[ANGEL_S]

Okay I tried to make a list of the equipment etc I thought I would need for starting out growing veg in pots and containers. I am moving to new house in few months and have no gradening experience other than helping my mum years ago when I was wee.

I have got: Womens Spade and Fork
                 9 7.5L grow pots
                 2 seed trays 38cm x 24 x 8
                 1 seed tray  52 x 24 x 9
                 an assortment of small pots

I went to Homebase today and saw Blue crop blueberry and Malling Jewel raspberry bushes for £1.99 are these good types? They were tiny so I guess wont fruit this year?

Also want to try:Carrots
                        Sweet Potatos
                        Swede
                        Parsnip
                        Strawberrys
                        Aubergine
                        Leek
                        Sweet Peppers
                        Tomatoes
                        Spring onions
                        Lettice
                        Maybe Courgettes and Brocolli

In homebase they have 10% off just now so will go tommorrow but need advice on best things to buy and what I need?

Compost: In Homebase I saw John Innes No3  3 x 25L for £10 is this just a general compost.
               I also saw 60L fruit and veg planter compost and Tomrite Giant Grow bag 50L these where same price which is better though for Tomatoes, Aubergine, Peppers etc in Greenhouse?

Do I need fish,blood and bone, bonemeal, chicken manure (think I need that for the blueberry's from what I've read?) or growmore garden fertilizer? They are all Westland 10kg tubs and between £7 and £8 each is this a good make and will I use that amount?

Also Tomato food is Nutri better than Homebase own? I was double the price but dont want to get Homebases If no good.

I also need small tools, water storage granules, labels.

Is there anything else I am missing I need for what I plan to grow? Would rather get the stuff while getting discount.

Sorry for the big long post.

[Yorkie]

OK, let's have a stab at answering your questions  :!:  :roll:  

1. Blueberry & raspberry varieties - Malling Jewel is certainly well-known.  Don't grow fruit crops so don't recognise the blueberry variety, but if it was in Homebase I'd have thought it will also be well-known (supermarkets don't tend to go for specialist).  

You'll probably not get much fruit off them this year, I agree.

I have heard that blueberries grow ok in pots - I'm not so sure about raspberries as they are a suckering plant.

Note that blueberries I think need ericaceous compost (this is for acid-loving plants), not ordinary compost.

Pots - I see you have 9 x 7.5L pots.  Are you intending to grow the soft fruit as well as the veg in these?  I can't picture how big a 7.5L pot is, but for soft fruit I would suggest you will need a pot no less than 18" diameter across the top, probably preferably 24" eventually.  How does this compare to your pots?

2. Other crops.  You're going to struggle to get much of a crop of sweet potatoes, swede and parsnips from 7.5L pots I would think.

The other crops listed should do ok in pots, I reckon though.

3. Compost. JI No.3 is mostly soil-based so it retains nutrients and water better; generally it is used for permanent plants which will stay in the pot for some years.  I'd suggest this for the raspberry if you decide to go for it.  It's probably not necessary for the annual crops.

The other composts I'm not particularly familiar with so can't advise one over the other.  All general-purpose composts will be exhausted of nutrients after about 6 weeks, so you'll need to add fertiliser as appropriate.  Initially a general-purpose fertiliser, then a tomato feed to stimulate flowers / veg / fruits later on.

I always get confused between the different fertilisers  you've mentioned, perhaps have a look at the Information pages of this site - there's something there about fertilisers.  I wouldn't have thought that you'd need all of them - isn't bonemeal already included in fish etc?

10kg sounds an awful lot for 9 small-ish pots but if you have room to store the tubs then you might as well buy in bulk.

4. Sundries.

Watering can!  (Or hose if you have an outside tap).
Canes for supporting the different plants
String to tie plants to canes

Think I'll stop now and let others with more experience of container growing and soft fruit contribute!

[MOLUSC]

whoa slow down ,slow down!
I think you will have enough to do if you are moving into a new house without starting to grow your "wishlist" as well.
My addvise is dont rush in buying stuff that you may not use or seeds you may not plant to "save" 10%!
I looked for 3 months before i chose the seeds that suited my plot and my family.
How big is the plot?-mine is about 15m x 6m and took about 2 months to prepare from scratch.
What is the soil like?/is it sandy or clay ,has it been manured before,is it well drained,acid, alkaline?-you need to know this before you start buying your seeds,sand,manure,lime,fertilizers etc
Are you using raised beds?
Do you have a greenhouse/shed
Which veg will your family eat the most of.

You will need a rake and a hoe for sure.

Also i ordered free brochures from the following seed companies-
The real seed catalogue
simpsons seeds
Mr fothergills
dobies
These tell you all about the seeds they sell and include descriptions and pictures.
I got my seeds down to a final list and actually got them from  moreveg.com (free delivery over £5.00 and next day delivery)

Remember that most vege seeds are not planted out untill end of feb/march anyway

Welcome,Good luck and take it easy.  

[ANGEL_S]

Yorkie1 - Thanx so much for all that advice. Didnt want to start loads of posts when just joined forum but got so many questions,lol.

Sorry I didnt mean to use the 7.5L pots to grow veg in I thought they would be good to cut bottom off and use for tomatoes abuergine and peppers in grow bags to give more depth, read that somewhere on here or in Johns book and seemed like a simple idea.

I am going to use containers for the outiside veg either anything I can get free or toy storage ones from Ikea or today saw Tubtrugs in Homebase and checked on ebay and can get 75L  (14 3/4" (375mm) high and diameter of approx 22 1/2" (570mm)ones for £7 and they do smaller 40L and 30L ones too and its £7 P&P no matter how many you get.

I will have a look for posts on the fertilizers, dont want to buy stuff I don't need just cos on offer.

[ANGEL_S]

Molusc - I'm not sure how big the garden is, it has an area of grass and a thin border and then just all paving it also has wooden decking and a 11ft by 5ft 9" plastic greenhouse. So I have decided to use containers to grow the veg outside and pots and growbags in greenhouse. So no weeding to get it ready and just need to sort out which composts etc needed.

We have keys for house but renovating before move in so will be around most days and tbh the gardening is keeping my mind off how much we have to do inside,lol.

I got the Vegetable Growing Month By Month Book for Christmas and have the organic Garden seed book so been looking at both to decide what good to grow. I also ordered about 4-5 more seed catalogues over last few days but not arrived yet.

The veg I meantioned that I wanted to grow is what my boyfriend and I eat. Its just the 2 of us so dont need massive amounts, just enough to keep us going and freeze bit and a bit extra for family.

[MOLUSC]

If you want to save 10% try using this code - GWSC
for orders online at -

www.fothergills.co.uk
www.suttons.co.uk
www.thompson-morgan.com/gw

[Debz]

West Coast of Scotland should be just fine for Blueberrry bushes so if you have a space to put them in the ground it would be better.  They like the soil acidic and so much of West Scotland is just that.  You will have to cover them with a net come fruiting time though because the blackbirds just love them!

[kezlou]

 Carrots,
 Swede
 Parsnip
  Leek
 Spring onions
 Maybe Courgettes and Brocolli

Okay the above need quite deep container. pots etc i grew carrots, but the tub was too small.

Lettuce / salad leaves can be grow quite easily in milk tubs with the tops chopped off. Herbs can also be grown this way as well as spinach. I was quite successful with these they were producing from may through to October, with plenty of leaves each time.

Strawberries:- Try growing them in hanging baskets, i grew them from seed last year so didn't get any food, hopefully this year though.

Do I need fish,blood and bone, bonemeal, chicken manure or growmore garden fertilizer?

Also Tomato food is Nutri better than Homebase own? I was double the price but dont want to get Homebases If no good.

Didnt use any of the above as i was trying to be organic as possible while on a very tight budget. I used b & q own cheap brand of compost, came in huge quantities and worked wel for me.
I use wilkinsons organic tomato food its £1.50 for a litre i think but its really good and lasts quite a while. also try wilkinsons for cheap seeds.

All tomatoes, aubergines etc need a lot of water i know last year they just kept drying out constantly even when it had been lashing down for weeks  :shock:

Get an out door hose they are a god send, saved my back last year.
Two water cans :- one for tomato feed, one for water
Propagator or just an old plastic tun that salad / fruit comes in at the supermarket. to start off tomatoes etc
Labels
string need lots of it.
Canes lots to keep the tomatoes in place.
Oh and a hand trowel.

[woodburner]

7.5l is a good size for tomatoes, so no real need to cut the bottoms off, or stand in growbags, but trays to stand in and hold extra water/run off of feed are good.
I'm not having any luck finding cheap pots that size but have a bunch of 10" pots that I may cut the bottoms off for ring culture outdoors.
Spade, fork, hoe and rake may be essential on a plot, but no use at all with containers. Depending on your back and the size and accessibility of the containers a long handled trowel and matching fork might be useful.
I reckon in time you will get rid of at least some of the paving so I wouldn't recommend lashing out on plastic containers. Have you considered raised beds made from pallets?