The Potting Shed - come on in, the kettle's on!

barbeque

Hi Everyone.

This is my first year of growing veg. What a feast we had last night for tea. Chicken cooked in home grown garlic and onions, carrots and potatoes. All veg was from the garden. First time we had had a meal from home grown veg. I have just found out what I have been missing all these years. Cant wait to pick more and, ah yes, plant more to keep me going.

I put my name down for an allotment two years ago. No joy as yet so all the veg is grown in pots and containers. What a treat it is to watch them grow then harvest and pick the delights.

My garden was mostly flowers and I decided to try a bit of veg.
I am now truly hooked on growing your own. Hurry up allotment - I NEED YOU..........

Enjoy!!

Primrose

Have a nice array of peppers and aubergines in pots up against the house wall to catch the sun and this morning I found a huge hole munched in the biggest aubergine fruit and several of the aubergine leaves had been eaten. Think it's snails rather than slugs and that they're tucked away in some hidey hole close by. Will have to do a nightime vigil but by the time it's bedtime I'm normally too tired to go on snail hunts.

rhiwfield

Its only July but already thinking of next year. Bought some seeds half price (sow by 2011) yesterday and have printed off a diagram of the veg beds (with new additions to be put in this autumn) and started the planting plan

Discussed how to plant the high beds with OH and surprised that she wants me to repeat the runner bean obelisks and tomatoes, as well as planting other leafy veg as a green backdrop to the hanging baskets. Fine by me

Got to get it right(ish) as we'll be one of the 3 village gardens opening for NGS next summer. Trouble is the others are very pretty, by comparison mine is an ugly duckling among the swans. Just hope visitors will like the kitchen garden.

Woolly aphids on the cox and james grieve were brushed off yesterday with a toothbrush and soapy water. Getting to the end of the pea crop and today gleaned the very last of the blackcurrants, enough for a pie for me and OH tonight

After torrential rain early morning its now sunny, but the path along the valley ridge which is normally dry underfoot is very muddy, hardly surprising as it seems we've had an average of 1/2 an inch of rain per day since the start of the month!

lynneee

Yey, I have chillis growing, and my peppers are starting to bud!!! So excited:j I had to tell someone!!!!!

Its my first year trying to grow veg properly. So far I have had successes with cabbage, lettuce, potatoes, beetroot, peas and spring onions. My carrots are not ready yet though, or my onions. Its so exciting:rotfl:

Its a bit addictive this gardening lark

cashsavingtwig

Hi everyone, I'm new on MSE forums, and to veg growing, so I've lots of questions!

This year I've grown runner beans, and planted them in a big container, which has stopped the snails destroying the young plants before they could get going. As a result, we picked our first beans yesterday! They're going to my parents whose plants completely failed them this year, and Dad doesn't know why... they just wouldn't grow.

Anyway, we've also tried radishes in a pot, which are doing well. I've grown tomatoes before, and garlic, but not a lot else.

Any ideas for next year, I'm keen to try other veg, but in containers preferrably.

Thanks! :beer:

Dustykitten

Afternoon

Finally had a dry hour when I wasn't too busy to get in the garden. Planted out 40 leeks where the potatoes have been lifted and 3 more runner beans from a neighbour, mine are not doing great this year - runined by blackfly.

I think I'll sow a few more leeks now and hope to extend the harvesting period. One leek I left to flower from the winter as the bumble bees love them and they are pretty. I was thinking it has not 'sown' it's seeds yet so hopefully it will not be too late.

I've also cut down all my summer raspberry canes which had finished and tied in the new ones. I need to look up if I need to cut the fruited stem off of my tayberry.

Lotus-eater

Yeah you do cut down your tayberry, which reminds me I must do mine.

Dustykitten

Thanks Lotus-eater. Mine was new this year and has grown 2 new stems for next years' fruit - it that about right? Do you take the ends off once they have reached a certain length to encourage more canes?

Lotus-eater

Dustykitten wrote: »

Thanks Lotus-eater. Mine was new this year and has grown 2 new stems for next years' fruit - it that about right? Do you take the ends off once they have reached a certain length to encourage more canes?

Mine normally does 3 or 4 stems a year, I think it depends on the health of the plant.
I don't cut them off because I like long stems, I have wires to train them down, so I don't know if it would encourage more canes tbh, logic says it would.

Zazen999

Just having a greenhouse trimming session, got the nieces and SIL/mother over for a long weekend so wanted to trim back the mental tomato growth to try and get the toms to grow and ripen sometime before Christmas.

The toms at the lottie are either nearly blighted or already there

But, I have cukes and the beetroots are mega. YAY.

And my aubrey is just setting one fruit.....well better late than never.....

The potatoes at the lottie I'm going to chop back the foliage this weekend.....I don't want them blighted as well....

The trial potatoes from seed [the seed in the potato fruit, not seed potatoes] were emptied out last weekend as I needed the space....and the melon that sat there at an inch diameter has grown this week to 2 inches diameter - now that's progress :T