veg growing Newbies- Feb 2010! lets learn together!

soullessfire

heynonnynonny wrote: »

Repotted french beans into final pots today and trimmed some herbs to freeze.

I hadn't even thought about freezing the herbs lol Been thinking i was going to have to trim mine again and have nothing to use them for so that's just solved a problem :beer:

GarnetLady

I have a deformed strawberry. :rotfl: Just been having a nose about in the greenhouse and noticed it. (Think I must be easily amused today!)

I only planted my leeks on the 20th, but they look okay so far.

My veg seeds have finally come from T&M, yay. There are some that can still be planted, so that'll probably be my entertainment until about 3. (The boiler engineer is supposed to be coming this afternoon, if he turns up this time.) I'll pot on my geraniums while I'm at it.

I need more compost, shhh, don't tell my husband! I reckon this lot will take me to 1000 litres...:eek:

heynonnynonny

soullessfire wrote: »

I hadn't even thought about freezing the herbs lol Been thinking i was going to have to trim mine again and have nothing to use them for so that's just solved a problem :beer:

Oh yes, been cutting the annuals such as coriander and parsley. No more me buying pots of fresh stuff for over a quid from the supermarket to have it last one serving, bought established nursery plants and have some growing from seed still too. Don't forget you could dry them too!

HoneyBee83

Hi all,

I'm in my 3rd year of growing and still learning...I remember the first year i wanted to grow everything!! All i had was pots and bags so you can imagine the scene (and mess). I didnt do near enough research and ended up with pots full of dead plants and very fat,happy catepillars! A waste of time,effort and money.
This year im tame and growing the things we mainly eat:Potatoes,tomatoes,runner beans,dwarf beans,peas,cucumber,carrots,spring onions,strawberries and a selection of herbs.
I actually really enjoy gardening (time and weather permitting).
I'd be lost without Alan Titchmarsh: The Kitchen Gardener-wonderful book!!

kimmee

GarnetLady wrote: »

I need more compost, shhh, don't tell my husband! I reckon this lot will take me to 1000 litres...:eek:

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: How are you gonna sneak that lot in? :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

GarnetLady

kimmee wrote: »

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: How are you gonna sneak that lot in? :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

Umm, if he asks I'll try the 'What compost? Oh that? That's been there for ages.' line and I used the last 3 bags so quickly he might not notice. :rotfl:

And if all else fails, I'll distract him!

I'll get more B&Q stuff, was impressed with the last lot.

soullessfire

heynonnynonny wrote: »

Don't forget you could dry them too!

Yeah that works for some but I think basil and other herbs with load of moisture in them don't do so well.

I was thinking of the old trick of chopping the herbs and filling icecube trays with them and a little water, then once frozen I can pop them into a bag so if I want some basil, I can just get a few cubes.

Either that or freeze them laid out on a baking sheet and place the frozen leaves into a bag. Might come in handy if I want bigger pieces.

kimmee

GarnetLady wrote: »

Umm, if he asks I'll try the 'What compost? Oh that? That's been there for ages.' line and I used the last 3 bags so quickly he might not notice. :rotfl:

And if all else fails, I'll distract him!

I'll get more B&Q stuff, was impressed with the last lot.

Distract him :rotfl:

It's amazing just how much compost all this growing actually needs isn't it? I potted on my Chelsea fuschias, geraniums and put the begonia's in a hanging basket and that used the last of my compost but before too long I'm going to need to start off some seeds for next years flowers so I'm going to be buying more :eek:

I have got a compost bin but only started it at the beginning of the year and it wouldn't even have given me half of what I needed this year even if it was full plus someone said on one of the threads on here that it's not really very good for starting seeds. Maybe I need to surrender some of my flower beds to veg growing next year, but I don't want to - I love my flower beds :undecided

GarnetLady

Really amazing! So scary how much compost I've used. I had no idea I'd go through so much. Even filling little pots, it all adds up, not to mention planters. When it's finished with I'll dig it into the garden, soil could do with it. Shame it can't be reused next year.

Don't think I have space for a compost bin really. Mind you, the brown bin is trying it's best. The contents have reduced by half in 2 weeks.

Hmm maybe plant in amongst your flower beds? Not all of them, but still could maybe get a few things in!

I think I'll start saving for next years lot soon. :rotfl:

ausmummy

I've used 860 litres. Well I do have a bag and a half left of it so about 115 litres left. Since starting and doing a lot of leveling that has given me a heap of soil to use. If I had done this earlier I wouldn't have needed half as much compost, maybe just 4 bags. I've also found out my soil is super rice as it is and the pots could have just been filled with my soil.. Since filling my first large tubs just with compost I have now started doing the layering with grass, free manure, soil (sieved) and compost. Like said in another thred, it's easy to buy into the hype of 'needing' compost.