Getting Started in Your Garden!

Now I haven't always been into gardening, my family never really grew anything at home, so I didn't know where to begin.

My dear friend from University, Lizzie (who you might hear me talk of in other posts), well her mum, Maureen, would send me a packet of seeds every year and every year I would accidentally ignore them and they would end up at the back of my cupboard.

I'll be honest. It was Maureen's persistence that finally broke me! :)

One day I went to her house and she handed me some old potato bags that she had used. She told me to fill them with compost and to grown some potatoes in them. It was as easy as that. A simple instruction. No garden required. No huge amounts of space. I could grow them on the balcony to my flat (where we were living at the time) and I didn't need to go out and buy anything fancy. A couple of bags of compost to fill them - I could just about manage that.

This was the moment I got started. It was small but significant. This small gesture ignited a hobby gardener in me. Seeing just how easy it was and how satisfying it is to dig for your own potatoes after having grown them yourself.

Now whenever people come to stay at mine, I give them some seeds, a tomato bag, some seedlings, anything that I can think of that might start the bug.

Last year I had friends message me to say how they couldn't believe they'd grown their own cucumbers and tomatoes and how excited they were to pick tomatoes from their own plant. My husband's cousin hasn't been very well, and to hear that growing her own tomatoes in her garden from my seedlings has brought her so much joy, made me feel so happy.

Most importantly, I felt so proud that I had passed Maureen's kindness on. Knowing the joy and happiness that it has brought my own kids, I feel duty bound to pass this on, in any small way.

All you have to do is one small thing to get started.

To make this as easy as possible for you. I've listed out below all you need to get going. I've kept things as cheap as possible to make it as easy as possible;

1. Potato Bags - This is such a great place to start. Easy and satisfying. Give this a go. The kids will love digging for potatoes. I will link the potato bags I use. These have served me incredibly well. They are so sturdy and still look great and rustic on the patio. These are similar to the ones I use - https://amzn.to/4nlhepI

2. Tomato Bags - A lot smaller than potato bags so a lot cheaper to fill from a compost perspective. These are the exact ones I have from Amazon and I've had them for 4 years. https://amzn.to/3Ie3ePF You can also grown beans and peas in these bags so they're super versatile.

3. Windowsill Trays - I put these on my windowsill to avoid staining and water going everywhere. They make my seedlings look nice and neat and they're super cheap. These are for a pack of 3 - https://amzn.to/4go73yv

4. Seedling Pots - Grab some seedling pots to get you started. You only need to fill them with a minimal amount of compost, a couple of seeds, and then pop them on your windowsill trays. These ones I use are biodegradable, so just pop them into the soil once they're ready - no messing about. It makes things even easier! https://amzn.to/3VIqN6e

5. Last thing you need is a beginners job lot of seeds. Going through these with your kids will bring them so much excitement. What do they want to grow at home? What do they love eating? Carrots, peas, tomatoes, cucumbers? There's so much to choose from. I've chosen a cheap and easy first pack of seeds for you to get you started with a nice selection of different vegetables. https://amzn.to/4nwrwU3

   
   

So that's as easy as it gets!

Now there's a couple of other things you might want to get such as bamboo sticks and some gardening ties to keep your cucumbers upright, but don't let that stop you, cucumbers will happily grow along the ground. But it's something you might want to think about as you go.

Grab a couple of the things above and get started - I promised you, you won't regret it and your kids will love you for it!