exciting but clueless

Mojoworking

Well almost clueless. Last year was my first attempt we'd pulled up/cut down the conifer down one side of the garden I think five fence panels long so tiny in reality but huge to me and stuck in courgette seeds some onions and runner beans over the top if that makes sense.

I'm an intermittent gardener so I'd check on it in fits and starts but basically they thrived and I was giving courgettes away. Then at the bottom behind the swing is a patch of earth that I put some tomato plants in that went feral and I got loads of green tomatoes and the lettuce went wild so I never had any. Anyway. The point is I actually enjoyed it.

S this year as an early mothers day present dd has got me a little walk in green house and these mini tomato plants but it is still very cold. Will things die in a plastic green house I'm in the north west near Liverpool?

They've've got me little seed trays and also some raspberries blackberries how do I care for them or will I be ok. They have brought everything from wilkos if that paints a clearer picture of the berries they are all boxed up. The green house came in a little box and is huge you can stand in it and it has 2 shelves on each side. I know huge is relative as I've a postage stamp garden but I'm just excited when can I get going?

I know there is a million threads of people just starting out and loads of helpful responses but if there was someone geographically near ish to say go for it or cast ner clout til may is out or whatever the vest thing was when we were kids I'd be so grateful as I think if everything died Ilmy interest would wane fairly quickly. I am indeed a fair weather enthusiast. Thabks again in advance x

ALIBOBSY

In Lancashire here and some stuff has gone from the window sills to the unheated greenhouses here BUT toms,peppers, chillis and the less hardy stuff is staying inside for a few more weeks yet.


The fruit bushes can go straight out in the ground now, but best pick a slightly warmer day if you can. They are hardy though. I you haven't got the ground ready or not sure where you want to plant them they can go in pots for this year. Better to plant in the dormant period when they aren't in full growth so Nov-March.


Beans are pretty fool proof, grow them up a frame/sticks and you get loads for a small space and little input. The only issues I have had is when small the slugs will munch them so I grow them in toilet roll inards till bigger then plant out in the tube.


Ali x

Mojoworking

Thank you so much. I'll hope for a warmer weekend as it is still a bit chilly can't wait to move the greenhouse out it is taking up room. Thanks again alibobsy

Mojoworking

When you say prepare the ground is that digging in the compost and weeding x

surrey_jim

Mojoworking wrote: »

Well almost clueless. Last year was my first attempt we'd pulled up/cut down the conifer down one side of the garden I think five fence panels long so tiny in reality but huge to me and stuck in courgette seeds some onions and runner beans over the top if that makes sense.

I'm an intermittent gardener so I'd check on it in fits and starts but basically they thrived and I was giving courgettes away. Then at the bottom behind the swing is a patch of earth that I put some tomato plants in that went feral and I got loads of green tomatoes and the lettuce went wild so I never had any. Anyway. The point is I actually enjoyed it.

S this year as an early mothers day present dd has got me a little walk in green house and these mini tomato plants but it is still very cold. Will things die in a plastic green house I'm in the north west near Liverpool?

They've've got me little seed trays and also some raspberries blackberries how do I care for them or will I be ok. They have brought everything from wilkos if that paints a clearer picture of the berries they are all boxed up. The green house came in a little box and is huge you can stand in it and it has 2 shelves on each side. I know huge is relative as I've a postage stamp garden but I'm just excited when can I get going?

I know there is a million threads of people just starting out and loads of helpful responses but if there was someone geographically near ish to say go for it or cast ner clout til may is out or whatever the vest thing was when we were kids I'd be so grateful as I think if everything died Ilmy interest would wane fairly quickly. I am indeed a fair weather enthusiast. Thabks again in advance x

Good luck with it. My recomendation would be to ensure the greenhouse is well secured down. We live on the South coast and have lost a number of the plastic greenhouses when the wind gets up.

ALIBOBSY

Mojoworking wrote: »

When you say prepare the ground is that digging in the compost and weeding x

Yep pretty much, and obviously deciding the spot you want to plant in

Regarding the small greenhouses we have one against the wall at the front-SE facing and the wall gets really hot when the sun shines on it, so its a great supplement to the main greenhouse around the back-plus the main house needs some panels sorting after the winds so the seedlings are in the smaller one.

I have found they tend to only last a few years, but they are cheap so not too bad, but the other poster is right they can and do blow over. OH fixes ours to the wall with screws,rawplugs, etc all the way down, but he does do odd job work and likes to do things "properly". Probably some kind of fix at the top and a weight or fix at the bottom will stop it going over. Trouble is even full of seedlings the cover acts like a sail and can take it over in strong winds easily.

Ali x

Mojoworking

Thanks to everyone. Just to update you all I have # raspberry sticks and a blackberry one planted in prepsred ground covering 2 and a half fence panels. Then the plastic house. (Hopefully anchored down se c urely) on the back pole across the floor I have grow bag with 3 tomato plants in. I've 2 big pots with a tomato plant in each. I've planted up the seed trays with courgette cabbage broccoli carrot and beetroot. I hope I remember which is which. I've done an asda bag of spuds at the bottom of the garden and some onion bulbs straight in the ground. I really hope things take. I've been and got peas and beans today for a bit later as these did really well last year. I feel really excited about it. Fingers crossed!

Linda32

Hi,

Just one thing I will add. Please write down everything you do starting now.
What works and what you did with dates and what didn't work. Some things won't work thats just the way it is. Nothing you can do about it, nor would it necessarily be anything you have done wrong.

The notes you make this year will be an invaluable source next year.

twiglet98

Linda32 wrote: »

Hi,

Just one thing I will add. Please write down everything you do starting now.
What works and what you did with dates and what didn't work. Some things won't work thats just the way it is. Nothing you can do about it, nor would it necessarily be anything you have done wrong.

The notes you make this year will be an invaluable source next year.

This absolutely - just a notepad and pencil every time you go out to do ANYTHING. Date, which variety of what seeds you've sown, and as the season goes on, write down when the seedlings appeared, when (if) you pinched them out, when you planted them out, when they cropped, even weigh each lot when you pick them. You'll see what was successful and what wasn't worth the effort, from that you can work out what to change next year - which seeds you want more space for, which to abandon, which to relocate.

I set up a detailed spreadsheet at first and forgot to fill it in after the first week or so. Pencil and paper is easier, though it helps if you can read what you've jotted down if you do it with grubby fingers covered in seed compost!

Oh and label everything in the seed trays, and when you plant them out or sow direct into the ground. I always forget what's meant to be growing in certain rows and have destroyed so many seedlings that weren't the weeds I assumed them to be!

Sounds like you're off to a brilliant start, keep us updated!

Mojoworking

Hi all. Things are ok. The canes came to nothing but I'd put cznes over the top for peas and beans so not all is lost. My question isy beetroot. The leaves are getting brown patches on. Can anyone tell me what it is and if I should worry please x