Story of Hugsville Patch

Smoffi

Well I thought i might as well document the first and continuing vege patch I have.. update images and the pitfalls I have learnt over the last 3 years..

Hopefully someone will find something useful

Well this is my 3rd year of the vege patch..

Year 1 was a disaster.. just jumped in and planted everything.. no prep.. big mistake.. lesson 1 always PREP!!!

Year 2.. had the full length of the patch ready.. forgot to read labels on seeds.. planted too many and thought I knew best...

Year 3.. where I am today... and where I can give more detail on what I have learnt and future learnings..

Well here are the current pics..
http://img24.imageshack.us/i/dscf16165618026.jpg/
http://img190.imageshack.us/i/dscf16175621476.jpg/
http://img31.imageshack.us/i/dscf16185624990.jpg/
http://img24.imageshack.us/i/dscf16195628567.jpg/

What I have planted out so far...

Purple sprouting brocolli.. still growing (6)
Make sure you give these plenty of space!! they grow huge

white brocolli ... still growing (2 of each I think!!)

Cabbage - Growing 15.. picked 1 so far.. 2 almost ready
Again they can get large..
have learnt that if you want a good constant crop plant about 10 per month.. and make sure you give them distance

Beetroots.
Best off in pots as they dont need alot of space or depth.. keep them thinned well though
takes a while to grow

Lettuce (chinese variety)
Small and good in pots agian 1 per pot and dont grow anymore than 3 inches tall.. very nice!!

Peas..

Well space them out!!! give them something to grow up and plant next to a wall NOT in the middle of your patch.. they tend ot grab onto other plants if you dont watch them..

sweetcorn
massive things.. 2ft and over.. plant 3 if you dont have alot of room..takes time to grow..

Radishes..
in pots.. deep ones and thinned well.. these are best kept in greenhouse for a while! unless you cut pop bottles in half and put them over them.. mini greenhouses

toms..
Spread fast,., keep trimmed and spacious. slugs love these!! lol..
give something to grow up and easy to do!

Strawberries..
spread like swine flu!.. nice but watch out the slugs will be there all day if you dont put straw down under them OR/AND slug pellets..

Chinese Cabbage..
nice looking.. grow upwards and dont bunch like normal cabbage..1-2ft tall..

Kiwi fruit..
1st yeart of this and its hard work.. not sure on exactly what is required yet.. learning process..

blueberries
nice and had these for 2 years.. keep trimmed as they spread and dont produce if not kept!...

Herbs.. ANY¬
do NOT grow in vege patch.. they overtake everything!! lol..

Grapes..
make sure you have a large wall to allow these to growup.. where you can tie them to sting.. takes about a year before grapges appear.. keep them well netted over !!

Well thats the start of what i have this year...

I tend to update this on a regular basis providing the pitfalls from my experiences for you all (and me)..

Any feedback or notes I do think would be great

Regards
Mike

Smoffi

Courgettesd in pots x2.. growing nciely and easier to control for spreading!!
producing 2 so far

Spring onions.. put in patch but better off in long deep pots in my view

Cucumbers... first year of growing.. and really need space.. they do spread and grow upwards!! havent produced anything yet cause they are planted recnetly.. will remind myself to put them on the edges next time..

Peppers..
these are strange.,.,. made mistake of putting them in the middle of the patch.. do think they are better of on the edge or in deep pots ..1 per pot!

Again these are just my views and findings.. if you can offer advice please do

msgnomey

You sound very productive!! I had plans this year but work kinda took over, now I'm on holiday for 5 weeks but what could I plant now?? Any ideas would be welcomed...

Smoffi

If you have a greenhouse try turnips, cabbage, parsnips or something of a winter veg.. also try something a little summery as well cause you can keep it in the greenhouse for alot longer.

Just went out and checked the patch... when checking cauli' and cabbages make sure you check inside ALL leaves... take your time and check twice..
just went down the patch and then back as i was enjoying the morning and noticed i missed a huge slug in the middle of my cabbage leaves..hiding deep down

Smoffi

Today is spent prepping about 6ft of patch ready for the carrots and so forth that are in teh greenhouse ready to go out ish this weekend..

Also a really good tip I learnt.. if you plant asparagus water it VERY well everyday.. if it dries out it dies..

Also for cucmbers to grow bigger use tomato food..

Grapes are growing at different speeds.. reds are fast growing and white have been pretty slow.. make sure you have the wire/string ready in place to tie the grapes up to as they spread from day 1... its a hassle doing later on...

kiwi plant got a good looking at today and is growing.. need to erect growing platform for it as well .. something i didnt think about

Regards
Mike

earthmother

I shall watch this thread with interest - I've just posted asking for a guide to getting started, then notice that here you are writing it

Smoffi

Well spent over an hour in the patch yesterday doing some well needed maintenance.

Preparing some more soil ready to plant the carrotts and other stuff in the greenhouse out soon..

The major task for yesterday was to put the stakes in the ground for the grapes. I was reading a book I got from the library a few months ago (and keep renewing lol) abotu how to ensure grapes grow properly and how to stake.
These 2 pictures show how I have staked them to allow them to grow along the lines and then climb up to the next level when that line is full..

I have 2 sorts of grapes.. red and white, the reds are growing faster than the white, One slight issue I had when using indepenant stakes (not a wall) is that when you come to use the wire and making sure its tight.. the stakes move I used bricks to make sure they dont!

http://img19.imageshack.us/i/dscf1620d.jpg/
http://img268.imageshack.us/i/dscf1621z.jpg/

Kimonokawaii

Smoffi

What a great thread! Thanks very much for taking the time to do this, your pictures are great :T

I put my name down for a local allotment 6 months ago and was told that the wait would be about 12-18 months. While I'm waiting I am trying to give a few things a go in the garden but it is all flags so I only have pots.

Last year I tried the veggie bags and put radish, carrot and white onions in them. I only got about 5 radishes...

This year I've tried strawberries and herbs. The herbs are going much better, got a basil plant in a pot and a rosemary plant in a pot and 2 plants of strawberries. The birds got a few of my strawberries but I managed to get a couple of handfuls off it

Since I have a few small pots free now that a lot of my summer flowers have gone I was looking for some new ideas. Your thread is helping enormously. I'm going to get down to the library too. :T

Smoffi

Slight update on the grapes... since the last week of putting in the stakes the grapes have really come on growing.. make sure they are kept an eye on as they will grow where every they want and not along the lines!!

Also i baited the bottom of the grape stem with pellets to keep slugas away and it really has worked.. so many dead sluggies there!!

Carrots in the greenhouse are huge in greenyer.. and are due to be planted out tomorrow afternoon after church!

Cabbages are getting there.. a slight issue i had with one of them was the edges of all the leaves developed some sort of mould and went slightly rotten.. not sure what xactly happened.. but will read up in the next few days and report any findings

Sweetcorn is now nearly 3 ft tall.. and still not any sweetcorn lol

Smoffi

Finally got some time to deal with the kiwi....

Here is the picture of the trellis i have built.. might do the job
http://img197.imageshack.us/i/dscf1622q.jpg/

Also replanted more carrots, celery and cauli's yesterday..

One thing i did find out is that if you plant a spud in the ground (just a common shop bought one) I will grow better than the specialist things you can buy!! It hasnt produced alot yet..just looked into the pot yesterday...will keep you all updated

Kimonokawaii

Smoffi wrote: »

One thing i did find out is that if you plant a spud in the ground (just a common shop bought one) I will grow better than the specialist things you can buy!! It hasnt produced alot yet..just looked into the pot yesterday...will keep you all updated

I wondered about that. I know a lot of them will be 'treated' so that they don't grow but surely if you buy organic it can't be treated?