So, as a cycling enthusiast with a bank holiday off, I’ve spent the morning hauling 2 Belfast sinks out of undergrowth and back to my garden. I’ve never done a single bit of gardening before so what should I plant in there? I’m assuming they’ll be too small to plant veg in, so some kind of easy to look after, nice looking flowers maybe? Just fill it up with compost and whack the plants in is it?

For most things it really is a case of whack the compost in, plant, water forget.

A really nice idea for a Belfast sink is a kind of bog garden (just use some peat mixed with compost and soil and water a lot). Or you could plant some alpines with compost topped off with pea gravel.

Or, even better, grow some herbs – coriander, thyme, basil, oregano etc, then use for cooking.

There is a lot of bullshit written and spoken about gardening. Generally if you don’t pick plants that are ridiculously fragile or needy, then it is a piece of piss. If you don’t get it right you will soon see as the plants die. You just then try something new.

Herb garden is a good option. I have thyme, marjoram, basil and lemon verbena in a big trough, and mint in a separate pot as it is very invasive.

One other good thing about using a Belfast sink is that it quarantines what you plant. So if you mistakenly plant something that spreads like wildfire (bluebells for example), you won’t end up having to dig up the entire garden if you want to get rid of them.

grow some herbs – coriander, thyme, basil, oregano etc, then use for cooking.

+1

Local garden centre were doing pot with various herbs in, so I bought the herbs seperately cheaper and made my own. Be careful with stuff like mint, as it can take over.

Just fill it up with compost and whack the plants in is it?

Stick an inch or so of coarse gravel in there (think half-inch stones) or even just some rubble before you put the compost in and it will help it drain better. Unless you’re going for the bog garden above.

Pottery myth
(though I still through some stones in the bottom of all the plants we repotted yesterday 😀 )

Stuff like I’d say – if to go outside – mint (though keep in separate pot as above). Oregano and thyme also tend to spread.

Others we have in similar troughs and so on – sage, tarragon, parsley. Basil – best kept inside (up here). See chilli as well.

Flowers: Cosmos, aquilegia (sp?), sweet pea, phlox, verbena – all a doddle to grow; the first three are easy even from seed, but you’d best get a move on.

Veg: tomatoes & rocket are really easy from seed. Or get some plug plants and bring them on. It’s very satisfying picking veg you’ve grown yourself.

Definitely herbs, or chillies. Basically, something you can eat! You’re more likely to feel success when you’re eating it!

http://www.rhs.org.uk/science/conservation-biodiversity/wildlife/encourage-wildlife-to-your-garden/plants-for-pollinators

Careful with aquilegia, though. It spreads like billy-oh and not through the soil. I suspect (although don’t know for sure) its spread is airborne. You’ll find it everywhere if you plant it!

Herbs are best (I deliberately left out mint as it will take over).

Definitely herbs, or chillies. Basically, something you can eat! You’re more likely to feel success when you’re eating it!

Can you grow chillies outside in the UK? Certainly the varieties I grow need to move inside in winter.

Herbs are good. Tomatoes taste nice, but they’re pretty ugly.

Rhubarb. Yum yum.

Beetroots are a piece of piss as well.

Can you grow chillies outside in the UK?

Yep, all mine are outside now. They start off inside from seed, though. Think they’re Apache, but they tend to grow a little bigger than a dwarf variety. Tomato feed on them once they’re fruiting.

Sheltered, sunny spots, mind you. Got about 8 plants lined up, so will hopefully have way too many! 😀

Yep, all mine are outside now. They start off inside from seed, though. Think they’re Apache, but they tend to grow a little bigger than a dwarf variety. Tomato feed on them once they’re fruiting.

Do they stay outside year round, though? Or do you use some kind of cloche to avoid frost damage? (Mainly asking as the OP is unlikely to want to move a full belfast sink back inside when winter comes…)

Herbs are great in old sinks, Mother always did that at home & we’ve just planted one up at my new place, niceto be able to eat what you grow, and herbs are about the easiest.

I’ve got about a dozen lettuce plants, 2 chilli peppers, 6 cherry tomato & 3 ordinary tomato plants in, plus radishes in a container, and 16 runner been seedlings coming on in the polytunnel, should be a bumper crop this summer!

RE outside chillies – I tend to just grow new plants from seed every year, letting the old ones die off and then I grub them up. Dry out as many chillies as you can, to last through the year, then just use the seeds as the next crop for next summmer.

RE outside chillies – I tend to just grow new plants from seed every year, letting the old ones die off and then I grub them up. Dry out as many chillies as you can, to last through the year, then just use the seeds as the next crop for next summmer.

That’s probably a lot more practical than my attempts to keep mine alive year round, and filling my living room with tatty plants sheltering from the cold 🙂

+1 for herbs in one of the sinks. Oregano, thyme and chives will overwinter whereas basil and coriander you’ll need to grow again and replant new plants next year.

For the other sink I would either do a cut and come again salad trough, dwarf french beans which don’t need supporting or a strawberry trough.

For salad, water the compost in the trough first, scatter lettuce, spinach and rocket seeds (poundland / wilkos / B&M are good for cheap seeds) and then cover with a fine layer of soil. French beans are really easy and give a really good crop, but they will work best if you germinate them indoors and harden them off (take them out on warm days and then in again at night) before planting out. Might be a bit late to get a good strawberry crop this year, but they would put out runners and you can pot those up and plant them again next year.

Re chillies, we also treat them as annuals (no room in the house for them). We have been successful in Liverpool with cayennes outside and now in Cambridgeshire, last year which was fantastic, we got all our varieties fruiting outside (cayenne, jalapeno, big jim numex, cherry bomb). But they all needed support from the wind and the Belfast sinks might not be deep enough.

Done, one sink of thyme, peppermint, rocket and spinach, the other a randomly chucked together assortment of alpines. Nervously awaiting the return of Mrs unknown from work to give seal of approval or lecture for not knowing any better…

you know what to do, grow something useful.

chillies, need to be in greenhouse as far as our latitude is concerned..

Having said that, last year’s crop was the business, most varieties were fabulous, A-M eventually made chilli jam from the layers of chillis sitting in the garage. Lovely.

And yes, just chuck the plants when done, no real benefit I found in trying to winter them.