April Update: What are you growing in 2006?

missk_ensington

Don't think I'll be able to sow at different intervals- My whole allocated plot is about 8ft x 8ft!! The other half of the garden is being pinched by chickens.... (Dont ask! - I have a problem saying No when someone gives me a sob story about abused animals that need a home!)

Hope I manage to grow something. I currently have carrots, spring onions, lettuce and tomato in trays-the tomatoes and lettuce are on the window sill in the house and the other two are roughing it outside! Hope they don't catch a chill and die! (And how do you know when you've overwatered something??? Or, in other words, how much is too much?!?!?)

Finally, (sorry for bombrding this thread with questions) What if the pH of your soil isn't what it should be? I have no idea what pH mine is, or what type of soil it is. Its just brown and dry with grass on top?!?!

kjl26

missk_ensington wrote:

Don't think I'll be able to sow at different intervals- My whole allocated plot is about 8ft x 8ft!! The other half of the garden is being pinched by chickens.... (Dont ask! - I have a problem saying No when someone gives me a sob story about abused animals that need a home!)

Hope I manage to grow something. I currently have carrots, spring onions, lettuce and tomato in trays-the tomatoes and lettuce are on the window sill in the house and the other two are roughing it outside! Hope they don't catch a chill and die! (And how do you know when you've overwatered something??? Or, in other words, how much is too much?!?!?)

Finally, (sorry for bombrding this thread with questions) What if the pH of your soil isn't what it should be? I have no idea what pH mine is, or what type of soil it is. Its just brown and dry with grass on top?!?!

The chickens sound great! Wish we were allowed them but our leasehold thing says we can't .

Re overwatering, you shouldn't need really to water seedlings until they've come up and grown a bit (this is what I've done and they are fine, but I'm not sure it's the proper way to do it). And then I've gone for a 'little and often' approach, but don't know if that's right! They are surviving though...

wattapain

missk_ensington wrote:

Don't think I'll be able to sow at different intervals- My whole allocated plot is about 8ft x 8ft!! The other half of the garden is being pinched by chickens.... (Dont ask! - I have a problem saying No when someone gives me a sob story about abused animals that need a home!)

You & me both ( garden anyway) but lettuces dont take up much room and I usually put a new plant into a space when i cut one to eat.


Hope I manage to grow something. I currently have carrots, spring onions, lettuce and tomato in trays-the tomatoes and lettuce are on the window sill in the house and the other two are roughing it outside! Hope they don't catch a chill and die!


all of the above except toms will be fine outside now. If a severe frost is forecast, cover them with something - fleece, newspaper etc.


(And how do you know when you've overwatered something??? Or, in other words, how much is too much?!?!?)



Just feel them every couple days - if they feel dry, water, if not, don't,
and if they're in the ground then don't unless the ground is really dry.



Finally, (sorry for bombrding this thread with questions) What if the pH of your soil isn't what it should be? I have no idea what pH mine is, or what type of soil it is. Its just brown and dry with grass on top?!?!

don't worry about it - don't really know what mine is either. I bought one of those tester things last week and I think it's slightly acid which I think is Ok, but I'm not really sure.
A few plants are fussy about things like that, but if they are then they have no place in my garden.
If you want to grow blueberries , who are fussy then just grow them in pots with special (science bit here;) ) compost called ericaceous compost.
But all that's for later when ( not if )you master the basics

Terri

missk_ensington

Thanks loads! Feel better about this now, had visions of all this expense and hard work, and never even see a shoot!

Ive ordered that book from amazon, so I should be an expert in no time!!!

Strepsy

Did anyones chilli or pepper plants get going? Mine finally did and have been shooting up and out the last couple of weeks.



On the left is a sweet pepper 'California Wonder' - seeds 29p from Lidl - and they all came up. On the right is Cayenne chilli, from free seeds off the front of Grow Your Own magazine.

kjl26

Those look great! Mine are a bit behind yours (just growing their fifth leaves) but looking quite similar. Mine are all jalapenos, and I think I planted 20 seeds and have 15 (!) quite healthy looking plants now...

MORPH3US

Thanks to eveyone who answered my questions above (where did the Thanks button go?)

Right, i'm off to Lidl tonight to get some seeds, but god knows how to grow them with foreign instructions.

Can someone summarise (or point me in the direction of an) idiots guide of what to do with the seeds when I get them, do I just shove them in some soil and water?!?

Also, where can a small amount of decent soil from? I live in the country for gods sake but don't have a garden yet (we live in a flat at the mo!)

Thanks so much!

M

kjl26

MORPH3US wrote:

Thanks to eveyone who answered my questions above (where did the Thanks button go?)

Right, i'm off to Lidl tonight to get some seeds, but god knows how to grow them with foreign instructions.

Can someone summarise (or point me in the direction of an) idiots guide of what to do with the seeds when I get them, do I just shove them in some soil and water?!?

Also, where can a small amount of decent soil from? I live in the country for gods sake but don't have a garden yet (we live in a flat at the mo!)

Thanks so much!

M

Not sure if this is foolproof, but if you go to a seed retailer website like Suttons (I posted a link above somewhere) or Thompson and Morgan or Mr Fothergills (just google them) and click on the appropriate varieties in their seed section, they usually have the instructions from the seed packet on the website.

Generally you just stick them in a tray in some damp compost and wait for them to grow but it's worth checking out the instructions just in case there is a particular temperature you need to keep them at, or if you have to grow them outside earlier/later than you think, etc.

Hope that helps, enjoy seed shopping!

Strepsy

MORPH3US wrote:

Thanks to eveyone who answered my questions above (where did the Thanks button go?)

Right, i'm off to Lidl tonight to get some seeds, but god knows how to grow them with foreign instructions.

Can someone summarise (or point me in the direction of an) idiots guide of what to do with the seeds when I get them, do I just shove them in some soil and water?!?

Also, where can a small amount of decent soil from? I live in the country for gods sake but don't have a garden yet (we live in a flat at the mo!)

Thanks so much!

M

Don't worry it was just the B&M ones that had no English instructions, the Lidl ones all do. Or the 3 or 4 packs I have do anyway.

Lidl have good big bags of multi-purpose compost too - 40 litres for £1.99 or I think they do grow bags too. Either would be fine. And it's pretty much simple, yes, just shove them in some soil and water them. lol. Not sure what you're planting them in but I'd give them at least an inch or two per seed, so it won't be such a difficult job to pot them on when they're ready.

MORPH3US

Strepsy wrote:

Lidl have good big bags of multi-purpose compost too - 40 litres for £1.99 or I think they do grow bags too. Either would be fine. And it's pretty much simple, yes, just shove them in some soil and water them. lol. Not sure what you're planting them in but I'd give them at least an inch or two per seed, so it won't be such a difficult job to pot them on when they're ready.

I only want a small bag of compost if I have to buy some because we don't have a garden yet so can't plant too much and would have nothing to do with whatever is left over!!!

I was going to plant them in some seedling trays - would that be ok? What do you mean give them an inch or two? Between each seed? Or and inch or 2 underneath for the roots to grow? or cover them with an inch or 2 of soil?

Sorry to be stupid, my mother has very green fingers (we call her house the plant hospital) but obviously it didn't get passed on to me!!

M