
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Trish, I used old storage boxes the first year I did some gardening. As long as they've got drainage, they should be fine. If John has a drill, he should be able to make holes fairly easily.
_____________________________
Stovie, Stovie, what am I going to do with you!
Maggie
September 09
My blog
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RE: Low maintainance veggie growing for complete novices - 8/9/2009 4:43:18 PM
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lilyofthefield
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I do a little container gardening on our back deck. I do NOT have a green thumb, but have had success with all sorts of herbs, tomatoes, peppers and especially squash! Yummy.
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Caden is here!
A boy is Truth with dirt on its face, Beauty with a cut on its finger, Wisdom with bubble gum in its hair and the Hope of the future with a frog in its pocket. - Alan Beck
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RE: Low maintainance veggie growing for complete novices - 8/10/2009 11:51:45 AM
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cherish405
Posts: 32135
Joined: 4/11/2005
From: The Land Down Under
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We love tomatoes. Actually we were discussing having a pot/tub of cherry tomatoes growing. Keeping them confined should keep the fruit small, but not too small.  
Will definitely put drainage holes in the bottom.
Won't be putting styrofoam peanuts in the bottom. Where we live is very sandy. Will put sand in the bottom to allow lots of drainage. Have to buy soil to grow the vegies in. Sounds strange telling people I have to buy dirt. LOL!
Carrots are definitely going to be going in. Tomatoes will also be growing too. Going to go to a nursery tomorrow to see what other seedlings they've got to give us ideas. I don't get paid until Wednesday so we won't be getting anything until then.
I seem to have started something though. As I've said, I don't know the first thing about growing anything. John is going to show me so that I can have the pots/tubs to work in. We have a garden that's had lots of bulbs in it. Some of the flowers have come up, but the vast majority haven't. So John decided that he'd take to that part of the garden, (which is raised), with a lawnmower, (it had plenty of weeds in there as well), and then turn the soil. He's put some fertiliser and blood and bone in there, and will let the weeds rot down. He's decided to put in a vegie patch instead of having a flower garden! ROFLOL! The irises, hyacinths and irises have been left alone, so we still have them, but instead, the garden is going to change. It looks very different after the lawnmower has been through it.
_____________________________
From this time forth, with the powers vested in me, this post serves as public notice of the issuance of one unrevocable lisence to cherish405 to have special dispensation in the matter of drive-by huggings as she sees fit. ~rayofson~
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RE: Low maintainance veggie growing for complete novices - 8/10/2009 12:27:30 PM
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agapetos
Posts: 9743
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quote:
Actually we were discussing having a pot/tub of cherry tomatoes growing. Keeping them confined should keep the fruit small, but not too small. It may be worth your while looking out for a bush tomato plant, rather than one that requires support (bush plants are easier to care for). The fruit size probably won't be affected much by the size of the pot, but the amount and quality of the fruit may be. You can get very small tomato plants though that only grow 30cm high and so are fine in a fairly small pot.
quote:
Tomatoes will also be growing too. Going to go to a nursery tomorrow to see what other seedlings they've got to give us ideas. I think that's a good idea... you can take time to think of what you'd like and look up info about it (library books, internet, etc) to give you more of an idea of what to expect.
Do you have problems with slugs and snails there?
_____________________________
Stovie, Stovie, what am I going to do with you!
Maggie
September 09
My blog
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RE: Low maintainance veggie growing for complete novices - 8/10/2009 1:09:54 PM
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agapetos
Posts: 9743
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Tomatoes are pretty resiliant again slug and snails (they've never killed mine off!) but other stuff can get eaten! I went out each night last year on a hunt for slugs and snails (and would salt any that I found) but I haven't done the same this year (need a new torch). You may want to try porridge (dry) as they like that and it kills them.
_____________________________
Stovie, Stovie, what am I going to do with you!
Maggie
September 09
My blog
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RE: Low maintainance veggie growing for complete novices - 8/12/2009 10:46:14 AM
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cherish405
Posts: 32135
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From: The Land Down Under
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Thanks Aga. Didn't know that about porridge.
_____________________________
From this time forth, with the powers vested in me, this post serves as public notice of the issuance of one unrevocable lisence to cherish405 to have special dispensation in the matter of drive-by huggings as she sees fit. ~rayofson~
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RE: Low maintainance veggie growing for complete novices - 8/12/2009 1:21:50 PM
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deermousie
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You can grow plants in any place that gets at least 6 hours of sun: balcony, steps, etc. If the pot is big enough, the dog will avoid crashing into it.
Here's some tricky pot things you can do:
- put a medium sized pot inside a bigger pot so there's an inch of air between them. Fill the smaller pot with good potting soil. Then when the sun shines on the outer pot, the air between the pots will move around and the roots inside the smaller pot won't cook. Tricky!
- put a garbage bag inside a cardboard box. Punch some small holes in the bag at the bottom for drainage (non-draining pots will rot the roots). Fill bag with potting soil, wet it thoroughly, and plant. The box should last the season.
It's pretty late in the season, but lettuce is ready to pick in 5-6 weeks (and goes bitter in 7-8) so you can probably plant some now if you have seed. It's cold hardy. So are peas, kale (really yummy sauteed in olive oil 3 minutes and served with salt, lemon juice and garlic), broccoli, and beets.
Tom Thumb tomatoes are small and can even be grown indoors with good lighting (4' from the window - you could move it daily between east- and west-facing windows) and fussing. I got a cuc to grow up strings in a east-facing window one winter; I got one fruit.  A little one.
It's really hard to get veggie seeds right now; make your plans and next spring hit Walmart and get potting soil and seeds of things you like to eat: tomato (indeterminates vine and keep producing until frost; determinates are bushy and put on 1-2 harvests and die), peas, lettuce (mesclun mixes are my favorites), beans (if you have trellis room - pole beans will grow outside the box and leave room for shorter plants), short carrots, kale, broccoli, and strawberry plants like others have suggested.
Prepare your pots/boxes with bag/hanging bags with soil and wet it thoroughly. Put your seeds in a 1/4" deep (but lettuce goes on top because it needs light to germinate) and then just check it daily for drying out. When the soil is dry a 1/4" down, it's time to water, but not until then. The plants will come up in 7-14 days and you can name them like pets!
Have fun!
_____________________________
"Through Gates of Splendor" by Elizabeth Elliot
"Federal Husband" by Doug Wilson
www.biblegateway.com for online concordance (I use it daily)
"Passion and Purity" by Elizabeth Elliot
And I think chickens are really funny
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RE: Low maintainance veggie growing for complete novices - 8/12/2009 1:35:44 PM
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agapetos
Posts: 9743
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quote:
It's pretty late in the season Not if you're from 'The Land Down Under' it isn't!
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Stovie, Stovie, what am I going to do with you!
Maggie
September 09
My blog
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RE: Low maintainance veggie growing for complete novices - 8/13/2009 10:37:50 AM
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cherish405
Posts: 32135
Joined: 4/11/2005
From: The Land Down Under
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I've decided that I'm going to start with carrots, snowpeas and cherry tomatoes. Should make an interesting start. I found some carrot seeds on tape, so if I wanted to, I could cheat. LOL!
John tried looking for corn seed the other day, but apparently this is the wrong time of year to grow them.
_____________________________
From this time forth, with the powers vested in me, this post serves as public notice of the issuance of one unrevocable lisence to cherish405 to have special dispensation in the matter of drive-by huggings as she sees fit. ~rayofson~
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RE: Low maintainance veggie growing for complete novices - 8/13/2009 10:55:40 AM
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deermousie
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quote:
ORIGINAL: cherish405
I've decided that I'm going to start with carrots, snowpeas and cherry tomatoes. Should make an interesting start. I found some carrot seeds on tape, so if I wanted to, I could cheat. LOL!
John tried looking for corn seed the other day, but apparently this is the wrong time of year to grow them.
Too true.
Look at the seed pack for "days to maturity." If something takes 80 days, and you're going to get the first frost of fall in 50 days, the plants will croak before you can get something to eat Some things are cold tolerant (like peas and kale and spinach) and that gives you more elbow room, time-wise.
It's good to know when the last frost of spring and when the first frost of fall will be. Then look at the days to maturity and see where it can fit in.
If your courthouse has a agricultural extension agent, call them for free advice. They know the frost schedule. Or else call a nursery and ask for someone who knows. If you're in the US, get a copy of the Sunset Gardening Guide and look up the maps in the front - it will give a little calendar for each area and you can see when the growing season is.
There might not be enough time for the carrots; I think they have a long growing period, but little carrots are tasty.  Snowpeas could work, and the tomatoes can come inside and might work. See if anyone has lettuce seed - that's your best bet unless you're in a place where the growing season is long.
I hope you get a nice little garden!
_____________________________
"Through Gates of Splendor" by Elizabeth Elliot
"Federal Husband" by Doug Wilson
www.biblegateway.com for online concordance (I use it daily)
"Passion and Purity" by Elizabeth Elliot
And I think chickens are really funny
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RE: Low maintainance veggie growing for complete novices - 8/13/2009 11:51:28 AM
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uncabeeil
Posts: 4936
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From: Joisey. Got a problem wit dat?
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Trish is in Australia, so she's just coming out of winter and into spring, so I don't think she has to worry about frost.
Sounds like you have a good plan, Trish. Are these available to you? One of my sisters, and my stepmother, have both had success with them. And they're a lot less work than what I go through.
_____________________________
"It don't do to fight with God cuz He always wins.
He bloodies your nose and then gives you a ride home on his bike"
Rich Mullins
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RE: Low maintainance veggie growing for complete novices - 8/14/2009 9:49:40 AM
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isaacsmom
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Have you looked into Square Foot Gardening? You can even put the beds on a tabletop on the patio. You can make them any size. We did 4x4 beds in our backyard. Very easy gardening.
Squash and Zucchini are very easy plants to grow, require little tending, just watering.
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<<< My littles
*~*~*Rachel*~*~*
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Beware of posing as a profound person -- God became a baby. ~Oswald Chambers
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RE: Low maintainance veggie growing for complete novices - 8/14/2009 11:28:40 AM
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cherish405
Posts: 32135
Joined: 4/11/2005
From: The Land Down Under
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quote:
ORIGINAL: uncabeeil
Trish is in Australia, so she's just coming out of winter and into spring, so I don't think she has to worry about frost.
Very true.
quote:
ORIGINAL: uncabeeil
Sounds like you have a good plan, Trish. Are these available to you? One of my sisters, and my stepmother, have both had success with them. And they're a lot less work than what I go through.
To be honest, Bill, I didn't look.
We picked up some tomato plants today. They are miniature Roma tomatoes. They did have cherry tomatoes, either orange or yellow. I might try them a little later.
John managed to get his corn seeds from another store. Sounds like it will soon be time for him to plant them. He also got some bean seeds that don't climb. I didn't know that peas and beans climb!
When we went looking at seedlings the other day, I didn't know that you could get yellow carrots either! It seems I've led such a sheltered life! ROFLOL!
Tomorrow morning is supposed to storm and hail, so depending on what's happening with the weather, we could be going to get the other supplies for the garden.
Have any of you ever seen the Bob Hope camelia? I saw some the other day, and they are simply gorgeous! The most beautiful red! I'm going to get one of those and see if it can be put down beside the driveway.
_____________________________
From this time forth, with the powers vested in me, this post serves as public notice of the issuance of one unrevocable lisence to cherish405 to have special dispensation in the matter of drive-by huggings as she sees fit. ~rayofson~
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RE: Low maintainance veggie growing for complete novices - 8/14/2009 11:49:24 AM
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agapetos
Posts: 9743
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From: This side of the lil duck pond!
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quote:
I didn't know that you could get yellow carrots either! It seems I've led such a sheltered life! ROFLOL! Yep... and did you know that carrots were generally purple?
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Stovie, Stovie, what am I going to do with you!
Maggie
September 09
My blog
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