What to do in January for newbie gardners

Nutty_Tart

Hi moneysavinmonkey,

I would be inclined to plant them. After all, they're not going to flower if they're not in the ground and then you have made some space for more .... :rolleyes:

I have some lillies (I think?) which need splitting, I think this is just a case of breaking them into 2 pieces and re-planting - that'll be tonights reading homework

NT x

Dustykitten

Plant the bulbs. Give them a squeeze if they are firm then plant them. If they are soft then bin them.

They may well be later than they would have been but they should be fine. If necessary get some large plastic pots (try freecycle ad) and put them in there with some soil. When the weather is better you can plant them where you want them or even just stand the pots in the borders - I have done this with Tulips on many occassions.

Zazen999

Hi.

There's a 'jobs to do in January thread' running at the moment.

Enjoy.

moneysavinmonkey

Thanks NuttyTart + DustyKitten, My dad gave me a load of pots for christmas (second hand spares he didn't want anymore - lol he is a moneysaver too!) so I will definitely get them planted this weekend.. in pots inside if the weather is bad! happy now! :rotfl:

katskorner

hev wrote: »

Last year I was determined to get going in the garden and completely failed.

Might have had something to do with new baby, sad death in difficult circs of MIL and husband's redundancy. And that I don't know what I'm doing.

I have a tiny yard, but I used grow bags last year. The tomatoes were not very successful.

What fruit/veggies grow well in shade?

Hope to grow courgettes this year. When should I start?

Also, I have no windowsills in my house (honest) plus two cats who regard seedlings as a challenge and an almost toddler. Don't want to start stuff from seeds. What is the best way to get hold of plants?

I got loads of plants from ebay last year and was really pleased and despite problems with watering, next door's interference etc managed a couple of peppers and at least four black currants. Any other suggestions?

Please be gentle with me - I haven't even got bulbs in (is it too late to plant them?)

Thank you for any helpful suggestions.

Courgettes are easy to grow as long as mice don't get them (one moved into my greenhouse and got lots of stuff last year before it copped it..). If you don't want to start the plants off yourself in pots in April, then look out at car boot sales in early May as they will appear then and you can pick them up for 30-50p per plant. Just keep them indoors till after the last frost risk in late May as they are not hardy.

You could grow potatoes in a rubble sack with holes made in the side with a stick. One seed potato per bag will give a good yield as long as the soil is well fed - good well-rotted manure is brilliant - any local farm should give you some but make sure it is well-rotted or the plants get scorched.

Try tomatoes again this year - they were rubbish everywhere last year due to the weather. Either blight or flooding got them.

Strawberries are easy to grow as long as you slug-protect with lots of hay under them.

Salad crops grow well in shade esp lettuce as it likes the soil moist, not wet, and not dry!! They are easy to grow too.

You can still get your bulbs in but be quick!!! I put the last of mine in on New Year's Day cos I got a lot reduced. Fingers crossed for good flowering!

And remember, there are no rules in gardening. The best thing is to try it and see what happens - every garden and gardener is difference and there are not rights and wrongs - simply guidance!!! Here's to happy cropping! :beer:

hev_2

Definitely want to try potatoes - I have had them fresh out of my uncle's garden and the taste was unbelievable. Will also try some of the lettuce stuff. I love it and I could do with the extra vitamins.

I have a blackcurrant bush in a small tub. Will try and transplant it this weekend.

I am not going to be 100% (hangs head in shame) but I do deal with weeds in cracks by pouring boiling water over them and it seems to be efficient.

The buttercup in the border (such as it is - about four foot long and two foot deep) brings out the case for chemical warfare and I still haven't got rid of my Russian vine!

Thank you for the advice - I will be watching this thread with intense interest.

ChocolateMonkey

I managed to aquire a small patch at the bottom of my mums garden last year, overall I had good results even with the blight ruining my beautifull tomatoes.

This year I am planning to go all out, I am trying to grow as much fruit and veg in containers so I can get more into my veg patch. I dont have acess to a greenhouse really so will all be outside or windowsill growing.

Ive yet to order my seeds, finish planning my plot and try to work out if I am too early to start planting seeds indoors or plant a fruit tree outside. (Thank you to the person who has a tree from brogdale, your reminded me.)

Ugh, so much too do and im so much information and confusion. :rolleyes:
I wish everyone the best of luck this year with gardening and many thanks to the op, I will don my new wellies and start my garden.

miss_phish

Oooh, glad I've found you guys. We are also new to this game!

Yesterday we dug over our plot in a (huge!) poly tunnel (which we share with 6 other people) and added a load of compost. Our plot is about 8' by 8'.

And today we were doing the same on our outdoor plot (which is 2 or 3 times the size) and had a wonderful moment when we discovered the large compost bin was left by the last tenants as they didn't have a garden in their new house!! So the contents have been raked over the freshly dug over soil. It's looking lovely! Sadly we seem to have a whole load of couch grass & thistles and dug up some maggot infested parsnips too! They have been disposed of and we shall plant our parsnips in a different area just in case.

Last night I filled in a wall calender with our monthly jobs etc to be done and
orgainsed our seeds etc.

Heres to picking each others brains and our crops, am now off for a hot bath to ease my weary back...

ironed_out

Yep...also a newbie here as well.
I've got an allotment plot last year and bought loads of seeds, but still not done a plan of where I'm putting stuff. Think I'll make that my job for this evening.
I did spread a load of manure on it in November, and have a friend (with a plough) to help turn it all for me this week.
I am so determined to make this work....that's coming from someone who regularly forgets to water plants indoors. lol

I'll keep a close eye on this thread. I'm gonna need all the help I can get

marybakers

I think these plastic greenhouses are super,I grew my tomatoes in them last year and also all my flowers from seed,what a display i had.also gave some to my neighbours.i am thinking about getting proper greenhouse this year,second-hand one if possible.any ideas where i could look.I also had veg.in garden,sprouts,cabbage,leeks,tatties,etc,etc.its just trial on error sometimes.they,ll be no digging this year though due to my health,just going to get raised beds instead.these are great for garden.cant wait to get out there in garden again.cheers everyone.:j