Help MBE grow his dinner 2012

pink_poppy

Has anyone on here got the free Which? guide to growing your own veg?? I found out about it on the MFW forum & was given a telephone number but could never get through ~ it rang as unobtainable.

My DD spotted the advert on TV yesterday & wrote down the text number for me as she thought I'd be interested (text VEG to 80057). They ring you back & the guide is sent out within 14 days. They did try & get me to buy something else (another gardening book & various Which? offers for a one-off payment of £2), but it wasn't a hard sell & they are more than happy to just send the free guide if that's all you want.

pink_poppy

KazLa, the first couple of pics I thought were couch grass??

The pears look terrible Hopefully someone will identify the problem. I wonder if B&Q will offer a refund?? I know some garden centres offer guarantees on their plants.

KazLA

While I'm here (at the laptop, as opposed to reading on my phone!), I'll post the before and after pictures of the allotment from a few weeks back.

(are the pictures coming out too big?)

I just hope we're not back to square one next time we go.
That's the one thing I didn't take into account when taking it on. We planned to plant easy things that wouldn't need much attention and that were large and too big for the garden, so we wouldn't need to go up too often, but I didn't reallise how quickly the weeds would take over if we didn't go up regularly. :mad:

If only we had room for the butternut squash, pumpkins & courgettes, I would be more inclined to give it up (if it wasn't also for the work and money we've put in so far, with fencing shed, tools etc...). And knowing that if I give it up, it'll be a long time til I get one again (waiting list).

Guess we could buy the odd pumpkins and courgettes. Would butternut squash be any good in the north facing front garden? I''m guessing not... There must be a solution, I've just got to find it! :cool:

BEFORE:





AFTER:

KazLA

pink_poppy wrote: »

The pears look terrible Hopefully someone will identify the problem. I wonder if B&Q will offer a refund?? I know some garden centres offer guarantees on their plants.

I rang B&Q last year when I spotted spotted it and they wouldn't do anything. :mad:

Drea

Hello! I thought it might be time I joined in, have been reading but didn't want to join in until I knew if my plants were going to fail miserably on me (I'm not sure I could have taken the embarrasment!)

So.. I know nothing about growing a house plant nevermind my dinner but things aren't going too horribly. I have healthy looking strawberries, chillies, tomatoes, potatoes. I have unhealthy looking lettuce. I have carrots that don't seem to be going anywhere from the seeds. And I think I've killed my cucumber plant it was out in strong wind and never quite recovered after being brought inside with two cats trying to nibble it!

I posted a new thread about me lettuce with pics - anyone got any idea what I can do? They still seem to be growing okay...

Now that I read that back it doesn't sound like I'm doing well at all :rotfl:

mrbadexample

Drea wrote: »

Now that I read that back it doesn't sound like I'm doing well at all :rotfl:

Welcome. Sounds like you're doing fine to me! Carrots take aaaages to germinate, so don't fret yet (how long's it been?)

Lettuce...well, who cares about flippin' lettuce anyway? _pale_ :rotfl:

Looks like the compost's just gone a bit mouldy. If you've had the blowaway zipped up tight then that's probably the case. You need decent ventilation too. I'd repot them.

Angelfeathers

mrbadexample wrote: »

Happy days.

Have just been notified of a win. :j

Anyone else lucky?

Ooh, good win, MBE! I already have that book - it was the first one I bought when I decided to start vegetable gardening (think it was on the recommendation of someone here at MSE) and it's really useful. :-)

mrbadexample

KazLA wrote: »

Thanks for the tip about growing up canes and then using weed killer, will definitely try that. The allotment is even worse:
(

All I can say is :eek:.

This is the place you need to go to for information on the pear. There's a very nice chap called FB who lives there and knows everything in the world about fruit trees.

mrbadexample

KazLA wrote: »

I just hope we're not back to square one next time we go.
That's the one thing I didn't take into account when taking it on. We planned to plant easy things that wouldn't need much attention and that were large and too big for the garden, so we wouldn't need to go up too often, but I didn't reallise how quickly the weeds would take over if we didn't go up regularly. :mad:

You need cardboard. Lots and lots of cardboard. Every time you clear an area of weeds, cover it with a couple of layers of cardboard. I think you have to soak it. This deprives the weeds of light, so they either don't grow, or grow so weakly that they are easy to deal with.

You can then plant through the cardboard. Make a hole in it, drop your spud in, or plant your squash through it.

Drea

mrbadexample wrote: »

Welcome. Sounds like you're doing fine to me! Carrots take aaaages to germinate, so don't fret yet (how long's it been?)

Lettuce...well, who cares about flippin' lettuce anyway? _pale_ :rotfl:

Looks like the compost's just gone a bit mouldy. If you've had the blowaway zipped up tight then that's probably the case. You need decent ventilation too. I'd repot them.

Oh it's been about... a week :rotfl:

I'm surprised the lettuce has grown at all to be honest, they were packed so tight when I first got them that I had to literally rip the roots apart to pot them! Was pleasantly surprised today, had thought my tomatoes weren't growing but they've had a growth spurt

Will repot the lettuce and try to take better care of them this time! Need to repot my chillies too, they've out-grown their little ones. Could really do with it not raining for a bit!

Thanks for the welcome