What have you learnt this summer?

A._Badger

One other thing I've learned (now I come to think about it) is to be more careful when buying multipurpose composts.

Over the years, these seem to have got worse and this year appeared to reach a new degree of strangeness with a batch of three bags of J. Arthur Bowers, I bought.

The problem was a white mould running throughout the bag. I raised it with JAB and their compost expert assured me that it was a harmless mould - but, all things considered, said it was probably best not to sow seeds in it.

The cause, apparently, was the use of 'other materials' in response to pressure on them to reduce the use of peat.

As it happened, I hadn't sown seeds or taken cuttings in it. I've been moving back to John Innes formulations for the past few years. All the same, I felt uncomfortable using this stuff, the consistency of which I didn't much care for, either.

Later in the Summer, I needed some more compost and this time bought some Levington (paying the 'premium brand tax' in the process). This didn't have any mould in it, but the consistency was pretty rough - again, I'm sure, because of peat phoboa.

Next year, assuming I can find it locally, I've decided to try Humax, which, word has it, is more like soi lless composts used to be - complete with much-needed sand to ensure proper drainage.

The moral? Don't rely on the big brands to be the best - and certainly don't expect this year's product to necessarily bear any resemblance to what you bought last year, because the makers change the formulae all the time!

Primrose

I think A Badger is right about commercially bought compost. I've experienced the same problems and I'm not sure how you get over it because it's difficult to know what's inside the bag. Earlier in the spring I got really terrible results with one bag (foolishly I can't now remember whose it was) where I got a very poor germination rate and had to resow because of fungal infection in the material. I am now using Levington's but don't expect that will provide a 100% guarantee. Funnily enough, some of my better results have been obtained by sowing in the mixtures taken from growbags.

DFW74

That I really need to consider, wait for it... weed killer! Moving into a new plot that the previous guardian had ignored for years has meant that my raised beds which looked lovely when I cleared, weeded and composted last winter were a huge bed of dormant weed seeds just waiting for a bit of light and space!

On the plus side I did get crops of spring onions; onions and peas through the weeds so not a complete waste.

That I can germinate and grow tomato plants and cucumber plants but cannot get more than a few teeny cucumbers and a handful of green tomatoes!

TheMoneySpider

Get the right tool for the job. I tried to dig a soakaway through the clay in my garden...tried to use a trench spade and got no-where. Invested in a pick-axe and flew through the job.

EslaDee

...That I make plans and someone somwhere has a good laugh!

Flushed with success with growing strawberries and tomatoes in hanging baskets last year, I hoped to grow assorted salad veg, courgettes, aubergine and herbs in gro bags, plus sunflowers and sweet peas in the border.

Unfortunately I was taken ill and had an op, the strawbs and tomato plants were done, but birds ate the strawbs, the summer was lost to me this year. The tomatoes were tasty though.

I am hoping for better things in 2010, and wondering if the packs of seeds will be any good to plant then. :-)

springerholic

Again brassicas not worth growing for the cabbage whites!

Hundreds and thousands tomatoes really do produce that many! Fed up with picking them now,, will plant less next year, cucs, lettuce and spring onions were resounding success.

Strawberries in pots by back door mean virtually no slugs

Peas not really worth all the effort for the amount we got, ditto potatoes in bags

Mange tout worth doing as Im only one who eats them!

Feeding feeding feeding! For tomatos and cucs. Oh and water!

Hanging baskets.. using water retaining gel or similar is an absolute must if you want to have any sort of life outside of watering and that was with a wet summer!

Im sure there is loads more but overall I really enjoyed my 1st year and looking forward to doing it all again !

CCP

I moved house at the start of the year so my year has mostly been about getting to know a new garden. I have learnt that:

• even a plant you have wanted for ages can become a bloomin' nuisance when it starts self-seeding on every clear patch of soil;
• the guidance on getting cheap shopping (use discount stores, check special offers, and keep an eye out for clearance items) works just as well for plants - I don't think I paid full price for any of my plants this year;
• it's a good idea to keep receipts when buying compost - I got a dodgy bag that killed everything I planted in it, but couldn't complain to the shop as I had no proof of purchase;
• you need to pick your variety when growing tomatoes - I've got a bumper crop this year, but they've got hardly any flavour;
• the cat's idea of 'helping' with the gardening is not the same as mine!

I'm looking forward to more experimenting next year, in my second year in this garden.

culpepper

To be careful when moving old hedge clippings.
I cut the hedge and leave it in black bags in a pile so the leaves fall into mould and the branches rot.
Anyway I decided it was time to unbag the old clippings and scraped out a lot of leaf mould and very nice composty stuff. I Very nearly scraped out what looks like a bee nest too with quite a few little humming bees flying around nearby. Quickly had to cover it over with some long grass from the veg plot.
Fortunately the bees were not all that fussed . I quite like bees so they can have that little pile of branches all to themselves.

amcluesent

Beechgrove Garden is far superior to Toby's Gardener's World
Don't rely on getting free seeds from the BBC
It's pot-luck buying dahlia and canna tubers off Ebay
The standard of plant care at the DIY sheds is truly terrible
It's far better to buy plug-plants than faff about growing from seed
An automatic watering system hugely improves plant quality
Flowers beside the pavement are always stolen
Put tulips and daffs in pots so you're not bored stiff watching the leaves die back
It's madness to grow crops that are ready just when there's a glut in the shops
Tree ferns are worth buying at £50
You need proper chemicals to control bugs and diseases, but the EU have banned all the good stuff
RHS is dying on its feet
It's fantastic when a planting scheme you've designed comes good
Don't ever be tempted to plant ivy to cover a fence

A._Badger

amcluesent wrote: »

You need proper chemicals to control bugs and diseases, but the EU have banned all the good stuff

Too true! And it's about to get even worse. According to last week's GQT the hippies have now banned sodium chlorate and are likely to ban glyphosate!

Looks like the prediction of my local nursery owner is going to come true: they are going to enforce 'organic' gardening on us, whether we like it or not.