Veg growing newbies 2nd year common room 2010-2011

wssla00

I recently ordered compost with John Innes online and it all came the next day. I can't remember the name of the company but if you do a wee google then some ideas should come up.

Well, today I am starting off my sweet peas in modules ready for next year (I have over 100 sweet pea seeds so I want to use up as many as possible!) Then may venture out into the garden for a wee clean up out there!

Have a good day all

scotsaver

katholicos - well done with the Parsnips, I put in 3 rows of seeds on the Allotment this year and only 1 seed germinated.:( However, when I pulled it up last week it was a real whopper, probably because it had so much space to grow in. Anyway, I've asked up at the Allotment and got a couple of tips on where I possibly went wrong, suggestions were to use a fresh pack of Seed, soak the seed on wet paper towel overnight before sowing so will bear that in mind for next year.

Starting to dig over and cover for Winter but have put some Broad beans in and some Cauliflower seeds.

Pulled up some leeks and made some Leek & potato soup which was delicious.

Off up to the Allotment again tomorrow - still got some digging over to do.

sparrer

A bitterly cold but sunny day here today so I got the wild garlic sown with a handful of bonemeal and some dry compost sprinkled in the trench, as suggested by a keen gardener friend, to help dry the soil a little as it's still pretty muddy out there. Then I had to water it lightly! Funny, this gardening thing

I cut down a gooseberry which didn't fruit this year and used some of the dead but still very thorny stems, bent into arches and both ends pushed into the ground, to deter my cats from using the new garlic bed. I'll just have to check occasionally to make sure they haven't rooted. The stems, not the cats

Sadly I've had to come to terms with my capabilities (about 15 mins at a time due to COPD, and now diagnosed arthritis :mad:) so the veg patio idea has had to go, but on the bright side it'll be a mini orchard in pots instead. I've ordered some raspberry canes and this week am going to look for plum and pear trees and anything that catches my eye while i'm searching. I already have an espalier Cox to start me off. I'm not overly fond of black/white currants but if anyone has any more ideas for what potted trees/bushes etc will grow in the northern Home Counties region they'd be gratefully received

katholicos

scotsaver wrote: »

katholicos - well done with the Parsnips, I put in 3 rows of seeds on the Allotment this year and only 1 seed germinated.:( However, when I pulled it up last week it was a real whopper, probably because it had so much space to grow in. Anyway, I've asked up at the Allotment and got a couple of tips on where I possibly went wrong, suggestions were to use a fresh pack of Seed, soak the seed on wet paper towel overnight before sowing so will bear that in mind for next year.

Starting to dig over and cover for Winter but have put some Broad beans in and some Cauliflower seeds.

Pulled up some leeks and made some Leek & potato soup which was delicious.

Off up to the Allotment again tomorrow - still got some digging over to do.

Thanks muchly Scotsaver

Today i found some seeds that needed sowing, so i sowed them using those coir disc mini propogator things. I bought loads from ASda when they were selling them really cheaply at the end of summer. Think i sowed 36 Nantes Carrot, 17 All Yr Round Cauli, 18 Aquadulce Broad Bean. Will take them over my folks house and put them in their little lean to green house, all being well they can be planted out next year.

The garden is pretty much run down now, each of the raised beds is filled to the very brim if not higher. Hopefully this will ease the difficulties i have had this year struglling to tend the plant and tend veg this past year. I am going to make things easier in so far as i think i have pretty much made my mind up not to grow patty pan squash next year. My plants produced a lot of them, i just didn;t enjoy eating them very much, they were so bland...even when i cooked them with herbs etc.

Anyway, glad to have made a little bit of a start on sowing seed for next year...March this year was a manic time for me in the garden and even when i felt quite ill i didn't want my efforts to be wasted so tended to push myself but it would make me quite poorly for days after. Even with raised beds growing veg is much harder work than i had reckoned....having said that, i am not fully able bodied and i dare say healthier humans than i might not have found it any trouble at all to tend my little garden.

katholicos

sparrer wrote: »

A bitterly cold but sunny day here today so I got the wild garlic sown with a handful of bonemeal and some dry compost sprinkled in the trench, as suggested by a keen gardener friend, to help dry the soil a little as it's still pretty muddy out there. Then I had to water it lightly! Funny, this gardening thing

I cut down a gooseberry which didn't fruit this year and used some of the dead but still very thorny stems, bent into arches and both ends pushed into the ground, to deter my cats from using the new garlic bed. I'll just have to check occasionally to make sure they haven't rooted. The stems, not the cats

Sadly I've had to come to terms with my capabilities (about 15 mins at a time due to COPD, and now diagnosed arthritis :mad:) so the veg patio idea has had to go, but on the bright side it'll be a mini orchard in pots instead. I've ordered some raspberry canes and this week am going to look for plum and pear trees and anything that catches my eye while i'm searching. I already have an espalier Cox to start me off. I'm not overly fond of black/white currants but if anyone has any more ideas for what potted trees/bushes etc will grow in the northern Home Counties region they'd be gratefully received

I truly appreciate where you are coming from with the COPD limiting you to what you can do. I have lung problems amongst other ailments and it is very frustrating not to be able to do what i want to do.

Your mention of gooseberries just reminded me...i grew cape gooseberries this year...but none of the fruit has ripened, we've just not had enough warm weather. The frost really did some damage last week and i had to remove the gooseberries which were still in their very green 'cases' and though i am trying to ripen them indoors, they are starting to go manky. I was so hoping to taste them as i had heard they are delicious. I'm a bit gutted about it, this gardening can be pretty hit and mis sometimes!

sparrer

Sad news about the cape gooseberry katholicos, will you try again? I may have another go but want to concentrate on the new bits I've bought, first.

My new plum tree, a pixie Victoria (grows to approx 2 metres), is being delivered tomorrow along with a loganberry and a blackberry. I'm so looking forward to planting them :j. The tayberry and raspberries are on order and will arrive in a couple of weeks. A freecycler is offering some strawberry plants so I've just contacted her but had a thought - if I'm lucky enough to get them should I keep them indoors during the winter or can I plant them out in their container now? I don't have a greenhouse so they would have to come in the house. Looks like I'm off to a good start with my mini orchard .

I'll have a few simple bits on the veg side, apart from the garlic which is already in I'll have toms in hanging baskets on the back wall and a courgette. Only one for obvious reasons . Now I've got the bug I just want to get on with it all and am pleased it's mild at the mo, but looking at the berries on the trees doesn't bode well for the winter, if folklore is to be believed.

Sambucus_Nigra

katholicos wrote: »

Thanks muchly Scotsaver

Today i found some seeds that needed sowing, so i sowed them using those coir disc mini propogator things. I bought loads from ASda when they were selling them really cheaply at the end of summer. Think i sowed 36 Nantes Carrot, 17 All Yr Round Cauli, 18 Aquadulce Broad Bean. Will take them over my folks house and put them in their little lean to green house, all being well they can be planted out next year.

This probably won't work for you....

The carrots will have grown their tap root by then and won't grow properly [the tap root needs to grow down and that becomes the carrot - they don't like being transplanted for this reason]. Carrots are better being sown direct so that they can grow in heir final positions from the start.

What you could do with these is to put them into deep pots now and grow them in the lean to greenhouse and you should have carrots in the spring.

The other thing you have to watch is the years; carrots are biennial which means after the shortest day - they flip into year 2 [in their head] and will throw up seed heads. This is why most gardeners stop sowing various crops in the summer, biennials go by day length and as soon as it turns you are into their year 2.

wssla00

Good morning all an absolutely horrible night here last night but a bit better today. I have cleaned out the greenhouse but my chest is giving me some jip so I am just taking it easy today (hugs to all of us who need them!)

The christmas tomatoes are going really well surprisingly! Huge cherry toms on the plants, which are now starting to ripen. It was certainly worth the experiment!

All my sweet peas are now sowed and most have germinated which is good! Sadly, my Keith Hamnett ones have yet to , but I'm not giving up yet!

I sowed some really late calendula indian prince and they have bloomed! Hurrah! They look so lovely and bright. Will definitely do them again next year!

Have a good day all

loucroft

wssla00 - imagine that, poor tomato crops for me this year, then you go and grow them in this weather! Just how good are you!!

I didn't realise I should be sowing sweet peas now - am I too late? I collected seeds from this years and absolutely love them. They only love some huge black pots I have though so not much luck growing them anywhere else!

Have a great afternoon everyone

wssla00

Lou- I couldn't believe it either but sometimes nature surprises you! I have found that the rule that nature has an inherent quality to survive helps me and my rubbish gardening skills lol, plus at this time of year I get to concentrate on them so i get some more experience.

I plant them up now and overwinter them so they are really strong and early next year. I then reserve some other seeds ready to direct sow later in the year so the cropping is spaced out I LOVE them so much- especially the smell!

I am growing more and more cut flowers as have found that saved the most money last year- perfect for the house!

I am also planning on expanding the herb garden too- including medicinal herbs as well as tea and food herbs too!

What is everyone else planning?