June Update: What are you growing in 2006? Tips here for Fruit, Veggies and Flowers!

purplepixi

I've caught the bug, and went veg mad!

I've got 7 tomato plants out side (another 10 inside that might have to find new homes!)

30 carrots - in those gorrilla buckets - I saw that on gardeners world - what a great idea!

broccoli - quite a bit of that - will need to get some more gorrilla buckets for those, I didn't realise how big they get!!

3 strawberry plants, although its got those off shoots for new plants, so I'm working on that (already have 3 lovely strawberrys!). Although I did find that I needed to cover the ground where the stawberry fruit touched it as they went bad before they were ripe, so I used a bin liner with some holes cut to pull the plants through.

Beetroot - Couldn't tell you how much of that I've got, I went a bit mad, the wooden trough planter is full of them.

Cos lettuce - thats in little pots at the mo, but this good weather has made it grow, so again more gorrilla tubs needed there!

I've got a little back berry bush, although I don't think I'll get any fruit this year as it is tiny, but there's some good new growth on it.

My potatoes in compost bags - that you to whoever had that brill idea!!

And cape gooseberrys, although they are still indoors at the mo, as there a bit too small for the grow bags, but I've got 8 of those - I plants quite a few seeds incase they didn't grow, and they all did!

Oh and not to forget my chillis - all 17 of them! And if that wasn't enough, my husband brought a huge one home from work the other day!!! So we'll be drying a lot of chillis soon!!

I think thats all - although I do have a dwarf french bean - but it doesn't look well, and some peas that have just started to seed, but they're not in any compost yet - just some wet tissue.

Well - that was a huge list - as you can see I did go a bit mad - I didn't do any of this last year. And all in containers or pots!! I'm rather proud of myself!:D

Chell

Evening all. So far all I am growing is some corriander, some pansies and some other seeds which were free in my Shredded Wheat. I have just bought some black poppy seeds on ebay.

I have a few questions:

Have I left it too late to grow beans from seeds? If not, is there any variety which I should look out for?

Do you have any child friendly slug./snail prevention methods? My Dad bought me some plants from B&Q but already the slugs have had them.

We've been here for two years this July and are gradually sorting the garden. It slopes toward the house so gets very boggy/wet. DP has just put deck boards round my borders but they are empty. I can't decide what I want to put and where. I am tempted to have a border for veg and one for wild flowers. I admit I like my veg to look perfect and hate bugs so that puts me off of growing my own.

LizD_2

Despite the best efforts of Nutkin (and Mrs Nutkin) to start their own peanut plantation, my lettuce is up. Will have to start using it, as its' meant to be baby salad!

Courgettes are romping away, but not flowered yet as i planted them a bit late.

Carrots are very frondy, think they need thinning. Have been given a couple of 'tumbler' tomato plants (mine didn't germinate) currently in a flower pouch on the fence. Also need to plant the large tom plant she gave me.

LizD_2

Actually i noticed a few greenfly on the courgette buds. Can i just spray them with soapy water, so they fall off? Or do i need something else (not many ladybirds this year)

Lulubells

I have lots of things growing this year, and I have just had my first crop - of rocket - it was delicious !! soooo proud !

You just can't beat the feeling of growing it and then eating it can you ?
Can't wait for the other stuff to be ready !

Lulubells

Alfietinker

Hi all,

We've been eating radishes, rocket and spinach for a few weeks now, not much more ready at the moment. My 'normal' lettuces were munched by pesky slugs one night so the slug pellets are down I'm afraid - it is the only chemical I use though.

In 4 raised beds as follows: Bed 1: leeks, lettuces, rocket, spinach, spring onions. Bed 2: Carrots, beetroot, butternut squash and courgettes. Bed 3: Radishes, cauliflower and sprouting broccoli. This bed is currently under fleece to avoid the rampages of the pigeons and cabbage white! Our project this week is to make a proper frame to hold the fleece away from the plants. Bed 4: Peas and broad beans, and I will be sowing some french beans tonight.

I also have runner beans in a huge pot (an old water tank), some early sown broad beans and peas in a spare strip of bed, 3 growbags of early potatoes (first attempt at this), salad potatoes in a strip of land abutting the chicken run (the leaves of which are being munched through the mesh :rolleyes: )

Pots of herbs are down by the kitchen door, although the coriander went to seed so I'm starting fresh tonight.

In the greenhouse: Roma, Gardeners Delight and Alicante tomatoes, Chillies, peppers, aubergines and cucumbers.

Fruit: The currant bushes we moved in March are romping away and full of fruit. Got to stop the birds stripping them this year! The raspberries seem to be having their best year and so are our apple trees. This is the first year we mulched with manure so it must be doing some good! 3 pots of strawberries - some have unripe fruit on them!

Our aim this year is to really save money, so I'm only growing crops that can be expensive - eg peppers, aubergines etc. I'm not bothering with onions and although I put a few carrots in they've not been too succesful so I won't make another sowing. They are mega cheap to buy anyway.

I'm also sowing little and often. In previous years we've had a huge glut, then nothing so a row of rocket every couple of weeks, a row of radishes here and there - that kind of thing. I aim to always have a spare patch of earth to make the next sowing on. (Well in theory anyway).

annie-c

Half-price seeds at Wilkinsons - more details here - thanks calleyw

sarahmelita

I haven't got a garden (live in a second floor flat!), but am still growing things - hope this means I can still join in!

This year I have many herb plants all in a windowbox - coriander, chives, parsley, basil and sage. I also have two cabbage plants in the same box, but I think I'll have to repot them soon.

Also have a lone jalepeno chilli plant and a huge box of mixed salad leaves that I've just thinned out so they've all got a bit more room now!

Am thinking of relocating all my plants to the spare room so I've got more room to work round them, but the only window in there is a skylight - will that be enough light for them? Or is the windowsill the best option? The room gets the sun in the morning and early afternoon, but not much in the late afternoon/early evening. Any help on this will be much appreciated!

magentacafc

Hi everyone :hello:

I've got a basil plant growing really well in our windowsill, however I was thinking about putting it outside to see how it goes as it's really warming up now, but I don't really want to put the whole thing out there in case it all goes horrible & dies! Can I somehow take a cutting off the plant and make that grow outside? Not very good with the gardening bit yet so I'm not too sure what i'm doing - hope someone can help me?!

We're renting & have a good space outside to plant things, the landlady has got some herbs growing really well outside, mint, oregano, basil mint, bay leaves, chives, and some spring onions. Thinking about putting some pepper plants out there but I don't know if it's the right time of year for it? Went to the garden centre yesterday and was basically looking for things that we eat, which are expensive to buy! I really want to try chillis peppers & some rocket.

wigginsmum

Your basil should be fine outside - they're only annuals anyway so will go over in autumn. You must remember to pinch out any flower tips. Why not sow some more basil seeds and have a second crop growing? They take a couple of weeks to germinate. I don't think you can ever have too much basil!

I've never grown peppers so can't help on that one. Sow some rocket seeds outside and they'll do really well. I mixed my rocket seeds with coriander and lamb's lettuce and have a big tub outside which I sowed maybe 3 weeks ago.