Saturday 18 February 2017

Grow your own salad giveaway (c/d March 12 March 2017)

In the last month vegetable lovers were left despondent by the so called courgette and salad shortage. Some supermarkets have limited purchases to three lettuces per person. I can't say I have noticed any shortage in the shops locally. There was plenty of salad and courgettes, though when I was doing a grocery order online at Tesco the other week, salad and courgettes were indeed unavailable.
It is a good time for garden centres though, with seeds' packets flying off the shelves.
Yesterday a friend took my younger son and me on a trip to Burford garden centre, for a cup of coffee and a good browse in their gardening section.
I bought several packets of seeds - a couple of varieties of tomatoes and some herbs like borage, fennel and chamomile. I won't be growing courgettes this year. They are considered to be the easiest veg to grow, but the snails and slugs love them too much, and I am not keen on using pesticides when growing vegetables.
I have read gardening advice that growing garlic and marigolds among the salad and vegetables prevents the slugs and snails, but our creepy crawlies haven't read this advice. I remember coming one morning after planting a whole lot of marigolds on the strawberry patch, only to find them half-munched and covered in sticky trails. I have tried coffee granules and crushed egg shells. The snails win the battle.
Basically, I gave up on growing courgettes.
I always have a good crop of tomatoes in the greenhouse, and will be growing them again this year. I grow them in big pots and grobags.

I am offering a selection of packets of seeds for one of my blog readers. Some of these seeds were freebies from gardening magazines.
The winner will receive 5 packets of seeds including Lettuce (red & green salad bowl mixed), the smallest lettuce Tom Thumb (with about 1000 seeds, so you'd have plenty of salad this summer), Lollo Rosso lettuce, sweet basil and St Valery carrots.



If you don't have a garden, herbs and salad are very easily grown in pots or grobags. I will direct you to a couple of useful blog posts written by Attachment Mummy - Balcony Gardening and How to plant a garden in a small space. It's incredible just how much you can grow in a small space.

To be in with a chance of winning, please enter using a Rafflecopter form.
The only mandatory step is answering a question - What do you grow in your garden/greenhouse, on your balcony, patio? If you don't, what would you like to grow given a chance?

Also if you win, would you like some seeds of bronze fennel (a must for all fish dishes) and borage (edible flower, lovely in Pimms or gin cocktails). Just say Yes next to your answer. I will gladly share those with you, as both packets I have bought have 100 seeds.

T&Cs:
The giveaway is open to the UK residents only.
Once the Rafflecopter picks the winner, I will contact them regarding address details, if they do not reply within 28 day, the prize will be allocated to another person.
Please don't forget to leave a comment, as it is the only mandatory step, I will make sure the winner selected by Rafflecopter has complied with T&Cs.

The giveaway will close on 12 March 2017 (at midnight)


  a Rafflecopter giveaway

76 comments:

  1. Margaret Clarkson
    I currently grow fruit and herbs. Apples, quince, pears, rhubarb, redcurrants, rosemary thyme, mint

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  2. We only have a patio but we have planters with cherry tomatoes, mint, chives and some fruit bushes (raspberries, blackberries, blackcurrants) but they never give much fruit

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  3. I don't currently grow anything but we have just got a greenhouse because I really want to grow tomatoes this year.

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  4. we've got black and redcurrants and also a cherry tree

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  5. Love growing tomatoes cucumbers and onions

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  6. My dad has just retired and started to grow vegetables as a hobby I would love to win this giveaway for him.

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  7. I grow tomatoes but I really want to start growing other veg.

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  8. I grow tomatoes and cucumber in the greenhouse and spring onions,beetroot, carrots and salad leaves in my garden.

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  9. I grow tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, peas, onions, peppers and a whole host of other veggies

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  10. I like to grow tomatoes and strawberries,potatoes,carrots,and some flower tubs with lots of mixed colours and flowers in them that look so pretty when they bloom.

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  11. We have made an allotment area at the bottom of the garden and grow onions,brassica's,tomatoes,parsnips,potatoes,garlic among others and also have some fruit bushes.

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  12. Fab giveaway now spring is on its way would love to try and grow salad greens

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  13. Tomatoes, courgettes, peas, fruit - fennel is good as a decoration and for bees/hoverflies so I would love some.

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  14. Love growing tomatoes peppers and courgettes

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  15. Grow tomatoes, potatoes, onions, salad, carrots, cabbage, garlic, sweetcorn, courgettes and many more as love to grow our own

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  16. We've always grown tomatoes, runner beans, peas etc but last year I tried Kohl Rabi and Celeriac with varied success.

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  17. We grow tomatoes and an assortment of herbs like Basil and Mint

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  18. I grow Lettuce,tomatoes and beetroot but would like to try something different.

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  19. tomatoes, runner beans, potatoes and heaps of strawberries

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  20. Always grow tomatoes but would love to try something else x

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  21. I don't grow anything but would love the opportunity to do so

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  22. I'd love to grow berries, strawberries, blueberries etc as we buy so many to eat!

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  23. i grow herbs and strawberries in my garden

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  24. would like to grow peppers and tomatoes if I could

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  25. I once grew tomato's need to startagen

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  26. I grow salad veg on my window sills and on the patio - everything else? I'm lucky enough to have an allotment! We have plums, apples, red currants, raspberries, blackberries, cherries, asparagus - and we also grew cabbages, beetroot, strawberries, potatoes, onions, courgettes and pumpkins last year!
    We have only had the plot for a year and a half, so hope to grow a whole lot more this year! :-)

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  27. We grow gooseberries , blueberries we have four apple trees and to pear trees

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  28. i would love to grow beetroot as i eat so much of it!

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  29. I currently only grow herbs but want to get started with veg this year.

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  30. Have a huge garden & greenhouse. Like to grow my own salad & some vegetables. L like also sowing mixed packets of flower seeds last year it looked like a meadow on the wild side but very pretty.

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  31. I'd love a little herb collection with Mint, Rosemary, Thyme and a few others xx

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  32. I love growing fruit and veg nothing more satisfying when it's on your plate and it's all homegrown this year I'm going to grow fruits a little more I'd like a blueberry bush and gooseberry I've grown many veggies for years last years sweetcorn was a number crop

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  33. strawberries, rhubarb, herbs, fruit bushes and trees :)

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  34. I grow tomatoes, strawberries, runner beans and pears.

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  35. I have chilli plants and coriander in a windowbox and a herb garden outside

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  36. I would love to grow strawberries and mint

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  37. I grow lots of different vegetables and salads plus soft fruits

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  38. last year i grew: leeks, spring onions, radishes and kale

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  39. Jodie Thompson1 March 2017 at 10:26

    I would like to start growing tomatoes as my daughter eats tons of them! I am going to start growing my own herbs soon.

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  40. We have grown tomatoes and blackberries 🌹

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  41. Raspberries, mulberries, gooseberries and many vegetables. I love gardening!

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  42. I started growing a range of things a few weeks back but the storm blew the grow house across the garden - I think I'm going to have fruit and eg growing randomly out the ground!

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  43. I grow, everything for salads, my garden isnt very big, so i grow what i can without taking garden space, but now my mother has said i could use her garden, so the skys the limit

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  44. Just starting a small patch for veg, early peas are on the go next new potatoes and runner beans

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  45. I have a veg patch, and try to grow potatoes, runner beans (my favourite, and I can eat bowls of these on their own as a meal), corgettes, lettuce, leeks, carrots and soft fruit.

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  46. I have a small veggie patch. Growing veggies with some strawberries new this year.

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  47. Grow lots of vegetables in my allotment.

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  48. We don't currently grow anything but we have plans this year for tomatoes, potatoes and runner beans :) I'd love to grow gooseberries!

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  49. I grow vegetables and fruit and flowers and I have lots of blackcurrants, red currants, raspberries and gooseberries growing too.

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  50. Would love to grow more salad crops but the slugs are a nuisance in our garden, so have to grown them in pots and use natural ways to get rid of the slugs and snails

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  51. I grow tomatoes, courgettes, cucumber and beetroot in my garden

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  52. I try and grow flowers and vegetables, but only seem to get weeds

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  53. I've got a nice honeysuckle

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  54. I would like to be able to grow my own spinach, because you can only buy huge bags and so much goes to waste.

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  55. I have a greenhouse where I grow tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers.

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  56. A few herbs but my bunnies war most of my garden so it's difficult:(

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  57. Potatoes, tomatoes and cucumbers

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  58. Usually just tomatoes but I really want to try to grow potatoes in a tub this year :)

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  59. We have 2 apple trees (although one is a dwarf) that bear fruit and also a blackberry and gooseberry bush.

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  60. I love trying different veg. Aubergines 🍆 have been tricky and so far very small but I'm hoping to get a bit better this year. Great competition thanks.
    Mainy

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  61. we have just started growing we currently have salads, pring onions, potatoes, chillis, herbs, potatoes, chard, strawberrys, courgette, cucumber and rhubard and our garden is tiny!!

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  62. Potatoes, tomatoes and cucumbers

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  63. I grow Tomatoes, Lettuce, Sweetcorn, Beetroot and varies Herbs .... ooo and runner beans, Blueberries and have a Cherry Tree

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  64. I grow tomatoes, cucumbers, potatoes, peas & whatever else I can get my hand on!

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  65. Would love to try growing some vegetables but love watching flowers grow from seeds.

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  66. we grew tomatoes, carrots, spring onions and raspberry last year .

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  67. We are borrowing space in my mum's greenhouse to allow the children to grow tomatoes, courgettes, peppers and some herbs. Nice to teach them at a young age where their food comes from

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  68. I don't usually grow anything but have bought some seeds to grow coriander and parsley this year.

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  69. I grow some fruit and veg but I want to grow a lot more and this prize would be a great start!

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  70. I usually grow tomatoes, potatoes and carrots.

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  71. I grow Daffodils and Tulips at the moment but will soon be beetroot and runner beans

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