Where to start ?

Hi everyone,
I am gonna start my garden this week and I pretty have no idea where to start, so here is my situation.
I have a garden, but I would prefer to actually start with growing something inside, in pots and planters.
I live in Oxford and unfortunately my room is not very well exposed to sun, so I would need to know what kind of plant I can grow in those conditions. I don't have any specific idea about what to grow, I'm open to try pretty much everything.
So, what material should I buy, what kind of seed, and if anyone is near Oxford, do you know a good place where I can find those ?

 

What type of plants would you like to grow Sim? Vegetables, herbs, flowers?

 

I would be more interested in herbs and flowers, keeping the vegetable for when I will try to grow something in my real garden.

 

Do you have a windowsill that is deep enough to put a decent sized pot on? Say 5-6" deep? Ideally, you need to be able to close curtains / blinds without risking knocking the pot on the floor, especially first thing in the morning (been there, done that!).

If you have that, then you can sow seed, and grow plants. Light tails off as you get away from the window, drastically, even in an east or west-facing room.

What could you grow? Well, we've been enjoying Thai basil this year. A little more peppery/spicy than normal basil, and we grew it from seed (I think it was sown in March).

Sage is tolerant of a little shade, as is mint, and to a lesser extent, Rosemary. But all these plants would get leggy if your room was very warm over the winter...

Is the indoor market in Oxford still going? It's been (many) years since I went, but I'm fairly sure I remember a few plant stalls there. Maybe they sell potting compost etc in small bags. I'm sure a local Wilkos or Poundland might be able to supply your needs.

My first step would be to find out how much light your room really gets.
You could use a light meter, but much more in keeping would be to buy a pot-grown herb (I would prob choose basil, as easy to grow, needs light conditions, and is great in pasta!), and see how it does. After a month, is it leggy? Looking like its struggling with temperature fluctuations, etc? You can take a photo and post it on here...

(Sorry, waffling, as I have a late breakfast, still waiting for hubby to wake up!!)

 

Thank you very much for such a detailed answer, I will definitely try the Thai basil as well as some sage.
My room shouldn't be very warm during winter, so I hope it won't be a problem.
Is there any type of flower that would require little light ? I would really like to try some flowers as well ?

Thanks again !

 

For growing from seed now - I'd be looking at Pansy, Polyanthus and Viola to flower nowish into early Spring. Get them started off to form plugs and them pop them out in the garden - or in containers - when they are large enough..

I've grown a variety of herbs - but end up chucking them away and using the convenient dried variety that is already in the pantry .

Also, worth investing in a cheap plastic propagator - I picked one up for a couple of quid last year - they are ideal from growing plugs for later planting out and sit neatly on the window sill .

 

Hmm, low-level light flowers...

My mind went straight to that un-sexy, yet gorgeous houseplant, the African violet. You have to be very careful when watering it. Only water from below, and it is better to under-water than over-water - the leaves will droop slightly when it needs a drink of room-temperature water. A plant can flower on and off for months, and will train / hone your watering skills.

Talking of flowering for months, there's always the widely available orchid!

 

As Sian has said light levels are going to be a problem this time of year. Many flower seeds particularly annuals are best left until March when light is improving or they will collapse because they are to leggy.

 

Welcome.
I live ten miles west of Oxford and can recommend the covered market for bulbs. I was there just over a week ago with @PeterS and they have bulbs for autumn planting (outdoors) at the Florists by the old cafe. I honestly cannot think of anything (hardy) worth starting from seed indoors at this time of year. Low light levels will result in weak straggly plants.
Outdoors at this time of year you can sow;
Asphodeline lutea...................


Laburnum...........


Nigella.....................


Cerinthe....................


Verbascum...................


There are many others that need a cold spell to kickstart germination..

 

Have you heard of "Sprouting Seeds"? Basically, from seed to food in 5 - 7 days. I use something like this for mine (great in sandwiches, salads, added to stir fries at the last minute, stirred into a bowl of soup just before serving etc)



Better yet, "Micro Greens"? In a nutshell, they are sprouting seeds but grown with a little compost and for a bit longer, such as pea shoots
Both can be used to grow edible greens (year round) on a windowsill and are especially useful for fresh greens during the Winter months.
Why wait until you have a garden, I say

 

Thank you all for your answer !
I bought a plastic propagater and I'm gonna try to grow several herbs and flower on my windowsill to begin with !
Hope it will work !

 

Hi Sim,

If your window doesn't get too much sun you could also try a Winter flowering Fuchsia, I have a Fuchsia " Space Shuttle " which has hardly stopped flowering all year but id better from November through to April. It lives on my living room windowsill all the while.

 

Hi FC,

I got mine from ....

www.claylane-fuchsias.co.uk

It's a mail order company in Redhill, Surrey.

They do mainly Species and unusual hybrids. I've had loads of them and they're good strong cuttings in pots rather than just plugs.

The other plant is ( was, it decided to go to plant heaven ) a Fittonia.