Scott Sando Posted February 12, 2011 Report Share Posted February 12, 2011 'For most of us producing all of our own food is just a fantasy. It evokes visions of multiple acres of fertile land, long work days, and expensive machinery. However, none of these are necessary to achieve self-sufficient food production.There are many gardening techniques that can produce an abundance of food for you and your family without requiring a lot of space, money or equipment. What each of these methods will require is your time, but not the dawn-to-dusk work hours associated with farming.' Link to post Share on other sites
SarahBell Posted February 12, 2011 Report Share Posted February 12, 2011 I got as far as the bit where they put a sandwich down on the table. I'm not sure they grow wheat on their 1/5 acre so surely they must buy that. Where do they grow the grain to feed the birds? Link to post Share on other sites
winkie Posted February 12, 2011 Report Share Posted February 12, 2011 You can grow potatoes in tyres on a patio if you wish, as the tops come through add more soil and another tyre......cut the sprouting potatoes into smaller pieces when you plant, so that each piece has a growing shoot and they will go further. Link to post Share on other sites
Number79 Posted February 12, 2011 Report Share Posted February 12, 2011 You can grow potatoes in tyres on a patio if you wish, as the tops come through add more soil and another tyre......cut the sprouting potatoes into smaller pieces when you plant, so that each piece has a growing shoot and they will go further. You can grow spuds in a bucket, doesnt mean that you get many or anything worth eating though. Just because they grow doesnt mean that it is the way to grow them. Link to post Share on other sites
winkie Posted February 12, 2011 Report Share Posted February 12, 2011 You can grow spuds in a bucket, doesnt mean that you get many or anything worth eating though. Just because they grow doesnt mean that it is the way to grow them. You can grow them any way you want to in a bin bag if you so desire....I forgot to say only use proper seed potatoes not ones you buy to eat.....the thing with tyres is you can add them as you pile up the soil as they grow. Link to post Share on other sites
Ruffneck Posted February 13, 2011 Report Share Posted February 13, 2011 probably alot easier growing them in tyres if you have that hard clay soil that you need to break up before planting them in the ground Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt Barlow Posted February 13, 2011 Report Share Posted February 13, 2011 You can grow potatoes in tyres on a patio if you wish, as the tops come through add more soil and another tyre......cut the sprouting potatoes into smaller pieces when you plant, so that each piece has a growing shoot and they will go further. I tried this method 2 years running and found I got alot of stalk and roots but very little in the way of potatoes. Link to post Share on other sites
winkie Posted February 13, 2011 Report Share Posted February 13, 2011 I tried this method 2 years running and found I got alot of stalk and roots but very little in the way of potatoes. There is that.....one year had a very low crop, don't know if it was the weather, the soil or the variety of potatoes used......the same with tomatoes, one year got blight on the lot, another year the crop was abundant. This growing your own is always going to be a bit of hit and miss....every year more lessons are learned, hopefully it will become more hits and less miss over time. Link to post Share on other sites
Long Way Down Posted February 13, 2011 Report Share Posted February 13, 2011 I certainly wouldn't use railway sleepers - lots of nasty substances to contaminate the soil. Link to post Share on other sites
winkie Posted February 13, 2011 Report Share Posted February 13, 2011 And when you fancy a spud take the top tyre off. The best self storage you can get is leaving them in the ground. I'm not too keen on using tyres though, what crap do they give off which can get into the spud? I thought that also, so I would say only use well weathered tyres. This year I am not doing potatoes....... Link to post Share on other sites
EmmaRoid #FBPE#JC4PM#GTTO Posted February 13, 2011 Report Share Posted February 13, 2011 Had grand plans this year but movign to a house with a postage stamp for a yard so in a quandry. Will probably stick to the VFM stuff like herbs and salad greens. Seen sacks for toms and pots in the pound shop this year so might use a few of those in the yard for a few toms and maybe courgettes/aubergines. Link to post Share on other sites
the gardener Posted February 13, 2011 Report Share Posted February 13, 2011 I tried this method 2 years running and found I got alot of stalk and roots but very little in the way of potatoes. Probably not enough water. Also heat stress may have caused leafy growth. I've tried growing potatoes in sacks. After harvesting the first earlies and having a disappointing yield I increased the watering and the second earlies and maincrop potatoes increased their yield. If I do them in sacks again I shall fill a couple of tubes with gravel to ensure enough water gets down deep. Half the lack of water problem I had was that the top part of the soil was absorbing all the water (which then evaporated during the hot days) and very little was getting deep enough to provide enough for the whole plant. Link to post Share on other sites
EmmaRoid #FBPE#JC4PM#GTTO Posted February 13, 2011 Report Share Posted February 13, 2011 Onion sets from the pound shop do well in the little plastic troughs. I lift them at scallion size. If they look like bolting I just lift the lot and freeze them. Also lettuce and parsley do well in the troughs for little cost. I had decent success with lettuce last year (but clashed with my veg box delivery - similar type, lesson learned), limited with my flat parsley and coriander as my wife tended to strip the plants rather than leave some to keep growing, another lesson learned for this year. For the cost of those salad bags and herbs it makes sense to keep to these with limited space. My strawbs were left out in the snow all winter. Currently mostly brown with a few green leaves. No idea if I killed them or not Link to post Share on other sites
libspero Posted February 13, 2011 Report Share Posted February 13, 2011 Depressing.. Can anyone recommend some plants you can grow in a flat with a single south facing window? Link to post Share on other sites
the gardener Posted February 13, 2011 Report Share Posted February 13, 2011 My strawbs were left out in the snow all winter. Currently mostly brown with a few green leaves. No idea if I killed them or not You'd be doing well if you can manage to kill a strawberry. You can stick 'em in the freezer for a while, take them out and plant them and they'll do fine. Having said that it's worth cutting off the old leaves each autumn and removing them from the strawberry bed as they can harbour pests / diseases. Plants are amazing things really. They want to grow. It's what they do. It's all they do. Link to post Share on other sites
ntb Posted February 13, 2011 Report Share Posted February 13, 2011 My strawbs were left out in the snow all winter. Currently mostly brown with a few green leaves. No idea if I killed them or not No, you didn't. That's normal and strawberries are tough. Just before the growing season, prune off the old brown leaves to prevent shading. Link to post Share on other sites
SarahBell Posted February 14, 2011 Report Share Posted February 14, 2011 Depressing.. Can anyone recommend some plants you can grow in a flat with a single south facing window? All sorts of sprouting seeds. Mung beans traditionally but tons of others. Link to post Share on other sites
Ruffneck Posted February 14, 2011 Report Share Posted February 14, 2011 I tried this method 2 years running and found I got alot of stalk and roots but very little in the way of potatoes. Happened to me this year , i used a little too much fertilizer. Link to post Share on other sites
Sledgehead Posted February 14, 2011 Report Share Posted February 14, 2011 Depressing.. Can anyone recommend some plants you can grow in a flat with a single south facing window? Cannabis? Link to post Share on other sites
Ruffneck Posted February 16, 2011 Report Share Posted February 16, 2011 He looks healthier than the average joe though , eating all that home grown stuff. Link to post Share on other sites
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