RHS 3mx3m plot - please help!

rach2403

Hi all,

Am completely new to growing veg but my husband has spent a back breaking weekend ripping up flower beds to make room for this plot as inspired by Grow your own veg.

I have the book and have written down what to grow (I find it easier to follow a plan!) but there is one bit I can not find explained.

It says Early crops and then second crops added but doesn't say when this means? Does it mean plant some in March then some in October - I am really confused! Also do they all get sown directly into the soil or in seed trays first? I really do need a fools guide, am dreading nothing growing!

Thank you so much for your help - I really appreciate anyone's thoughts or ideas.:beer:

Rachel x

smk77

rach2403 wrote: »

Also do they all get sown directly into the soil or in seed trays first?

Rachel x

It depends what you are planting. The seed packets will tell you if you should sow directly into the soil.

I've sown my early carrots (Feb), peas and my Parsnips already straight into the soil. My Tomatoes/chillis and peppers are in seed trays. I'm going to plant my sweetcorn this week in 3" pots. Courgettes will be going straight into pots in the greenhouse in April.

What are you trying to grow?

Linda32

Hi,

The early crops and second crops might refer to potatoes, these some which you plant around March / April and harvest during July'ish then lates a month or two later.

It all depends on whichever veg you are growing as to wether you plant seeds in the soil or seed trays first.

Which veg are you planning on? :j

Also on the back of seed packets these lots of instruction, although I admit its not always obvious.

rach2403

Hi smk77 thanks for that!

The plan says early crops of beetroot & lettuce, peas, red cabbage, broad beans, leeks, kale, carrots & spring onions.

The 2nd crops are dwarf french beans, courgettes, climbing french beans, squash, sweetcorn, chives & herbs.

They are grown in different spaces on the plan if that makes sense and not replaced by other plants.

Hope that makes sense! Only going for these crops because it's what the plan says and I like ALL veg!

Will be amazed if anything grows!

Rachel x

SunnyD_3

Hi Rach - I have the book too, all it means is that some plants are sown earlier in the year than others!

smk77

rach2403 wrote: »

Hi smk77 thanks for that!

The plan says early crops of beetroot & lettuce, peas, red cabbage, broad beans, leeks, kale, carrots & spring onions.

The 2nd crops are dwarf french beans, courgettes, climbing french beans, squash, sweetcorn, chives & herbs.

They are grown in different spaces on the plan if that makes sense and not replaced by other plants.

Hope that makes sense! Only going for these crops because it's what the plan says and I like ALL veg!

Will be amazed if anything grows!

Rachel x

Looking at those you have put in each section I'd say it was to do with harvesting. Carrots take 12 weeks (the early types like Nantes) so they'd be ready in about June. Lettuce doesn't take too long either.

My courgettes were still producing in October hence being in the 2nd crops and my sweetcorn was definitely at the end of the summer.

I could be talking nonsense - just applying a bit of logic!



If you want my opinion on the plot i'd say you've got too much there for a first time effort. I tried onions, lettuce, spring onions, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, courgettes, sweetcorn, tomatoes and potatoes last year and felt that this was too much. It was difficult to remember what to do with what and to know when they'd be ready etc. This year I am sticking to:

tomatoes - I've got a greenhouse now

potatoes - best potatoes i've ever tasted. Doing !st earlies and main crops rather than just 1 last year

sweetcorn - didn't do too well last year but going to try and learn from my mistakes!

peas - going to get the peas to climb the sweetcorn.

courgettes - they did brilliantly. Going to grow in greenhouse too.

Cucumber - Father-in-law grew these well in his greenhouse so going to try myself.

Carrots - very good last year

Parsnips - Something new and will be ready for xmas.

rach2403

Wow thanks for all the help and advice!

Could I be cheeky and ask another question?!

Which veg do you sow directly in to the ground and which do you start in seed trays? Or should I say are there any veg which shouldn't be started in a greenhouse?

Thank you for your help in advance!
Rachel

smk77

rach2403 wrote: »

Wow thanks for all the help and advice!

Could I be cheeky and ask another question?!

Which veg do you sow directly in to the ground and which do you start in seed trays? Or should I say are there any veg which shouldn't be started in a greenhouse?

Thank you for your help in advance!
Rachel

Take a look at sutton-seeds. They have the growing instructions for all of their seeds.

Follow this link:

http://www.suttons.co.uk/pl_S-Veg_.htm

For each of your veg you want to grow do a search - there are different types of the same veg so choose a similar one to what you want. If they say outdoors it's likely that they mean direct into the ground. Others state under glass etc. You'll work it out.

Acerfan

I'm just embarking on my 2nd year of veg growing this year & as smk77 says, if you're growing a lot it's difficult to remember what to do & when. I kicked myself for this last year, so this time round (with more ambitious plans, I've got a diary just for my plants - when sown, when they germinate, when they're planted out & a separate note of when they should be ready to be harvested (this should all be on the back of the seed packets, but I find it useful to keep all the info together & to have a better grasp of the timescales & any overlaps. I hope this helps

Paul1sh

Just to add to something smk77 said earlier.A lot of my veg was in 2nd crop last year -tomatoes,cucumber & courgettes carried on till end of october.Rasberries were the best ,I picked my 3rd crop on 22nd december.It will probably be all cold this autumn though but it was good while it lasted.

RAS

smk77 wrote: »

!

sweetcorn - didn't do too well last year but going to try and learn from my mistakes!

This is a technique adapted from the seed-savers who maintain rare varieties in the US. Sweetcorn is wind pollenated, which is why people suggest growing it in blocks. Just if you only have a small garden, where do you find room for a block?

If you have grown sc, you will know that it has a tassel at the top (where the pollen comes from) and the sweetcorn form in the leaf nodes lower down. The wind blows, the pollen falls on the silks which stick out of the baby sc, in the leaf nodes. Each silk is joined to a single knib of corn, when it is pollenated. So you want to make sure that lots of pollen gets on the silks, so you get lots of full cobs.

Come July/August, start looking for the little cobs in the leaf nodes, when you see the silks sticking out (like the loose end of the thread), take a very sharp knife and cut off the very top of the baby sweetcorn, where it is about 5mm round. A couple of days later, the cut silks will have grown and look like a small brush. Now run your hands along the tassels (of nearby plants) and collect the pollen. Drizzle that on your little brush and every silk will be fertilised. Once you get the hang, it takes 30 seconds to do.

This way you can grow a very few plants and still get good sweetcorn