Planting Plans For One Person

Larumbelle

It's fine for the sweetcorn to be of the same variety. You usually only get one or two cobs from each plant, you can get up to four though depending on the variety.

There are excellent 'what to do this month' posts each month, plus we're all here rabbiting about what we're doing, so there'll always be someone here to hold your hand if you're new, the old hands here have taught me most of what I know, you'll not be new for very long, things just kind of fall into place!

Edited to say LMAO at Ceridwen!!!! Speaking of birds, one thing I'm doing right now is feeding the local birds, partly for that happy feeling of knowing I'm helping, partly because I love watching them, but also partly in the hope that they'll decide to hang around and munch a few slugs for me next year. It's never to early to start encouraging friendly wildlife to make your patch their home

RAS

Mardatha

Cant do the mum bit but will pop back at intervals.

I was going to post on sweetcorn but maybe in July it might be better. It is dead easy to handpollinate which gets over the poor set if you only have a few plants, but do not go below three IMO.

Right now, if you can get one square yard of that soil dug over, you might get landcress, cornsalad and rocket to grow. I much prefer hairy bittercress, which is considered a weed but is wonderful and grows like billyo on late winter. Finally got one of two plants in among my cornsalad this year. Will just have to keep cropping the lawn until it multiplies.

Garlic also needs to go in now even in the far north.

indoors you could try some window sill gardening? If you ever get soup from a carry out, you may have old polystrene pots around? They sit snuggly inside one another, with a space between the bases? Take two. The inner one, pinch out four small holes where the base meets the side. Then cut a inch long split up the side, midway between each pair of holes. Put a bit of water in the base of the outer pot, and the inner and fill with compost. You now have a mini "self-watering" pot. Grow cut and come again lettuce or salads, kales (red russuiian or hungry gap), endives, oriental greens . Cut when three or four inches high, one inch above the bottom node and it will re-sprout. You water the outer, which means you do not get water drops on the plants and reduces rot.

harib0uk

RAS wrote: »

I was going to post on sweetcorn but maybe in July it might be better. It is dead easy to handpollinate which gets over the poor set if you only have a few plants, but do not go below three IMO.

hmmm I have a seed packet of Swift F1 sweet corn, given to my DS last year, was planning on planting them this year as DS will be 4 in April and kind of understands now that he's not to go pulling up everything and snapping it in half. Packet says I can grow these indoors from May, but that when planting out they need to be 40cm (16") apart - it's not really going to be successful in containers/pots and if you only get 1 or 2 from a plant it's a lot of space/effort for not much return

RAS wrote: »

Garlic also needs to go in now even in the far north.

I want to grow some garlic in pots, but can't seem to find anywhere selling - coul i just plant a few cloves from supermarket bulbs?

RAS wrote: »

indoors you could try some window sill gardening? If you ever get soup from a carry out, you may have old polystrene pots around? They sit snuggly inside one another, with a space between the bases? Take two. The inner one, pinch out four small holes where the base meets the side. Then cut a inch long split up the side, midway between each pair of holes. Put a bit of water in the base of the outer pot, and the inner and fill with compost. You now have a mini "self-watering" pot. Grow cut and come again lettuce or salads, kales (red russuiian or hungry gap), endives, oriental greens . Cut when three or four inches high, one inch above the bottom node and it will re-sprout. You water the outer, which means you do not get water drops on the plants and reduces rot.

I'd like to have a go at this with some lettuce seeds i have, but i'm having a little trouble understanding and visualizing this

RAS

harib0uk wrote: »

I want to grow some garlic in pots, but can't seem to find anywhere selling - coul i just plant a few cloves from supermarket bulbs?

Absolutely fine. That is how I started. I now have some that is bought purposefully for planting and some is descended from shop bought cloves that started to sprout.

harib0uk wrote: »

I'd like to have a go at this with some lettuce seeds i have, but i'm having a little trouble understanding and visualizing this

Think of one pot inside another with water in the outer pot and small holes in the inner pot so the roots can get to the water?

And think of seedlings that are a bit leggy, if you cut the plant to the soil, you use it all up. If you cut it an inch higher, then some of the leaf stems are left? from each node between the main stem and the leaf stem, a new shoot will form which is your next harvest.

harib0uk

RAS wrote: »

Absolutely fine. That is how I started. I now have some that is bought purposefully for planting and some is descended from shop bought cloves that started to sprout.

Ok so the shop bought ones should ideally be srouting when planted?

RAS wrote: »

Think of one pot inside another with water in the outer pot and small holes in the inner pot so the roots can get to the water?

Ahh yes, so you lift the inner pot out to add water to the outer pot?

RAS wrote: »

And think of seedlings that are a bit leggy, if you cut the plant to the soil, you use it all up. If you cut it an inch higher, then some of the leaf stems are left? from each node between the main stem and the leaf stem, a new shoot will form which is your next harvest.

I see so your pretty much filling the pot up with compost, I had visions of trying to get down inside the cup to cut the leaves off!

ok I think I have it sussed so will give it a go (nedd to get some polystyrene cups now!)

Many thanks RAS

Larumbelle

harib0uk wrote: »

hmmm I have a seed packet of Swift F1 sweet corn, given to my DS last year, was planning on planting them this year as DS will be 4 in April and kind of understands now that he's not to go pulling up everything and snapping it in half. Packet says I can grow these indoors from May, but that when planting out they need to be 40cm (16") apart - it's not really going to be successful in containers/pots and if you only get 1 or 2 from a plant it's a lot of space/effort for not much return

I successfully grew sweetcorn in groups of supermarket flower buckets this year, because I simply didn't have enough beds at the time. You do have to make sure they don't get blown over, I did this by building a 'wall' of whatever junk was lying around to surround the group of buckets.

harib0uk

silvercharming wrote: »

I successfully grew sweetcorn in groups of supermarket flower buckets this year, because I simply didn't have enough beds at the time. You do have to make sure they don't get blown over, I did this by building a 'wall' of whatever junk was lying around to surround the group of buckets.

Ohh i never thought about doing it that way, one per bucket! I was thinking where am I going to get something large enough to be able to plant 4 sweetcorns at 40cm apart in all directions. Thank you!

Need to see if Tesco will let me have any of their buckets!

mardatha

I would like to try the salad leaves & maybe kale for soup, if you think there is enough light up here for them on the windowsill... we havent got double glazing though.
Re the veg patch, I doubt I will try anything outside as we get a lot of snow and very cold winds. Plus the son hasn't yet appeared to dig it.

Larumbelle

Mardatha, I am experimenting at the moment with growing salads indoors during the winter. You might need a little added warmth to get the seedlings started, but lettuces and kale are suprisingly hardy once they get going, I don't think warmth will be a problem so long as they're not getting hard frost. They need more light than what 'daylight' supplies, but mine seem happy so far sat on the coffee table in my living room.
If you've already got seeds, trays and a little compost it will cost very little to have a go. Lettuce seeds come in ten-year supplies, usually!

Speaking of seeds, I know we're not allowed to seed swap here, but I'd love to be able to, I've never understood how anyone could possibly need 5000 lettuce seeds all in one go!

Haribouk, the only reason sweetcorn needs to grow close together is because it is wind pollinated and the closer the plants are the more likely they will pollinate. Personally I see no problem in helping it along, it's the easiest plant in the world to do and its not like you'll be growing on a commercial scale where it'd be impractical! You just pick of the seedy top bits and put them in the tassly sprouty bits, which makes no sense now but will do when you come to do it.

mardatha

Well I'll try it --only way to find out the front of the house faces south & gets the sun until 2pm ... so I'll try some seeds . Will keep you updated !