Vegetable Growing Advice
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Advice and Tips for Growing Your Own Veg
We've been growing vegetables since the1970s, so we're pretty good at it by now. Whether you want to grow your own veg in one of our holiday-proof planters, your own pots or your garden we can help you on your way to bumper, healthy harvests.Holiday Proof Planters
If you are looking for Veg planters that take care of your plants whilst you are on holiday click to see our Grow Range
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Getting Started
Plants
You can buy plants from many nurseries and garden centres - even online. If you do choose to buy plants, rather than seeds, take care to choose plants which are pest and disease free.
Seeds
We think it's much more fun to grow from seed, then you can choose from a wide range of varieties with different flavours and textures. The following suppliers have lots of varieties...
Simpson Seeds
Tel: 01985 845004, www.simpsonseeds.co.uk
Thompson & Morgan
Tel: 01473 688 588, www.thompson-morgan.com
Suttons
Tel: 0844 922 2899, www.suttons.co.uk
Where to Grow
You can grow indoors or outdoors. If you are growing indoors make sure that your chosen pot or planter is drip proof. Many pots have a hole in the bottom for drainage, but that also means you will have water spilling out onto your surfaces! Our Windowgrow, Quadgrow and Vitogrow are drip-proof with no holes in the reservoirs.
If you are growing in pots or raised beds in your garden try to choose a spot with easy access to water so you are not trudging across your garden with a heavy watering can. You can collect rainwater in a water butt which will be ideal for watering your plants.
If you growing in the ground in your garden rather than in planters you will need to prepare the soil. Dig in some well rotted organic matter such as the contents of your compost bin or manure. This will add lots of fab nutrients to your soil which your plants and it will aerate your soil (and encourage the local worms into the area which plants love). When digging in you need to dig down to a depth of roughly 10cm.
If you are growing in a pot or veg plot, you will just buy a good quality compost. Which you can buy in bags as small as 10litres from all garden centres.
What to Grow and When to Grow It
Everyone has their own favourite vegetables,from the controversial Brussels Sprout that divides opinion as much as Marmite, to the classic humble Bean – but oh so many varieties – and the new fashionable veg such as Chard and so-called super veg like Beetroot. Whatever you choose to grow, you need to make sure that you are sowing at the right time for your plant.
If you have a heated greenhouse, seeds can be sown as early as February but for unheated greenhouses, sowing is best left to late March or early April.
Here are some of our favourite varieties for sowing between March and July, along with notes of how long they take to get from seed to your plate!
| Crop | Sow | When to thin your plants (and plant a second row if needed) ... | ... and thin again | Time from sowing to Harvest |
| Spinach, Chard, broccoli, Raddish | 15 - 20 seeds per 1m row |
2-3 weeks after sowing, thin your plants to 10 - 12 plants per row |
4-5 weeks after sowing, thin your plants to 6 - 8 plants per row |
6 to 8 weeks |
|
Onion, Beetroot, |
15 - 20 seeds per 1m row |
2-3 weeks after sowing, thin your plants to 10 - 12 plants per row Sow a second row of 15 - 20 seeds |
5-6 weeks after sowing, thin your second row to 10-12 plants per row |
10 weeks |
| Carrots, Spring Onion, leeks, | 15 - 20 seeds per 1m row |
3-4 weeks after sowing, thin your plants to 10 - 15 plants per row Sow a second row of 15 - 20 seeds |
5-6 weeks after sowing, thin your second row to 10-15 plants per row |
10 weeks |
|
Turnip, |
15 - 20 seeds per 1m row |
2-3 weeks after sowing, thin your plants to 8 - 10 plants per row Sow a second row of 15 - 20 seeds |
5-6 weeks after sowing, thin your second row to 8-10 plants per row | 6 weeks |
|
Kale, Parsley, lettuce, cabbage, Kale, Raddichio, Rocket, |
12 - 15 seeds per 1m row | 2-3 weeks after sowing, thin your plants to 8 - 10 plants per row | 5-6 weeks after sowing, thin your plants to 4-6 plants per row |
10 weeks |
Sowing and Planting Out
If you are planning to grow in a Vitogrow or Windowgrow growing kit, you can sow your seeds directly into your planter, and this can be done up to three weeks earlier than plants to be grown in the ground or Raised Beds thanks to the fact that they will be staying in their planter, which can be kept in a greenhouse or your home until risk of frost has passed.
If you are planning on planting outdoors once your seedlings are ready you will need to transplant your seedlings to slightly bigger pots once they are too big for their seed trays.
Sow seeds thinly in trays of moist seed compost and place in a propagator. Take care not to over-water as the compost needs to be moist but not soggy.
Once the seeds have germinated and grown two true leaves, pot on into 75mm pots and grow on in a warm, light space.
Once the plants have established a healthy root system, at approximately 25-35cm high, plant out into final positions.
Caring For
Watering
Veg needs careful watering, so our Vitogrow and Windowgrow veg growing kits are designed to keep your plants perfectly fed and watered at all times.
Over and under-watering are the most common cause of gardening problems including yellowing leaves, brittle leaves, and blossom end rot. Providing the perfect levels of water results in healthier plants and bigger harvests.
Watering Tips If you are not growing in one of our growing kits
Check the compost daily - you want it to feel moist but not wet, if you feel your plants need a watering add some water, but not so the soil is saturated, avoid creating puddles. The water needs of your plants will change daily. Take note of the light levels, temperature, plant size and soil condition and adapt your watering levels to match these. In hot, sunny weather water early in the evening and early morning.
Raised Beds are particularly poor at retaining water, so you will need to water these little and often.
Our Growing Kits and Watering
Our Vitogrow or Windowgrow keep your vegetable plants perfectly fed and watered at all times, so you will not experience the problems caused by erratic watering and they actually teach you how to water plants accurately. The watering perfection means healthier plants and bigger harvests.
Our veg planters are simple to use –
1: Add compost to the Vitogrow or Windowgrow planter
2: Sow seeds or add young plants
3: Care for your plants as you usually would
4: To water simply keep the Vitogrow or Windowgrow veg planter’s reservoir topped up.
SmartMats’ link the reservoir with the compost, delivering water and plant food to plants where they need it, when they need it.
Pests and Diseases
The best way to avoid pest and disease problems is to check your plants regularly for early signs of pests and diseases.
You need to make a point of checking your plants every couple of days and removing any insects or insect eggs before they get out of control. Also keep the rest of your garden weed free, so that there aren't any pests lurking there ready to pounce onto your salads!
Aphids are likely to be your biggest combatant, but they can be managed with sticky traps. Washing the leaves with warm soapy water also keeps most pests under control.
Some people swear that planting marigolds near your veg crops disquises their smell and even repel some pests.
Encourage birds into your garden as bluetits eat overwintering aphids and their eggs and any other insects at ground level, robins, blackbird and thrushes eat larvae, slugs and snails. There are also helpful insects such as hoverflys, wasps and ladybirds which eat plant pests too.
Simple garden hygiene will help prevent the spread of any disease. Clear up leaves of any infected plants, removing any damaged stems, plant at correct spacing and mix plants to reduce problems spreading. Keep your garden or allotment free of weeds.
What Do I Need?
To get started you will need ...
Seeds - from a garden centre or choose from our range of starter seed packs. Each starter pack includes 4 packets of seeds for £5.80.
Compost
Seed trays or small pots
To 'grow on' your seedlings you will need ...
An outdoor area, a raised bed or large planter, or one of our 2 great growing kits.
Holiday-proof, Bumper Veg – Two Growing Kits, One Great Idea
Grow bumper harvests of veg in the Vitogrow or Windowgrow planter. Two veg planter sizes, but one great idea – that of a holiday-proof veg planter that you can use just about anywhere to get bumper harvests of vegetables. They even have a drip-proof design!
Both of these planters use our Smartwatering to keep your plants perfectly fed and watered for up to two weeks, so that your plants are never over-watered or under-watered – the most common causes of gardening problems. The planters have a reservoir, which you fill with water. SmartMats link the compost with the reservoir, delivering water to where the plants need it, when they need it.
You can sow seeds directly into the Vitogrow and Windowgrow, so there’s no need for a separate propagator or to go to the expense of buying small plants. You will care for your veg plants as you usually would, we are just making the watering a lot less stressful for you and the plants – and the friends you usually get to cover watering duties whilst you are on holiday!
Veg like cabbages, cauliflower and turnips need plenty of space, so if you want to grow these the Vitogrow is for you.
You can sow seeds directly into the Vitogrow so there’s no need for a separate propagator or to go to the expense of buying small plants.
The optional mini greenhouse gets seeds off to a head start and protects plants in autumn and winter, if it gets really cold you can take the whole thing indoors. It looks gorgeous too!
The Vitogrow is fabulous for low growing veg including cabbage, baby carrots, beetroot, chard, onions and cauliflower, as well as herbs and salads.
Two size options: L55cm x W55cm or L105cm x W55cm
The revolutionary window box and propagator in one that holiday proofs your kitchen garden
Pop a Windowgrow on your kitchen windowsill for a super-convenient kitchen garden of herbs, salads and small veg.Includes a lid to get seeds off to a head start and a water level indicator that reminds you when to add more water to the reservoir.
The Windowgrow is fabulous for low growing veg including salad crops and herbs
Holiday Watering Planters
'Grow' Veg Planters – No under-watering or over-watering
Grow holiday-proof bumper harvests with our 'Grow' veg planters that keep your plants perfectly fed and watered at all times. No more relying on friends and neighbours to provide holiday cover!
The secret of the holiday-proof bumper crops is the way the plants are fed and watered from an integral reservoir which provides a perfect balance of water and oxygen, there's no chance of over-watering or under-watering - the causes of the most common gardening problems.
Our Grow planters can be used just about anywhere to grow huge harvests of just about anything.
Choose from 3 great Grow kits depending on whether you want to grow tall or low growing plants and how much space you have.
Vitogrow - Self-watering veg plot.
Ideal for growing low cropping plants such as short carrots, cauliflower, herbs, radish, onions, garlic and salad leaves...
Veg like cabbages, cauliflower, salad leaves and turnips need plenty of space (they simply don’t do very well in pots), so if you want to grow these the Vitogrow is for you.
You can sow seeds directly into the Vitogrow so there’s no need for a separate propagator or to go to the expense of buying small plants.
The optional mini greenhouse gets seeds off to a head start and if it gets really cold you can take the whole thing indoors. It looks gorgeous too!
Fabulous for salad crops, herbs and low growing veg.
Price from £34.90.
Windowgrow - Windowbox for salads and herbs
Ideal for growing salad leaves and herbs such as herbs, salad leaves, radish, onion and strawberries.
The revolutionary window box and propagator in one that holiday proofs your kitchen garden for just £21.90
Pop one of these on your kitchen windowsill or by your doorstep for handy fresh herbs and salads. The drip-proof design means you won't have any messy leaks.
It will keep your plants watered for up to two weeks, just keep an eye on the water level indicator which tells you when more water needs adding.
Simply add compost, sow seeds and put the clear lid on top, which keeps soil warm to speed up seed germination.
Great for salads, herbs and low-growing veg.
Price: £26.90.
Quadgrow and Octogrow - Pots for tall plants (set of 4 or 8)
Ideal for growing tall cropping plants such as tomatoes, chillies, beans, peas and aubergines.
Our best-selling Grow kit.
These sets of pots are perfect for growing bumper harvests of tall plants. Our Gardening Angels harvested 7.9kgs of tomatoes from one Quadgrow in 2009.
Even the thirstiest of plants such as tomatoes are kept nourished thanks to the 35litre reservoir, so you don't have to worry about holiday-watering.
Price: £52.90 for 4pot kit.
How we turn fingers green.
Our ‘Grow’ planters turn fingers green by providing a perfect balance of water and oxygen and by helping you to avoid overwatering and underwatering your other plants - the causes of the most common gardening problems. With a Grow planter you can be certain your plants get the water they need, when they need it.
Even experienced gardeners can struggle to with get watering right because the needs of a plant change constantly depending on plant size, light, weather and temperature.
So, this is how we turn your fingers green….
- You top-up the planter’s reservoir.
- The SmartMats in the planter provide your plants with the water they need, when they need it. It’s a bit like standing over the plant adding teaspoons of water all day.
- You top-up the reservoir again!
All your plants will benefit because if you take note of the light, temperature and soil dampness and check the water level in the reservoir after a day or two you’ll quickly understand how the amount of water plants need differs according to plant size and weather conditions.
If your Grow planter has used more or less water than usual you will know to amend the amount of water you are giving to your other plants.
Our Promise and our Gardening Angels.
We are so confident that our ‘Grow’ kits enable anyone to grow their own that we offer an Incredible Edible guarantee. We promise that in the very unlikely event that you don’t raise a healthy crop we will provide free seeds and plant food as well as one-to-one advice to get them back on track.
If you ever have any questions about growing, or you just want to check you are on track, you can email or call our Gardening Angels and they will get back to you within 2 working hours.
