The great, good and not so good bits about growing your own dinner 2017

MissPop · 17 September 2017 at 8:33PM

Suffolk_lass wrote: »

How many leaves before you transplant them?

I wait until there's at least one set of true leaves after the cotyledons. I do tend to put 2-4 seeds in one 7cm pot, and then transplant them when I think they need more space. I'm guessing maybe I should plant them singly so I don't disturb the roots so much?

CAFCGirl · 18 September 2017 at 7:30AM

Kantankrus_Mare wrote: »

So have you any ideas what you are going to plant? I like irises which I have in another part of the plot but think may be too tall for a bed.

So far I'm at tulips and that's about it :rotfl:

Kantankrus_Mare · 18 September 2017 at 9:28AM

Have you got them in? :rotfl: thats my next confusion. Do I spread all the bulbs over the bed and then other seeds/ plant things (not sure what!) around the bulbs or do I put all bulbs together and all other things together. Hmmmm I have this vision of a bed full of flowers just waiting to be picked but realistically I know that everything wont flower together and at some points the dying off foliage of the bulbs is going to spoil my idealistic picture.

In theory.......what I have bought so far will give me something to pick from March maybe to June.

Just got to find time to plant them now.

CAFCGirl · 19 September 2017 at 6:58AM

Kantankrus_Mare wrote: »

Have you got them in? :rotfl: thats my next confusion. Do I spread all the bulbs over the bed and then other seeds/ plant things (not sure what!) around the bulbs or do I put all bulbs together and all other things together. Hmmmm I have this vision of a bed full of flowers just waiting to be picked but realistically I know that everything wont flower together and at some points the dying off foliage of the bulbs is going to spoil my idealistic picture.

In theory.......what I have bought so far will give me something to pick from March maybe to June.

Just got to find time to plant them now.

My thinking was to stack the bulbs in layers, so daffs, cover in a layer of compost, then crocuses, cover in a layer and then tulips, cover. so in theory something starts to poke through as the other dies back. I was going to try to tightly pack mine to get that 'full' effect and I will probably use the edge of the bed to sow a seed of some sort as I can rarely get anything to grow right up to the edge of the bed frame

ETA - no I havent got them in yet, I havent even bought them LOL

zafiro1984 · 23 September 2017 at 7:03PM

CAFCGirl, I put daffs in layers in the outside containers, usually about 4 layers, as you can get quite a good show. Afterwards I plant the daffs on mass (without separating them) around the grounds, just dig a nice big hole and drop the contents of the container in it back fill and that's it. a website called 'Kiss My Grass' is where I buy them. i usually buy a sack as it's a lot cheaper than going to a garden centre.

Dug up some main crop potatoes today, filled 3 x mushroom trays and I only dug one row. I know you are not supposed to wash them but I always run them under the hosepipe and have never had any problems. I'll go through them, pull out any I don't like the look of and sort them into different sizes as I use the smallest first. That's the evening sorted

Kantankrus_Mare · 23 September 2017 at 8:38PM

Well I got a couple of hours at the plot today and got my bulbs planted. I decided to go in rows. Did a row of narcissus...then tulips....then daffs ....then anemones and another row of tulips.

Realised after Id put them in that I was supposed to soak the anemones in water overnight so the ones I had left over are soaking.

They took up less than a third of my bed so I will have to investigate summer flowering bulbs and seeds and fill the rest of the bed as and when. At least I have made a start though.

Picked the rest of the sweetcorn and had a general cut back on all the brambles trying to creep onto my plot.

Planted a bit of garlic someone had given me. I have no over wintering onions in yet and hoping I can still get some from somewhere. Lovely bit of sunshine here in Lincs this afternoon.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted · 24 September 2017 at 4:27PM

Left Himself the remaining produce from the garden in the kitchen. It looked stunning :cool: - four perfect potatoes, one shaped like a duck, half a single corn cob, one red onion and a selection of huge sage leaves poked in around them, all in the tin pan from the scales on a teatowel.

Cheeky wotsit started whistling 'We Plough the Fields and Scatter'.

It does give me the feeling that it is something special, though I certainly won't be baking a loaf in the shape of a wheatsheaf to mark the occasion. Can't work out if it's childhood religious practices eeking out of my subconscious or whether it's just a normal human instinct - although if it were the former, surely I should be looking for a dented tin of tomato soup that went out of date in 2010 to dress up with a doily?

What do you lot think?

ETA: the veggies were lovely with dinner - especially the corn - we're definitely growing it more seriously next year, as it was a shove-it-in-and-see this time.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted · 24 September 2017 at 6:41PM

CAFCGirl wrote: »

My thinking was to stack the bulbs in layers, so daffs, cover in a layer of compost, then crocuses, cover in a layer and then tulips, cover. so in theory something starts to poke through as the other dies back. I was going to try to tightly pack mine to get that 'full' effect and I will probably use the edge of the bed to sow a seed of some sort as I can rarely get anything to grow right up to the edge of the bed frame

ETA - no I havent got them in yet, I havent even bought them LOL

Tulips deepest, then Daffs (include the miniature Narcissi like paperwhites), then Crocus, as they have different preferred planting depths. Sling in some tiny Irises and Grape hyacinths in the top layer, too - the early bees adore them and the intensity of blue appearing early in the year is amazing - why not add some native bluebell and snowdrops and snakeshead fritillaries?

You could also put puddy (wretched swear filter!) willow at the back - it's beautiful in arrangements.

CAFCGirl · 25 September 2017 at 7:17AM

Jojo_the_Tightfisted wrote: »

Tulips deepest, then Daffs (include the miniature Narcissi like paperwhites), then Crocus, as they have different preferred planting depths. Sling in some tiny Irises and Grape hyacinths in the top layer, too - the early bees adore them and the intensity of blue appearing early in the year is amazing - why not add some native bluebell and snowdrops and snakeshead fritillaries?

You could also put puddy (wretched swear filter!) willow at the back - it's beautiful in arrangements.

Excellent!
I love clear cut instructions on what to do

:T

P.S I now have 'we plough the fields' going round in my head

zafiro1984 · 27 September 2017 at 12:35AM

Bramleys going into the freezer at the moment. We have friends with an orchard and she brings us boxes and boxes of windfalls for the horses but the Bramleys are straight off the tree and they are huge. I've enough to last a whole year.

Just ordered some strawberry runners as I haven't enough, plus some elephant garlic, autumn planting onions and shallots for the tunnel and some broad bean seeds - all to arrive in October. That just leaves me with Swift potatoes to order from Dobies as they can deliver in December. They will also go in the tunnel. I won't be able do anything next Jan/Feb and possibly March so I need to be organised this side of Christmas.

The great, good and not so good bits about growing your own dinner 2017

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