Your Questions About Gardening

GardenersCardiff answers:

Yes, if you have a garden or allotment it’s a great way to supplement your diet. I shared a house with a friend for several years and in the garden, which wasn’t very big, we managed to grow runner beans, broad beans, onions, garlic, courgettes, rhubarb, peas, tomatoes and several varieties of herbs.

Home-grown vegetables always taste better and you have the satisfaction of getting something to show for the work you’ve put in. If you’re new to growing there are plenty of books on the subject which you can buy or borrow and when you buy seeds, the planting instructions are printed on the packet.

You need seed trays, a decent set of gardening tools, a greenhouse (or if that isn’t possible, a cold frame), flower pots, watering can, beanpoles, lots of twine, some bird netting (but you don’t want to discourage the birds completely – see below), some kind of insect repellent, a compost bin, a bit of muscle power and some patience.

One good thing to do is set up a bird table with plenty of seeds and vegetable scraps to encourage the birds, especially at this time of year when it’s nesting season and they’re raising their young. Not only will they be less likely to start feasting on your seedlings, they will also gobble up lots of creepy-crawlies that would otherwise attack your plants.

If you’re really lucky you might even find you have a resident hedgehog. These are called the gardener’s friend for a good reason – they eat slugs and other pests. So do slow worms. Slow worms like to hide under rocks – put down a few rocks on a patch of bare earth and who knows, you might find one.

Reward will come when you realise you have produced e.g. A year’s supply of garlic…

GardenersCardiff answers:

Yes.
Tomatoes, chillies, onions, green beans and leeks.
Rosemary, garlic chives, thyme, parsley and basil.
It is so nice to go and get your vegetables and herbs fresh from the garden.

GardenersCardiff answers:

Heck no! I grow my own veggies and just bought red peppers to tide me over until I can harvest the ones on my plant. They were on sale for $1.99 a piece. I only paid $1.99 for each of the three plants I have and they each have about 8 peppers in various growth stages that I am waiting till maturity to harvest. Same goes for my tomato plants. I have romas, grape, beefeaters and Big Berthas. I don’t believe I paid over $3.00 for any of my plants but just paid $2.99 a pound for romas, 2 containers for $3 for grape tomatoes while I’m waiting for them to turn red. Even if I throw in the water and organic fertilizer growing my own veggies, citrus, avocado and herbs is saving me money. Besides nothing beats eating veggies right out of your own garden, sharing your harvest with friends and neighbors and controlling and knowing what chemicals, fertilizers and pesticides WEREN’T used on what you are eating.