Yet another newbie with questions :-)

kiwimama

Hello all, everyone seems very helpful in this section and I'm all excited to get started on this years vegies as my Dig In seeds from the lovely BBC have arrived but I have a couple of quick q's I'm hoping to get some expert advice on...

Last years tom's got blight at the end of the summer (tho I still managed a fantastic crop and what was left on the plants ripened on the window sills - yay!), what should I do with the soil left in the pots - put it out in our green waste bin or spread it over other parts of the garden (bushes etc not flowers or veg)? Is there a risk that whatever is in the soil could contaminate this years vegies from across the garden?

If I want to have a continuous supply of brocolli / beans / lettuce / toms / carrots etc for the season how far apart should I sow them - just a few weeks or more like 4/6 weeks?

How many brocolli seedlings can I plant in a grow bag? I'm thinking 6 to 8 but dont want them to all be ready at the same time so I guess I plant out 4 seedlings and then a few weeks later another 4 in the other half of the bag, does this sound sensible?

When I pull out the first 4 brocolli, and the second 4 are still growing, can I plant another 4 seedlings in the place that the first 4 were?

Ummm, I think that is all for now, TIA, just gotta count up how many grow bags / bags of compost I need and get sowing

gazza975526570

kiwimama wrote: »

If I want to have a continuous supply of brocolli / beans / lettuce / toms / carrots etc for the season how far apart should I sow them - just a few weeks or more like 4/6 weeks?

For Brocolli i find it is ready to crop about the same time no matter when i plant it. Are you using srouting broccoli? If so it crops a long time. Everything else depends how many people your feeding and how much you want. I go for about every 6 weeks or so

How many brocolli seedlings can I plant in a grow bag? I'm thinking 6 to 8 but dont want them to all be ready at the same time so I guess I plant out 4 seedlings and then a few weeks later another 4 in the other half of the bag, does this sound sensible? Again are they purple sprouting broc? If so they grow realy big and i dont think you could do in a grow bag. Maybe 3 foot high and wide and heavy too.

When I pull out the first 4 brocolli, and the second 4 are still growing, can I plant another 4 seedlings in the place that the first 4 were? See above

Ummm, I think that is all for now, TIA, just gotta count up how many grow bags / bags of compost I need and get sowing

PS - good luck

kiwimama

Thanks! Ha ha I'm such a noob, I didnt really think realistically about how large the plants will grow!!! I have a couple of large terracotta pots I could use but obviously at that size one on per pot, seems a bit of a 'waste of space' IYKWIM vs a tom plant that will produce loads of fruit - okay now for the really silly question I am assuming the plants only produce on head of broccoli, is that right???

What I wouldnt do for proper raised beds *sigh* The seed packet I got (freebie) is for the Waltham plant.

misskool

you can't really grow broccoli in compost. Brassicas need to be firmly in the ground so you'd need some soil, heavy clay soil mixed with some organic stuff would be ideal. Dig a hole, plant them in and then backfill. The put your foot, stomp on the soil around it and fill some more.

One broccoli plant will give one large head and when you pick that you'll get small spears shooting out from the side of the plant.

Lettuce - depends on what variety

Carrots, sow every fortnight or so.

Tomatoes need the full growing season so you can't really succession sow

Beans- what kind?

As for last year's compost, I would bin it if there was blight (as the spores are probably still present there) but some people would chance it and put it on other beds in the garden.

kiwimama

I have the french beans from the BBC Dig In freebie, but they freeze well so doesnt really matter if they all crop at the same time. Thanks for the advice on carrots, will sow in 2wkly lots, lettuce I think I'll be okay with, tom's and courgettes I did last year and that worked out okay, a little bit of a glut at times but I just made a 'stew' of the vegies and froze it to add to winter casseroles over the year.

Just the broccoli issue to sort, I have a section of garden that I could use to plant them direct to the ground but the dirt there has loads of stones in it and it doesnt get a lot of sun, some but not the main part of the day - would it be worth trying to grow the broccoli there do you think?

I really appreciate the advice thanks so much!

WestonDave

We grew the Dig In variety of beans (Blue Lake) last year - they crop over a few weeks anyway so I wouldn't bother trying to have successive sowings. They produce nice beans by the way!