There is nothing quite like having your own fresh fruits, vegetables, and herbs that you’ve grown in your own backyard. Not only does growing your own help you consume healthy food, but gardening has a host of benefits for your physical and mental health and wellbeing.
But if you are new to gardening, it is easy to get carried away when it comes to planning your vegetable garden, and autumn is a great time to plan ahead!
While some would opt to wait until spring to plan their vegetable garden, there is plenty to think about and do before that, especially if you are new to gardening. There are still plenty of vegetables like broad beans, cabbage, lettuce, and radishes that can be planted indoors or under cover late autumn, giving you an earlier crop when spring arrives. But perhaps you might be thinking of clearing out some space for growing whether indoors or outdoors or figuring out what crops to sow… and it’s never too early for that!
Read on for some tips and suggestions to help you get started.
Make the most out of the time and space available
There is plenty you can do even within a small garden space, but planning ahead will help you make the most of the space you have available. Also, think about how much time you would have to tend to your plants and garden. If you do have limited space, you can still grow vegetables in our peat-free CoirProducts.co.uk coir pots which can even be placed on a windowsill. Our larger CoirProducts coir pots are particularly useful for growing tomatoes, carrots, radishes, french runner beans, and potatoes (on a small scale), while we also have a range of sizes of coir pots to grow herbs, chillies, and microgreens, among others.
Get to know your soil
Get to know the type of soil you have in your garden. The Royal Horticultural Society has useful information on getting to know your soil type. If you have cold, clay soil, it’s easier to grow vegetables in raised beds. You can use a compost, such as the CoirProducts coir potting mix that comes in a variety of sizes. Our coir potting mix also has a neutral pH level, which is ideal for growing vegetable crops. Growing early crops on this type of soil can be a little tricky, therefore, you can also think about growing early crops in coir pots.
Find the best place for your crops
Most vegetables need a sunny position to grow well. Crops like lettuce, peas, and spinach don’t mind some shade. So when thinking about where to grow your vegetables, find a spot that has adequate levels of sunshine and is protected from cold and strong winds. Vegetables also don’t do too well under trees, so find a place away from large trees and hedges, as they will be competing with your vegetables for that much-needed water and nutrients, while also providing too much shade that can hinder growth.
Remove unwanted weeds
Before you plant, remove unwanted weeds, but do be aware of wildlife in your garden and remove weeds in a way that’s not harmful to them.
Start small
Once you’ve thought about how much space and time you have, think about what you like to grow and consume. A suggestion that many other growers have shared with us is to grow what you or your family love to eat!
You can also start with crops that are easy to grow. Lettuce, green beans, peas, radishes, cucumbers, potatoes, and salad leaves are some great vegetable crops if you are new to gardening, and if you’ve got children, they are easy and fun for children to grow as well.
Also, think about when your crops need to be harvested. You might want to aim for spring, summer, autumn, and winter crops, so that you have a harvest all year round. There are some helpful monthly guides on our website.
How can we help?
From getting your seeds started with our CoirCoins and seedling trays to growing your favourite flowers, fruits, and vegetables with our coir potting mix, coir pots, or growbags, we’ve got the widest range of coir-based products in the UK. Having been in the industry for decades, we have come to better understand the need for such an array of sustainable products, which is why, since the inception of CoirProducts.co.uk, we’ve offered the largest portfolio of coir-based products in the UK, and are proud to inspire others to do the same.
Coir is a natural, biodegradable, peat-free, and organic medium, so it’s the ideal choice for the eco-conscious grower. If you are new to gardening, our products are easy-to-use. Growing media like our CoirProducts.co.uk coir potting mix comes in compressed blocks, giving you plenty of coir when expanded with water, making them efficient to transport and use. They are also versatile, so you can use them to grow a variety of plants and crops. A key advantage of our coir products is that they retain water and moisture well, as well as having excellent drainage. These natural qualities help plants develop strong and healthy root systems.
If you are looking to sow seeds, our CoirProducts.co.uk CoirCoins are perfect to get you started. Not only are they available in four distinct sizes, but our CoirProducts.co.uk CoirCoins are also unique in the market as they come complete with a biodegradable cover, making them completely eco-friendly, unlike many other similar products that can be used for sowing. Add water, let them expand, and you’re ready to place your seeds. You can place them on our coir pots. A great thing about our CoirCoins and coir pots is that roots grow through the coir, which means, you can easily replant them on the ground as your plants grow bigger, without plants having to go through any transplanting shock. CoirProducts coir potting mix comes in a variety of blocks, bricks, and discs, to make growing easy for you. If you have limited space, CoirProducts hanging baskets are also ideal, and can easily be used indoors or outdoors. We also have a range of growbags and coir growcubes to choose from.
In addition, at CoirProducts.co.uk, we also have a unique selection of coir bundles, all at discounted prices. If you are totally new to gardening or growing, why not make the most of one of our starter packs? Our CoirProducts coir starter pack includes a selection of our coir pots, coir discs, and coircoins, while our grow with coir starter pack gives you over 20L of coir potting mix.
Whatever you choose to do, keep in mind that a lot to do with gardening is learnt through trial and error. We’ve also got lots of inspiring stories of other gardeners shared in our CoirProducts.co.uk Featured Grower section – so make sure to check them out for tips and suggestions. More importantly, take time to get to know your space and plants, and enjoy the time you spend in your gardens.
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