what to do after summer

savingmummy

This is my first ever year i have had the chance to `grow my own` as i moved into my new home in late May. I only done tomatoes and strawberries but hope to do much more.

Am i right in thinking that the tomato plants i have can only be used the once, So new ones will be needed for next year?

What should i do with my Two strawberry plants and runners? They are in pots so should they be moved into the plastic greenhouse or will they be ok outside during the cold months?

For next summer i would like to grow flowers aswell to brighten up my blank garden! I have no idea what to do with the seeds and how to make a start.
So far i have 40 Dianthus seeds (sept/oct) and hoping to get other seeds too for me to do over the winter ready for summer 2011.
How many seeds do you put into one small pot/cell - silly question probably but i have no idea LOL! Also what to put the seeds in?
I have seen the trays with individual partitions/cells do i need these? Or could i use loo rolls/yoghurt pots?

I am a complete novice and dont have anyone in real life to ask, sometimes i wish my Grandad was here. He was such a fantastic gardener.

zarazara

autumn is an exciting time! Firstly I would start a compost heap. And make it bigger than you think you'll need. It all starts with lovely lovely compost. The tomato plants go on the compost heap in the autumn. You start new ones each year from seed,or buy little plants from the shop. Put all you veg peelings and newspapers etc on the heap. By spring it should be doing well and by next autumn you will have lovely rich compost to put on your fruit veg patch or flower beds.
Decide what you would like to grow for next year,work out whats going where,then set about creating beds,digging over the soil,etc.
Measure it out and see whats possible to grow,for example blackcurrant bushes grow about 5ft across and so does a root of rhubarb.
Purple sprouting broccoli is quite a large plant too,but beetroot is small.
Most of all enjoy it, pack it in ,grow lots and lots and dont be afraid to experiment.

iainsmum

zarazara wrote: »

Most of all enjoy it, pack it in ,grow lots and lots and dont be afraid to experiment.

I agree, ZZ, it's my first 'serious' year, and I've just planted loads of different stuff to see what works and what doesn't. So far we've eaten home grown lettuce, radishes and green beans. Plus had a really good crop of gooseberries, but that was planted about 5 years ago.

I tried butternut squash last year and beetroots, but neither really worked, but I've got beetroot in again this year and it looks much healthier, but that's probably due to my improving the soil.

Like you say, that's the key to this thing, having healthy rich compost. My compost bin should be ready for next season. Yay!

Go for it, Savingmummy, have fun, and see what grows!

Farway

savingmummy wrote: »

Am i right in thinking that the tomato plants i have can only be used the once, So new ones will be needed for next year?

What should i do with my Two strawberry plants and runners? They are in pots so should they be moved into the plastic greenhouse or will they be ok outside during the cold months?

Toms are one year only, chuck them on the compost heap when finished

Strawberries, in the Autumn plant them in the ground [or leave in pots]. They will be fine outside, in fact they love a bit of frost [I assume you do not live in Alaska].
They may look a bit sorry for themselves in Spring, but just tidy them up, remove the old shriveleld brown leaves and await the sun's warmth to get them going again

savingmummy

Farway wrote: »

Toms are one year only, chuck them on the compost heap when finished

Strawberries, in the Autumn plant them in the ground [or leave in pots]. They will be fine outside, in fact they love a bit of frost [I assume you do not live in Alaska].
They may look a bit sorry for themselves in Spring, but just tidy them up, remove the old shriveleld brown leaves and await the sun's warmth to get them going again

Aw thats great to hear Thank you! Frees up a bit more space for my greenhouse then :j