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Growing Your Own

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Flutterby

Flutterby

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I grow a lot of veg and fruit in my garden, I was wondering if anyone else grew their own and if they grow anything specifically for their piggies. Below is a list of what I grow and currently my piggies get all their veg, salad and fruit from my garden.

Lettuce (various types, not iceburg).
Sweetcorn
Pumpkins
Cauliflower
Potatos
Different types of runner beans and broad beans
Peas
Tomatos
Peppers
Chilli's
Beetroot
Cucumber
Carrots
Parsnips
Turnips
Leeks
Sprouts
Apricots
Pears
Apple
Strawberries
Blueberry
Raspberry
Blackberry
Goldenberry
Loganberry
Redcurrent
Blackcurrent
Gooseberry
Fig
Peach
Chery
Plum.

I think that is everyone, obviously the piggies don't have some of this stuff but its nice to have them living off the garden. Is there anything else anyone can think of that I can plant out?
 
Its definately cheaper in the Spring, Summer and Autumn because I have things growing. Winter i tend to buy more fresh. I am getting a greenhouse at the end of the season so hopefully will be able to grow some winter things. I have a decent size garden, not massive, but I make the most out of the space I have :)

I'll have a look at growing Kale, never thought of that, my piggies love Kale :)
 
I am in my second year of growing my own so still haven't got all of the ratios right but I have:

Parsnips
Carrots (I don't like them - they are all for the piggies)
Beetroot
Celery (all for the piggies)
Chard
Pak choi
Courgettes
Marrows
Onions (overwintering and normal)
Garlic
Sweetcorn
Cabbage
Pumpkin
Squash
Globe artichoke
Potatoes
Leeks
Peas
Broad beans
Aubergines
Chillies
Peppers
Tomatoes
Cucumber (for the piggies)
Spinach
Rocket
Lettuce (piggies)
Apples
Sloes (although have not been successful yet)

It is a very satisfying hobby when you are able to start eating your produce.
 
There are definately some on that list I will add! It definately is brill when you can start eating things :)
 
I grow herbs, and berries my boys love the raspberry leaves. I hope to plant veg next year. I also leave the grass long down the side of my herb bed so I can snip bits of it off to add in with their veg/herbs
 

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Ooh i never thought of herbs. I'll look up what herbs I can do, i only have lavender and catmint in the garden.
 
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From the safe food list I have it says

Almost daily: Cilantro (coriander)
Frequently 3-4 times a week) parsley(curly or flat)
Occasionally : dill, mint, thyme
Rarely (just a couple of times a month) fennel, oregano, peppermint/spearmint,

I'm sure there are others they can have but I'm not sure.
 
Pots are great for growing your own things! All my tomatoes, peppers, chilli's, fruit tree's, cucumbers etc are in pots and my carrots and potatos are in bags. You can grow pretty much any above ground fruit, veg or salad in pots at long as the pot has good holes for drainage :)
 
Has it got any flowers yet? My pumpkins and cucumbers have flowers and little fruits following :)
 
GizmoCalvin said:
Great what pots would yoo recommend ? And what can I plant now? :)
Click to expand...
Hanging baskets are great for toms and strawberries (piggies can eat tomatoes every so often but not the leaves) I'm not sure what you can plant this time of the year but a great tip is when your supermarket shopping have a look at their herbs and seeds they are often a good price and it says when you can plant them. Grow bags are great too for toms, berry bushes, chillies, cucumbers and lots of other things. Potatoes are great in pots so are herbs and peppers, I've got Brussels in my pot outside my back door they are growing ready for our christmas dinner :)
Another tip is download a guinea pig safe to eat guide and follow that when you buy your herbs and veg in the long run planting and growing your own really can save you money x
 
Great thank you! I think I will spend some time on the garden maybe a compost pile for next year to start growing :) !
 
Flutterby said:
Has it got any flowers yet? My pumpkins and cucumbers have flowers and little fruits following :)
Click to expand...
Melon plant has flowers. We have already started eating courgettes, cucumber, onions, carrots and garlic, I have baby aubergines, peas, beans, marrows. Will be making beetroot soup later this week and will also be harvesting some chard.

Ooo - forgot - I have started an asparagus patch this year too - will take 2-3 years to fully establish.
 
Ooh that all sounds so good! I don't like aubergines or marrows. Can't wait for my cucumbers to be ready, the piggies will have to fight me for them! :)
 
My3cuteBoys said:
Hanging baskets are great for toms and strawberries (piggies can eat tomatoes every so often but not the leaves) I'm not sure what you can plant this time of the year but a great tip is when your supermarket shopping have a look at their herbs and seeds they are often a good price and it says when you can plant them. Grow bags are great too for toms, berry bushes, chillies, cucumbers and lots of other things. Potatoes are great in pots so are herbs and peppers, I've got Brussels in my pot outside my back door they are growing ready for our christmas dinner :)
Another tip is download a guinea pig safe to eat guide and follow that when you buy your herbs and veg in the long run planting and growing your own really can save you money x
Click to expand...

Completely agree with this :)
 
We get ours from my OH grandad which is great. He comes in with tubs full of carrots, cucumber, strawberries, raspberrys, pots, green beans etc. I would like to have a go and grow my own. Thinking of starting off small and i mean small things like basil, cress, dill etc.
 
I've always found purple sprouting broccoli easy to grow (and it comes into season when most other veg in the garden isn't ready). It's very cheap to grow and very expensive to buy in supermarkets!
 
I love growing my own but don't have designated growing plots at the moment as we need to do the garden up and it will probably be next year now. I have however got a planter that has onions, brussels and chard in. I have courgette plants in pots and tomatoes. I also have chilli's and bell peppers which have been moved to indoor pots after nearly being destroyed by slugs. I have carrots in a container as well but they don't seem to be doing as well as when I have grown them previously. I have a 5 tier herb planter and at the moment there is sage, thyme, coriander, oregano, mint and basil growing in it. I also have two pots just for parsley as I tend to use a lot of herbs when cooking as well.

We actually "rescued" a runner bean plant for 50p from the "nearly dead" section of a garden centre and its doing amazingly well. We managed to get sweetcorn plants for £1 as well so hopefully they'll give us some goodies next year.
 
I don't think there is anything better than growing your own really. This is the first year we have grown on this scale and its proving very fruitful at the moment. There are still some area's to work on but the piggies enjoy what's coming out so far. I subsidise their diet from out local greengrocer as his stuff is lovely, but i will be growing more next year that is piggy friendly. Getting plants flowers from the 'nearly dead' section of the garden centres, b&q and homebase are the best, most of my garden is made from 'rescue' plants and they look fantastic now :)
 
Flutterby said:
I don't think there is anything better than growing your own really. This is the first year we have grown on this scale and its proving very fruitful at the moment. There are still some area's to work on but the piggies enjoy what's coming out so far. I subsidise their diet from out local greengrocer as his stuff is lovely, but i will be growing more next year that is piggy friendly. Getting plants flowers from the 'nearly dead' section of the garden centres, b&q and homebase are the best, most of my garden is made from 'rescue' plants and they look fantastic now :)
Click to expand...

I particularly like the fact that my OH likes rescuing plants and I like rescuing animals... only problem is he doesn't limit the number of plants like he limits the animals hehe
 
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