Can you have a herb/tomotao garden on your boat

[DeanS]

Who grows their own veggies and herbs on your boat?

What do you grow?

How do you grow it?

Do you buy seeds or do you start with baby plants?

Full list of instructions would be helpful, as I kill everything I grow.

I have a widebeam roof..so considering going self sufficient

 

Is it possible, or just a foolish dream.

 

 

Happy Mothers day to all the moms.

[matty40s]

I grow coriander, thyme, rosemary and chives in long rectangular pots, so long as I water them they come back year after year.

I also grow beech trees but that is another story!!

I had a great crop of fresh chillies and cherry tomatoes last year as well. The last two were bought plants from Aldi.

[Guest]

Who grows their own veggies and herbs on your boat?

What do you grow?

How do you grow it?

Do you buy seeds or do you start with baby plants?

Full list of instructions would be helpful, as I kill everything I grow.

I have a widebeam roof..so considering going self sufficient

 

Is it possible, or just a foolish dream.

 

 

Happy Mothers day to all the moms.

 

We grew a lot of our own herbs in a rectangular wooden container in the garden last year - I can't see any reason why that couldn't be located on a boat, probably on the roof if you don't mind increasing the air draft a bit.

 

Toms will be trickier as they really like the warmth so they will need to be inside and in the sun, we grew some last year but it was in the conservatory, if you can somehow replicate that on the boat then they should be fine. Depending on the chosen plant they can get quite 'gangly' and will need space.

 

We also had great success growing our own cucumbers too - but again this was in the same conditions as the toms.

[DeanS]

I grow coriander, thyme, rosemary and chives in long rectangular pots, so long as I water them they come back year after year.

I also grow beech trees but that is another story!!

I had a great crop of fresh chillies and cherry tomatoes last year as well. The last two were bought plants from Aldi.

 

 

 

When you water plants..does water pour out the bottom of the pots....would I need to put them in an area that can be cleaned or have a catchment "thing" of some sort? Did you just buy them from Aldis, stick em on the boat, and water them occassionally?

 

Did you plant seeds for your herbs..?

What soil/fertilizer would you recommend

[matty40s]

 

 

When you water plants..does water pour out the bottom of the pots....would I need to put them in an area that can be cleaned or have a catchment "thing" of some sort?

On roof, water runs down channels and then into this big, big, puddle. The boxes have a water reservoir in the base - when i forget for a couple of days, rescue them by dunking in the cut for 10 minutes.

 

Did you just buy them from Aldis, stick em on the boat, and water them occassionally?

yes, they were available in late april and either stayed in cratch window or on roof once frost risk had gone (june!!).

 

Did you plant seeds for your herbs..?

- took herb cuttings from my old garden when i used to have a house, coriander is fresh plant every year!!

What soil/fertilizer would you recommend

- soil soil.

[DeanS]

This thread is showing me why I've avoided doing it for 46yrs...;-)

It's sooo complicated.

I just want the silly things to grow so I can go pick em bits and impress da famdamilie.

 

 

frost damage.

water management.

growing gangly.

 

..and thats just 3 posts.

There's no hope for me.

 

 

 

eta - bought wife a 300yr old bonzai . It was dead in a week.

Edited March 10, 2013 by DeanS

[Guest]

This thread is showing me why I've avoided doing it for 46yrs...;-)

It's sooo complicated.

I just want the silly things to grow so I can go pick em bits and impress da famdamilie.

 

 

frost damage.

water management.

growing gangly.

 

..and thats just 3 posts.

There's no hope for me.

 

 

 

eta - bought wife a 300yr old bonzai . It was dead in a week.

 

The herbs are easy especially if you are not going to grow from seed,

 

Just make a tray the same size as a grow bag a bit like this, plant your 'erbs and you are good to go -

 

 

If they are on the roof they will get rained on so won't need watering unless it's particularly dry.

 

the tomatoes need a bit more thought and planning yes.

 

This is where we got our tips from -

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/basics/techniques/growfruitandveg_growingtomatoes1.shtml

[matty40s]

This thread is showing me why I've avoided doing it for 46yrs...;-)

It's sooo complicated.

I just want the silly things to grow so I can go pick em bits and impress da famdamilie.

frost damage.

water management.

growing gangly.

 

..and thats just 3 posts.

There's no hope for me.

eta - bought wife a 300yr old bonzai . It was dead in a week.

I'm no expert, lordy only knows where the trees came from....(cue, - other trees smart answers)

I don't particularly look after them, just occasionally notice that they are dying and water them - the rain does the rest.

[Kiwidad]

I'm no expert, lordy only knows where the trees came from....(cue, - other trees smart answers)

I don't particularly look after them, just occasionally notice that they are dying and water them - the rain does the rest.

 

Ahhh, so those brown twigs are beech trees

[DeanS]

Would you be able to buy all this kind of stuff at B&Q, ASDA, ALDI ? (those 3 shops are on our canal route for the next month or so, and I'm keen to make it a summer project.

 

;-)

[matty40s]

aldi will do it bit by bit, best keeping an eye on the website so you know whats coming.

Also, don't buy plants from them just after a heavy frost, they usually die faster than your bonsai tree.

[Erie Canal]

Soil - I've got my own boat this year and am also a keen gardener, so what I am going to do is buy a few grow bags because they have feed in already in them which will last most of the summer, keeping the plants quite healthy,and are also quite easy to carry. You can either grow straight into the grow bag or tip the soil into your own pots.

Plants - You can tip a grow bag up on its end and plant smaller potaotoes in them, best supported in a pot of some sort. Chives are easy to grow, as are most herbs as they like warm conditions (most come from hotter, Med type areas so don't mind a touch of dryness, which will be a problem in the UK). Get your plants from a garden centre or a supermarket as offered as plants to grow.(What I mean is that you can buy pots of herbs from supermarkets for cooking but they will only last a very short time as the soil is pretty sterile. Although they don't always mind poor soil, even buying them this way and putting them in new soil will be better. Mint - easy to grow but keep in completely own pot as its spread is prolific. Best buy tomatoe plants that have small tomatoes ('gardeners delight' are pretty tasty)and /or are adapted for outdoor British weather if you do not have a nice, cosy cratch to grow them in. (Tomatoes, though, will benefit from more feeding as the plants start to flower (just follow instrictions with pack) )

Water - Rain does most of it (especially in the UK). Yes, I suggest you stand your pots in a tray/dish of some sort to stop the water and loose soil running over the boat. If you are worried about not watering just set a reminder in your smartphone for a once a week check.

Buying - Still far too cold for establishing new plants, could buy established plants = more money.

Simples!

It is really, don't worry about it, have fun

P.S. quote I just want the silly things to grow so I can go pick em bits and impress da famdamilie.quote It will give you all something to talk about whether you succeed or not, but not trying at all will be a bigger shame.

[DeanS]

It will give you all something to talk about whether you succeed or not, but not trying at all will be a bigger shame.

 

Thanks:) It already is a talking point. The bonzai happened 10yrs ago, and we still talk about it

[tillergirl]

Matty why don't you transplant those trees in an appropriate spot and grow something a little more pleasing on the front of your boat. If you leave them much longer you will have to employ tree monkey to come and prune them!

[PiRSqwared]

I grew spuds in bags on the foredeck a couple of years ago. They were yerm.

[Erie Canal]

I grew spuds in bags on the foredeck a couple of years ago. They were yerm.

Did you mean to?

[Grace and Favour]

I grew spuds in bags on the foredeck a couple of years ago. They were yerm.

 

yem - or yams?

[PiRSqwared]

Potaaatoes

[Ally]

We've had brilliant crops of tumbler tomatoes grown in a big pot on the bow. No slugs is a big blessing! Also grow herbs & garlic. Whatever you grow, keep the pot or bag off the deck/roof by some means, so there is air flow under them, or your paint may blister.

[Guest]

Would you be able to buy all this kind of stuff at B&Q, ASDA, ALDI ? (those 3 shops are on our canal route for the next month or so, and I'm keen to make it a summer project.

 

;-)

 

We got ours from our local market garden in the village and they were a fraction of the price you would pay at one of those places.

 

B&Q would probably be the most likely source of the plants themselves.

[BlueStringPudding]

Who grows their own veggies and herbs on your boat?

What do you grow?

How do you grow it?

Do you buy seeds or do you start with baby plants?

Full list of instructions would be helpful, as I kill everything I grow.

I have a widebeam roof..so considering going self sufficient

 

Is it possible, or just a foolish dream.

 

 

Happy Mothers day to all the moms.

 

Yup, I do

I grow cherry tomatoes, chillies, rocket, peppers, mixed salad leaves and strawberries. Strangely enough I don't seem to manage to keep herbs alive for long though.

I grow them all in planters on the roof of the boat.

I start with baby plants not seeds.

No need for any other instructions, really. other than I used organic tomato fertiliser on all the fruiting plants, that works well. And I water then with canal water until the fruits start to appear and then I use clean water. (Might make no differences to the fruit, but that's what I do anyway)

 

I've had some really good fruit and veg seasons, and some fairly poor. In Cheshire it was a bad summer plus the plants acquired snails which scoffed a lot of them. Two summers ago was fairly poor but then we had a hot spell in October and all the Scotch Bonnet chillies and the peppers ripened suddenly and were great. The roof does get exposed to extremes of weather so the plants go an get a bit abused, but they usually do quite well. Tried purple sprouting broccoli once, but that failed abysmally. And I find that the Tumbler variety of cherry tomatoes are most successful.

 

My strawbs die back every autumn and come back in the spring. I grow a mixture of British strawbs and alpine strawbs in the same planter. When we had a dry hot spell one summer the alpines didn't all come back, and then a proper cold winter, so not all the British strawbs came back, so I bought a few more plants to bulk the planter out again. One plant must have had an ants nest in it. little b*stards marched in single file into the kitchen! Had to get rid of them using a cheapo bait trap from Poundland in the end, but I don't like using anything chemically as a rule.

 

I take it all in my stride. Some summers are good for the fruiting plants and some are better for the leafy plants. No need to worry about it Dean, just have a go. It's very satisfying when you first harvest your goodies.

Edited March 10, 2013 by BlueStringPudding

[DeanS]

Right...

 

so I'll add worms and snails to my list of complications

 

 

 

 

 

 

(but..I'm gonna give it a go:)

Edited March 10, 2013 by DeanS

[Crabtree]

Believe it or not we grow sweetcorn on the roof of our boat each year, love the stuff. We have a block of 9 plants each with its own individual large pot, the heat reflected off the roof really seems to agree with them. We just have to make sure we move them down onto the front deck when we are underway to avoid premature harvesting from low bridges!

[carlt]

You might have to be quick, as it's a bit late, but there's a "£25 worth of tomato plants for free" offer in today's Guardian.

[Jambo]

I can reccommend signing up to the http://verticalveg.org.uk newsletter. Mark who runs it is a master at growing food in confined spaces:

 

http://www.verticalveg.org.uk/my-growing-diary