February Update: What are you growing in 2006

livilou

i have just sent for a whole bunch of seeds, carrots, peppers, beetroot, cucumber, sweetcorn , lettuce, tomatoes.

I had a trial runlast year with some carrots and beetroot and tomatoes and all went well, so this weekend hubby is rpeparing a section in the garden for me to grow some goodies.

So I will give it a go and see what I can produce!!!!

any tips gratefully received....................

xx

aurorahelios

If you want to grow some fruit, Aldi's specials include various fruit bushes at the moment and only 99p each.

I picked up 4 raspberry canes this morning. They also had redcurrant, blackcurrant, gooseberry and tayberry in my local store.

Alfietinker

Ooh - your own soft fruit is lovely - and doesn't take much looking after! Raspberries can take up a fair bit of space, but Autumn varieties are great - you can get fresh fruit for months! And all currants can be put in your flower bed and pretty much left to get on with it - save a bit of winter pruning.....

This year I'm really trying to get the best from my veg plot, so I'm making a chart with varieties, sowing/planting/transplanting times so I can get organised.

annie-c

Alfietinker wrote:

Ooh - your own soft fruit is lovely - and doesn't take much looking after! Raspberries can take up a fair bit of space, but Autumn varieties are great - you can get fresh fruit for months! And all currants can be put in your flower bed and pretty much left to get on with it - save a bit of winter pruning.....

Alfietinker, when you say rasberries take up a lot of space, what do you mean? I bought a pack of 3 canes and put them in close together.... was that a big mistake?

Thanks, Annie.

Alfietinker

Sorry, I should clarify The canes only need to have a foot or so between them, so you're fine there. Each cane will produce new canes from the base and you'll soon end up with lots more To get fruit for months, I grow 3 different varieties - one summer kind and 2 autumn kinds. These are in their own dedicated bed, with three 6 foot rows. So for me they take up a lot of space

If you've got summer canes, you need to provide some kind of permanent support - such as posts with wires stretched between them. I guess you could grow a small amount in a circle, with canes? The canes will get to at least 5-6 foot so allow plenty of height.

Just for people that aren't sure of the difference between summer and autumn canes.

Summer canes fruit on last year's wood. After planting, cut the canes down to a couple of inches (to a bud). This will stimulate lots of new canes in the first year but no fruit. In the second year fruit will be produced on the previous season's canes. At the same time new canes will grow from the base - these will give you fruit the next year. You will have 2 different age canes growing in the same row. With me so far? At the end of each season you cut down the canes that have produced fruit and tie in the new canes which will give you next years fruit. This leaves space for new shoots to grow the next season - and so the cycle continues. This is why you need to provide support - there will always be 5-8 foot canes showing.

Autumn canes are much easier in my view. The fruit is produced on the current year's growth. Each year the canes will grow and produce fruit on those same stems. In winter you cut all the canes down to ground level, ready for next years growth. It's not strictly necessary to provide supports for autumn canes, I do just because they're next to a path and I find they flop about.

Summer canes tend to give a large crop in one go. Autumn varieties give less at any given time, but over a much longer period - until the frosts.

Hope this waffle makes sense to somebody!!!

xueta

'Red Sun' shallot sets are in Wilkinsons now, 99p a bag. Much cheaper than from mail order! Very easy to grow, good grop, excellent for cooking and keep well (still got some from last year's crop ).

'Setton' onion sets also in Wilkinsons, 99p a bag. This is an improved version of Turbo, again very easy to grow, huge tasty onions. There were other varieties of onion, too, including Sturon and Red Brunswick ( a reliable red onion, but I prefer Red Baron).

I've already got my garlic in the ground, but for anyone who hasn't yet done so garlic bulbs can go in now.

Potatoes are still chitting (sprouting) in the garage. I've grown Home Guard (first early) for the past three years, as they were sent by Thompson & Morgan years ago as a substitute for some other potatoes I had ordered! They've done really well (despite heavy clay) and I've always saved some to keep as seed for the following year.

A little tip if you are saving seed, is to always select the very best of your crop to save - choose the biggest, tastiest-looking (!) specimens. It may seem a waste at the time and you may be tempted to keep the specimens that you don't want to eat for seed - but it really pays to have the best seed for your crops!!!

Alfietinker

xueta wrote:

Potatoes are still chitting (sprouting) in the garage. I've grown Home Guard (first early) for the past three years, as they were sent by Thompson & Morgan years ago as a substitute for some other potatoes I had ordered! They've done really well (despite heavy clay) and I've always saved some to keep as seed for the following year.

Have you had success keeping your potatoes for the next year? I keep reading not to, but I've got a few 'desiree' spuds sprouting at the moment. They're not seed potatoes, but I wondered if they'd work?

littlereddevil

I always keep some and they grow fine

Alfietinker

Thanks ! I'll bring them out of the cupboard and try to chit them normally then

xueta

Good luck with the potatoes, Alfie!

Mine have always done just fine. The seed nurseries will tell you it's not a good idea, as it increases the likelihood of disease + disappointment! The varieties I've kept, however, have been fairly robust, disease-resistant types and have never given any problems.

Desiree is another fairly robust variety and so should do well. Check they're healthy and leave them to chit!