Newbie..Help appreciated
Maryflower24
Posts: 2
Hello everyone,
I hope I've put this in the correct place! I am pretty new to gardening but i have a greenhouse, poly tunnel flower bed and masses of grass....unfortunately i had to grass over the veg patch due to awful weed problems even with digging and lots of roundup it always came back so now limited to the above but will happily get pots.
I can grow the basics tomatoes, runner beans potatoes etc but they are very limited in what they produce...although the runner beans have gone nuts in the flower bed this year!
I would love to be able to grow more fruit and beg and get the best from them so i don't have to buy all this supermarket stuff that doesn't taste anywhere near as good.
Can i use my greenhouse over winter? if so what can i grow? also it's sadly under a yew tree but does grow stuff quite well as i water each evening so it doesn't dry out.
I want my daughter to learn about plants as much as i do and as a farmers wife i want to be able to grown lots of lovely home produce.
Any tips welcome.
Thank you
Mary 
Posts
Pots can be very limiting for most seasonal British veg and require lots of watering and feeding. Greenhouses are good for starting seeds early, growing on seedlings and cuttings and keeping tomatoes warm enough to ripen but perhaps less so for toms if it's shaded by the yew.
If you are serious about feeding a family I advise you to create some raised beds using pressure treated timbers at least 6" high. Make them 1m20 wide - easy access form both sides and easy to cover with tunnel cloches and insect netting as needed - and as long as you like but you will need at least 3 distinct areas for crop rotation so you can manure one bed each year and grow peas and beans in it, followed by brassicas and then root crops such as onions and carrots. If you want to grow potatoes too add a 4th bed and also a permanent bed for perennials such as rhubarb, asparagus, globe artichokes. 5th bed for soft fruits and another for fruit trees such as apples, pears, cherries, plums.
See here for more info - https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=124
Build your frames on a flat surface then fork over the soil within to remove visible weeds and their roots and then pile on as much well rotted manure, garden compost, kitchen waste etc as you can and cover with cardboard for the winter. This will keep in moisture and keep out the light so the worms and other soil organisms can work over the soil for you.
Go to the library and check out books on organic veggie gardening and DVDs.
Watch The Beechgrove Garden every week for practical tips on methods and varieties and Gardeners' World too.
you can grow salad crops in poly tunnel in winter. Beechgrove is great gardening program to follow, especially for fruit and veg growing.
Thanks for your replies i have monty on record every friday so i make sure to watch him and tryt o learn. sadly our garden is on a big slope so we can't do masses of raised beds but i will have a look and see if i can anymore anywhere, i forgot to mention we have a rhubabrb and raspberry patch at the bottom and some gooseberry bushes alongside the poly tunnel.
i will look into beechgrove garden as i havent heard of that.
Thank you again
Try making raised beds across the slope, terrace fashion.