[MadBrilliantIdeas]

Hi there - im new to the forum as I was looking about for places that could help me learn to grow veg where I live. Im pregnant and have a wee boy so I want to try and get us into gardening and to have fresh food to eat - we just can't budget for it from the shops!

I have managed to "reclaim" a few things to turn my wee balcony into a useful growing area but haven't much in the way of seeds. I was hoping someone could point me in the direction of free seed places?

I would love to do tomatoes, carrots, lettuce, cucumber, tatties, herbs and the like so if anyone has any hints on where I could get them I would really appreciate it - I have managed to get my hands on a couple of freebies via birdseye so will have peas & sweetcorn atm!

Thank you in advance!

Katie x

[chairmanphil]

i got some chilli seeds and some pumpkin seeds too. what site do you have to grow them? is it sunny or not? what is the soil like you intend to use?

[MadBrilliantIdeas]

The balcony I have gets alot of sun and I am hoping to jerry-rig a balcony container if possible to grow even more extras too - I haven't bought soil yet as I don't have many seeds (don't want to waste money and buy things I don't need just yet) - I was told I would need to buy diff soils for diff plants though? (Guessing the 99p stuff would be bad lols!)

Katie x

[chairmanphil]

shop brought compost is a very hit and miss situation. never really know what you are going to get really. it should be fine for what you want anyway. might be hard to get much out of pumpkins in containers without some horse or cow muck in the soil. they are very hungry plants. i have just sent out a load of chilli seeds for people on a 4x4 forum i visit. if you want to send me a pm and put your address on it and i will send you some chilli, tomato, basil, and parsley seeds. that should get ya started. oh yeah i have some courgette seeds from last year they will be easier than pumpkins. 

might be an idea to look in the pound shops as round here they are doing grow bags for tomatoes for £1 might have something your way too.

[MadBrilliantIdeas]

Thankyou I will

[Plantoid]

£ one pound grow bags with baby bio at ten drops per gallon of watering water stood on your balcony should allow you to grow lettuce and radish anong with tomato , peas  and spring onions .for a year before needing some serious work

A packet of mixed salad sown and grown as cut and come qgain should see you right through till the first frosts ,
 If you can stand the bags up on their ends so they dont fall over you can also grow carrots and beet root as the depth of soil will be greater .

 Potatoes can be grown in a strong black rubbish bag s, poke a few small drain holes in the bottom of a bag add four inches of compost , plant five potatoes and cover with four more inches .  Roll the top down and water well  ,  keep it watered but not too much , when the spud greenery reaches nine inches tall roll the bag up add three inches of compost & water it well . Do this in there inch stages till the bag is full .
 You can harvest the spuds when the flowers appear but leaving them till the y have dies is usually going to see you get bigger spuds .
Ornamental cabbages are usually smaller than a normal cabbage and do well in balcony pots & bags.

Don't throw the spent compost away , use it in other plant pots so long as it is not for potaotes or tomatoes as they are the same family and disease  otherwise build up.

 There are a lot of websites that deal with soil less growing / growth medium or balcony gardening .. google the likely names and you'll be amazed at what is being grown on balconies.

 Put up a list of what seeds you have and what else you want .Also PM me your name & address & I'll send you a few seeds.