July Update: What are your growing in 2006? (Tips on fruit/flowers/veggies)

jayarr_2

hi,
i'm probably going to look really silly now, but i bought some tomato seeds a couple of weeks ago that said they could be planted til june..which i did, theyve sprouted and ive put them into pots on their own now-were in a propagator, am i likely to actually get anything growing on them or is it just too late..please be kind!

tru

jayarr wrote:

hi,
i'm probably going to look really silly now, but i bought some tomato seeds a couple of weeks ago that said they could be planted til june..which i did, theyve sprouted and ive put them into pots on their own now-were in a propagator, am i likely to actually get anything growing on them or is it just too late..please be kind!

They should be ok, we're always planting things a bit late, we have the seeds ages in advance so we're organised, then forget about them at the 'right' time lol

V_Chic_Chick

Tomatoes
Runner Beans
Fennel
Thyme
Chives
Peas
Sunflowers (chickens love the seeds, and the original pack of seeds was a freebie )
Pumpkins
Capsicums
Majoram
Raspberries
Lemon Balm
Mint

Also the chickens, which provide us with lovely eggs for about the same/slightly less than the supermarkets, provided they don't need medication or something lol. They're also cheap pets, as we don't have any of the traditional pets like a dog or cat, and believe it or not, they are great companion animals.

Not bad for a 14yo girl in a small back garden near Bristol!

BASIL

i went a bit mad with the seed for cauliflower, peas and beans and have so much too much... dont have anyone who wants them.... and not enough garden space... feel awful throwing it in the compost - any suggestions? - i know its late to go in but the beans and peas never took the 1st time so tried again and theyre all about 2" tall - do you reckon ill get a crop? also!!! how long after the courgettes have flowered would you expect a fruit?
sorry its a long post!
thanks in advance
x

kjl26

BASIL wrote:

i went a bit mad with the seed for cauliflower, peas and beans and have so much too much... dont have anyone who wants them.... and not enough garden space... feel awful throwing it in the compost - any suggestions? - i know its late to go in but the beans and peas never took the 1st time so tried again and theyre all about 2" tall - do you reckon ill get a crop? also!!! how long after the courgettes have flowered would you expect a fruit?
sorry its a long post!
thanks in advance
x

On the courgettes mine started growing fruit just after the flowers appeared (I think I read somewhere that the flowers only stay open for a very short time and then drop off, so pollination has to be quick), and I have just picked the first (enormous) courgette about two and a half weeks or so after the first flowers. The others are growing pretty quickly though, and the plants flower over and over again (or seem to be doing at the moment).

Not sure on the peas and beans - I've got dwarf beans and they're all between 6 and 12 inches tall, grew v quickly and are just growing beans now. My peas were about 2 months from planting to pods...don't know if that helps?

pickledtink

BASIL wrote:

i went a bit mad with the seed for cauliflower, peas and beans and have so much too much... dont have anyone who wants them.... and not enough garden space... feel awful throwing it in the compost - any suggestions? - i know its late to go in but the beans and peas never took the 1st time so tried again and theyre all about 2" tall - do you reckon ill get a crop? also!!! how long after the courgettes have flowered would you expect a fruit?
sorry its a long post!
thanks in advance
x

Don't chuck them! Pity you don't live near me. My germination and seedlings were a bit of a disaster this year.
Anyway: Either join freecycle and offer them. Loads of people would be delighted to get some seedlings for free.
Failing that just pop them into chopped up toilet rolls as cheap pots and with a bit of earth and put them outside your gate with a big sign saying what they are and can be taken for free.

BASIL

thank you for that - my oh laughed last year when i got enough potatoes for me for my tea and nothing else - asked if it was worth the effort! well ive gone the other way and as said before put too much seed down! anyway i get excitied every time i look in the garden! - i swear the seedlings grow taller every time i turn my back!

GreenFingers_2

Hello Annie,

July...hooray…:D Lots of things growing happily away. Tomatoes are now forming along with the peppers, beans and trillions of other things – how wonderful. I had harvested two nice lettuces up to a couple of weeks ago but then about a dozen decided to bolt – boooo. :rolleyes:

Shallots, cabbages, broccoli, sprouts, onions, spring onions and carrots are doing fine – wey hey... Here’s a nice piccy of some of my babies freshly picked today… a few shallots, baby beetroots to make a salad, a really nice cucumber and some very tasty beans – whooo hooo. Fun is it not. Lol.



Jobs to do are mainly “Find the Caterpillars on the Cabbages” game :rolleyes: and to plan for some second sowings. Hooray…

kjl26

Last night we ate the first courgette!! Very exciting.

I have some (probably stupid) questions about picking things, though (never actually thought we would get this far!). Basically, if I pick, say, my pea pods, will more grow back in the same place and also is it good to keep picking to make them keep growing (I know this is the case with the courgettes but clueless about the other things like peas and chillis - which are flowering yay - and tomatoes).

Also, on a completely different note, someone has just given me an orchid (a purple one with two stems...) and if anyone knows how to pot it into a new pot and with what compost etc etc then I would be grateful (at the moment it is in a little plastic pot covered in cellophane, inside a bigger ceramic pot with no drainage holes.

Thanks!
Katie

Joscar

All orchids differ so if you have a label on the plant follow that.

I was told they like to be reasonably pot bound and not watered very often, watering recommendation was 1 ice cube left on the surface once every 2 weeks. Apparently it is a common mistake to kill them by over watering the soil. They like a bright area, but not in direct sunlight. Also like the air to be humid so some books say to spray/mist periodically.

The soil should be an open texture - often looks like bark - you can buy special orchid compost (not particularly cheap - may be someone else has a cheap alternative?) but they can be sensitive to change so I would consider not repotting until after the flower has gone over so that you enjoy it. (just in case it does not recover:rolleyes: )

In the wild they grow on other trees in gaps between the trunk and branches in a warm humid tropical climate. Just try to replicate that !!!;)