veg growing Newbies- Feb 2010! lets learn together!

Primrose

A useful tip about sowing lettuce if you want to sow several batches throughout the summer for succession. Lettuce seed won't germinate in hot temperatures. Don't sow in temperatures of 20 degrees and above. Put the lettuce seed packet in the fridge for a few hours before hand,, sow in the cool of the evening or just after dawn and water the seed drill with cold water before sowing. Under the right circumstances it can start germinating within 24 hours so never let the soil/compost dry out in hot weather.

If you're sowing runner beans in pots they will easily rot if you keep the compost too wet and you will be expecting them to shoot while they're actually rotting below the surface of the soil. An alternative way of avoiding this disappointment is to put the beans in between two layers of constantly wet kitchen paper on a saucer until they start to develop little white shoots. They can then be immediately planted into pots of compost to grow on until they're ready to plant out.

soullessfire

Going to kill my dog... Was barking like a lunatic because someone put a curry house menu through the door so I shouted at him and sent him to his bed. Little git promptly went outside and peed on my pumpkin plant! Like living with a teenager sometimes lol

mutley74

bad day! All my radishes in my raised bed were gonners! Looked at them and they had small holes in the side, when i snapped a few radishes open...full of maggots!

However, the radishes in my oak pot (full of compost only) did quite well and maggot free.

Any help why my all my radishes in the raised bed got ruined? a family member thinks maybe they came from home made compost bin..hmmm

fishcakes

rsj wrote: »

Hi all,
I tried a little experiment last year, after looking at the potato bags that garden centres sell (around £7 for 3!) I decided they were just the same material, near enough, as the morrisons reusable bags, so bought half a dozen of those for less than 50p each , made drain holes in the bottom and planted my potatoes in those. They worked perfectly and will be reused again this year. Happy chitting!

I bought 2 potato bags in B&M last week £1.99 for the 2 havnt tried them yet but they look ok and look sturdy enough to use over and over again.

heynonnynonny

HI Janibrown yes I read on here to do it and all mine came up so was v. pleased x

katholicos

My 2 cucumbers were growing well and then they went all floppy and died today. Think i overwatered them. Sowed some more cucumber seed though.

izzwizz_2

mutley74 wrote: »

bad day! All my radishes in my raised bed were gonners! Looked at them and they had small holes in the side, when i snapped a few radishes open...full of maggots!

However, the radishes in my oak pot (full of compost only) did quite well and maggot free.

Any help why my all my radishes in the raised bed got ruined? a family member thinks maybe they came from home made compost bin..hmmm

it's probably carrot fly larvae - if you surround the bed with a foot of fleece that should stop them getting in next time.

Megansmum

hi everyone,
help please??

i went out today and my apple and cherry trees had curled up leaves. Upon closer inspection :eek: the curled up leaves are full of ants and ant eggs!! What can i do to get rid of them? Can i put ant powder around the base of the trees? Do i need soap spray? If so, what exactly IS soap spray??

I do the lazy method of gardening usually and leave nature to it and hope for the best, but I can't stand seeing the little beasts!!

Any advice greatly appreciated.
Thanks. xx

lolly5648

izzwizz wrote: »

it's probably carrot fly larvae - if you surround the bed with a foot of fleece that should stop them getting in next time.

What do you mean "surround the bed with a foot of fleece"? Do you mean cover the whole bed with fleece and tuck in the sides?

janibrown

Is it not greenfly? My blackcurrent bush had its leaves all curled up , i have heard that ants harvest the young greenfly could that be it? I used fairy liquid with water and sprayed on then rinsed off the next day worked very well baby greenfly look white so it could poss be that, the Fairy liquid makes them dehydrate and turns them black
Hope this helps you
Janice xxx