Can you have a herb/tomotao garden on your boat

[Dovetail]

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!

 

That must be a great sight they are tall plants and I was thinking how you would move.

I just this year gave up my allotment due to my increase in beekeeping taking all my summer free time but I have a garden at my disposal to grow all the fruit and veg I need but without that I would have to grow something on my roof.

Over the years I have seen plenty of things growing on boats including a few exotics.

[HappyBunny]

Hmmmm I perhaps went slightly over the top last year, and had a fair amount of weight on the roof, and spent much time peering round the broad beans and fennel ....

 

but yes, you can grow anything. I use some of the stacking boxes that supermarkets use for vegetables, lined with a bit of weed membrane and filled with general purpose compost..... I mix a bit of John Innes in with mine but no real need .... Grow Bags are good for fruiting plants like peppers and toms, as the compost is full of chemicals to encourage fruiting

 

Many moons ago I had a herb nursery in the north east, and people would often ask me why the herb plants they bought from supermarkets and big DIY chains and nurseries died as soon as they planted them out in the garden. The main reason is that most of these plants are grown in Holland under glass, with constant optimum heat, humidity and light .... and then get plonked outside in the wind and rain and cold and fail to thrive after the shock.

 

Also supermarket herb plants have lots of seeds sown in each pot, to give a short lived, quick crop. They struggle to grow on due to competing with each other and lack of nutrients. So if you want to grow these plants on outside, they need to be "hardened off" by gently exposing them to the outside world and supermarket herbs benefit from being divided into lots of smaller bits and potted on for a while before hardening off .... you can get about 20 basil plants from one supermarket pot .... if you can tease the roots apart gently

 

 

 

 

[cloggy]

We grow spuds in Rubble sacks. Tomatoes in grow bags, Runner beans in grow bags we train them to grow sideways along the side of the boat (helps to keep the boat cool in summer and hides you if you over stay on 48hr moorings), carrots grow well if you just throw all the seeds from one pack into a large pot and pick them as they get to about 2 to 3 inches (this slowly thins out the pot allowing the rest to spread out a bit), Various types of salad leaves which can be kept growing all summer just pick them young.

[little duck!]

Not much of a gardener myself but my dad is. Not sure if slugs/snails will be much of a problem but he always puts little pots of marigold flowers around his toms as apparently this deters them. Not sure of the science behind it but he's been doing this many years now, and always has far too many toms to eat!

[Chris3]

Happy Bunny, what an amazing array of the most healthy looking plants I have ever seen ( Sick with jealousy at this point). For a moment I thought you were going to tell us that the secret was canal water !! Look at those nasturtium leaves... brilliant, well done, I am well envious .

[tree monkey]

Right...

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

i would recomend tumbler or cherry tomatoes, the normal garden types will grown too big, chilies should do well in similar condtions

 

try salad type crops, raddish, spring onions cut and come again lettice, plus there is a few types of small growing round carrots, again grow bags will do well for these.

 

also use grow bags for all the greedy fruiting type crops, use once and then either throw away or recycle the old compost into the bottom third of next years pots

 

all of these types of crop will reqire extra watering aside from the rain, just stick your finger in the compost, if finger is wet dont water but do not depend on the rain.

 

a good plant food is a good idea used when recomended on the packet, do not over feed

 

Herbs will do better in pots and the compost should be gritty, use the shop bought stuff but add 50% grit, most of the herbs we like to use are hot/dry country plants and need free draining compost but should do wonderfull on the roof of a boat as they like the sun and boat roofs are sun traps (well at least if we ever see the sun again).

 

Oh and by the way BSP's plants would be a worthy recipent of a plant medal, if there was one, for survival in spite of extreme neglect

[Starcoaster]

Is that another hidden award in 'Plants vs. Zombies?'

[tree monkey]

Is that another hidden award in 'Plants vs. Zombies?'

it should be

[The Good Life]

May not help anyone aboard but if anyone has an allotment Bedfordshire way, Im happy to supply horse manure for fertiliser!

[Water Rat.]

Check out Canal Boat magazine. There is a regular monthly article about on board gardening.

[TeaDrinkingFool]

When do you go Dean? I'm looking after about a qtr of an acre in S.Manchester for a community growing project We'll sort you out with some bits before you leave if you like!?

 

If I was you I'd grow loads of salad stuffs as they're pricey, but then I'm tight

 

You could go for a courgette plant, that green container that had my tiles in for a bit would be big enough, you just need to feed them LOTS. Some of the F1 hybrids are little plants rather than the big sprawlers so would be more suited - try 'Early Gem' or I've some seeds you can nab a couple of that shouldn't want to grow too massive.

 

Then loads of lettuce that you can pick the outer leaves on over a period of weeks rather than cutting the whole plant. 'Freckles' and 'rosemoor' are good for this as the don't heart up that quick. Rocket and spinach are super easy as well and will just keep on producing for you.

 

Toms are tricky outside round here... not enough sunshine!

 

It's dead easy honest, if you can manage electrics when they make my head spin around then you can def do this

[system 4-50]

I have plenty of tomatoes - but then I have a big alternator...

[Guest]

 

 

 

Excellent display

 

(and an imaginative use for an ASDA home shopping delivery tray too.... )

Edited March 29, 2013 by The Dog House

[Starcoaster]

I was eyeing up the plant trays in Asda today actually but I couldn't see that type of trays, just flimsy plastic ones with cut out pot shapes in them holding the pots of flowers they have for sale.

I have a batshit crazy and highly ambitious scheme to grow about ten types of things on the roof from seed, never having ever tried anything before. I know I will either end up with pots of compost and zero life, or so much stuff I will need a butty to carry it all and will be accosting passing boats begging them to take some veg.

I think I have everything I need to start now; I did just stop myself short of buying a mini plastic greenhouse for a tenner, as I am not sure if they're worth the effort (I am on a private offside mooring so it could live on the bank)!

[Guest]

I was eyeing up the plant trays in Asda today actually but I couldn't see that type of trays, just flimsy plastic ones with cut out pot shapes in them holding the pots of flowers they have for sale.

 

They are the ones that ASDA/Tesco and their ilk bring your shopping in if you you use their 'order on line deliver to your home' service.

 

The other source of something similar would be the trays that bread comes in when it is being delivered to stores.

[Starcoaster]

I have two words for you all: OMG TOMATO.

 

 

So since planting in seed trays indoors three weeks ago, I have little sproutings of:

Tomato (two different types of tumbling tomatoes, five seedlings hatched in total)

Strawberry (two different types, hanging basket type, ten or more hatched so far)

Broad beans (four plants)

Chives (though they look a bit ratty)

Parsley

Coriander

Basil

 

Two types of pepper seeds I planted have yet to do anything, but I suspect I have not managed to keep them at the constant 20 degrees it says they need for germination.

 

I have started putting the seeds trays on the roof during the days to harden off (with a lid on when it's cool or windy) and have now re-potted the broad beans and one tomato plant (to see how one outside fares compared to the ones inside...) and put them out. The beans sprung up very fast and when I took them out of the seedtray, already had lots of roots! (I know that these grow tall... I have accounted for them living on the bow, not the roof).

 

On Sunday I planted outside:

Paris market carrots

One courgette plant

Two types of Pak choi

Rocket

Spring onions

And inside, a different type of pepper that says it needs a constant 15 degrees to germinate, in the hope I will have more luck than with the ones that need to be at 20 degrees.

 

I am determined to grow (or not)! all of it from seed, and not get baby plants.

 

... I may need a lot more big pots. And also, possibly, a larger boat.

 

 

Does anyone have any reccomendatiosn aside from the above for any fruit/veg that can pbe grown in rectangular planters and does not grow too tall? (Ie, no higher than the chimney)! pref. not lettuce or cucumber.

Edited April 17, 2013 by Starcoaster

[HappyBunny]

Does anyone have any reccomendatiosn aside from the above for any fruit/veg that can pbe grown in rectangular planters and does not grow too tall? (Ie, no higher than the chimney)! pref. not lettuce or cucumber.

 

If you like beans, try the dwarf runner bean, hestia, and there are lots of small french bean plants .... all sorts of different colours; purple, yellow (though sadly most go green when cooked) ... they are good raw or just lightly steamed with lashings of garlic butter mmmmmm ... there are dwarf peas too and mange tout

 

I also grew patti pan squash last year, like little yellow flying saucers, bumper crops .... good raw in salads or roasted .... don't go quite as mushy as courgettes when you cook them .... and there are lots of other little squashes and pumpkin things which look amazing and easy to cook .... just roast or bake in your stove

 

There are dwarf aubergines (....all you need is a small aubergine ) but as with peppers some bottom heat might be needed for germination and this year has been so cold so far..... might not get a long enough season now

 

I am quite into edible flowers .... and they look pretty ..... little heartsease violas, nasturtiums (the leaves are good too) and dwarf sunflowers (such happy flowers) .... and herbs .... chives are good and easy, as are welsh onions, which are perennial and just keep growing as you use them, and look fab when they flower .... like something off star trek ..... don't get me started

 

And yes, I used canal water for all my crops, even lettuce and have survived unscathed ......

[snigsnig]

There are some great hanging planters that work really well hanging in your cratch (aka the greenhouse). Obviously only certain things will grown hanging, I've just got some tomatoes and strawbs to try.

 

Neil

[LucyB]

Chilli's and peppers should definitely be do-able. I grew them from seed in an unheated house and before putting them out during the day. I would say that it's virtually impossible to get them to ripen in the UK, but if you put them near your tomatoes or pop banana skins under them (make sure they don't start to rot, though), you can get them started. If you were going to use your cratch, you could try bantam sweetcorn plants. They grow unbelievably quickly, they're amazingly tasty and if (like on a boat) you're pushed for space, you can grow your beans or other creeping plants up them.

You say you'd rather not grow lettuce - is that because you really aren't a fan? Have you tried some of the more exotic 'cut and come again' varieties? They're gorgeous if you like a bit of salad now and again. Ratty chives is always a nightmare but if you can over-winter them inside, they'll look much better next year. They love a good hair-cut, too. I'd love to hear how you do with corriander. It's my favourite herb and I've never been able to keep it alive! Oh, garlic's a favourite of mine and pretty easy to grow - I'm not sure it's worth it cost wise, though.

 

Lucy

[HappyBunny]

I'd love to hear how you do with corriander. It's my favourite herb and I've never been able to keep it alive! Oh, garlic's a favourite of mine and pretty easy to grow - I'm not sure it's worth it cost wise, though.

 

Lucy

 

Coriander is an annual, so it won't come back next year, it may self seed but if you want it for its lovely leaves, rather than seeds, it is worth sowing regularly (every couple of weeks) and not letting it flower, just keep cutting it like a lettuce, and replace regularly.

 

Also think some pretty companion planting is a good idea to minimise pests and diseases .... add a few calendula, borage, french marigold, nasturtiums, geraniums ..... I like to think of my roof as a mobile exotic restaurant for bees and other insects ..... you can eat the flowers and have a proper Pimms with Borage in

[Dar Kuma]

DeanS, how do you grow gangly?

[Miracle]

i've got ruhbarb chard sprouting!! its about a cm tall. I've also got, basil, dill, marjoram, garlic, thyme, sage. I've just planted both carrot and beetroot seeds so Fingers crossed in 2-3 weeks they'll come up.

 

Last week we harvested dandylion heads to make wine and leaves for salad. I've never "foraged" before so it was exciting. I also tried nettle (with suitable gloves) and that I blanched and added to brown rice and chesnut mushrooms.

 

I'm on the lea and just about to go up the stort where if I am lucky I will be for cherry and elder flower picking.

 

ps. I have to say there have been a number of "stort boats" by recently and I'm feeling a bit like the poor cousin. what with my mismatched paint work where the new doors and hatch are.

[Starcoaster]

This is all getting a bit out of hand now. Apparently I am an epical gardener!

 

I took everything off the roof today to paint, and took some pics. This is what I have growing now AFTER giving about half as much again away, all grown from seed...

 

 

 

 

Broad beans

Paris market carrots

Courgette

Nasturtiums (sp?)

Rocket

Pak choi

Spinach

Spring onions

Tomatoes (two types)

Coriander

Parsley

Basil

Aji peppers

Cayenne peppers

Mint

Strawberry

 

How is everyone else getting on?

Edited May 26, 2013 by Starcoaster

[Wanted]

I'm really loving my garden this year, we have grown from seed, courgettes, beetroot (golden and red) Toms (red, yellow and purple) Swiss chard, cut and come again lettuce, strawberrys and runner beans as well as a herb garden and sme chilli's.

 

 

 

 

[Bunny]

We have lettuce, radish, peppers, spring onions, dwarf beans, carrots, cherry toms yellow and red, large toms ,baby spinach, courgettes , cucumbers, basil, parsley, chives, coriander, dill, thyme and loads of planted flower tubs, nearly all of it on the roof. All veg grown from seed in the cratch . Have spare pepper , tomato and courgette plants if anyone is interested. Heading for Stourport from Nantwich on Friday. Can't miss us , we have all the plants on top and a beware of the rabbit sign on the window, ( rabbits and plants don't mix) . Yes I can see where I'm going, I stand on a box. Bunny.