The ups and downs of growing your own dinner 2016...

thriftylass

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

Yep...I can sympathise re slug damage.

Blimmin' things have got at my courgettes and sweetcorn.

I'm still rather tied-up with getting the garden organised in the first place - but plans for future years include cutting down "milkbottles" and placing one around each plant whilst they are still young. I think one "sinks" them about an 1" into the soil if I remember aright - and then the slugs dont try climbing up the several inches above earth and having a feast??

I will have a greenhouse by the time next years lot of plants are due to go out anyway - so think it should help keeping them in "protective custody" of said greenhouse until they are just a bit bigger and able to fend off marauders. This year I've still had to do putting the plants in the soil as soon as they are ready to and keeping fingers crossed the slugs dont get them. That has proven a very "hit and miss" strategy...:(

I tried plastic drinks cups with the bottom cut out, slugs just climbed up and nibbled the leaves that poked out. Maybe not high enough?

zafiro1984 wrote: »

Just wondering how much space we all have for growing?

I'm lucky in having made some raised beds many many years ago (the bad back wouldn't let me do it now) Also, after an unexpected 'gift' I've two solar tunnels, total area not including paths 133 sq metres.
The fruit cage was made from left over fencing. total 110 sq metres.
There was already a greenhouse when we moved here and a large water tank which is now a 'shed'.

Unfortunately, I find I spend more and more time trying to keep on top of it along with everything else I have to do, but I do really really enjoy it so it's not a burden -just wish I was more of a tidy person.

I have a 7.5 sqm veg patch (square foot garden approach), about 12 sqm for the tatties, leeks and brussels and and a few fruit bushes here and there and an apple tree in the front garden plus 1 sqm herb bed, (and various pots in the conservatory). ATM I'm still a novice and experimenting what works for our garden. Hopefully I will get better at utilising the space or even make/find more space.

Fruittea

I have an allotment patch of around 100 square metres which has a small greenhouse and shed on it. About a quarter is laid to fruit - blackcurrants, gooseberries, raspberries and rhubarb. And then I have a square foot raised bed 6'3' in the back garden mainly used for salads. I also use my front garden for chickens - so not much grows - only sage and rosemary and then there's the patio space for potted things like blueberries and toms. This year I've put in a loganberry and a blackberry which will trail up the fence (hopefully) I also hope to put up a small greenhouse at the side of the house - when the building work finishes.

Fruittea

Hello Everyone
Lovely day here in Gloucestershire and nice and cool in the garden.
I've been busy sowing more herbs and doing some experiments with growing micro seeds sown in perlite.
So far I've got basil, rocket in little bowels and fenugreek, radish and beets - in a container I got from Tesco (like you get three different dips in). So just perlite and water and in a couple of days everything apart from the basil is sprouting and looks as though it's doing well. Will try to take a photo when they get bigger.
It's also shopping day for me and the Veg Plot Challenge - I have herbs £1 salad £3, potatoes £1 and rhubarb £2.50 at a cost of £7.50 - so my total in the pot is £16.00 so far.
I'm having to buy beans, asparagus broccoli, mushrooms and tomatoes this week. Roll on the bean crop as the average bag of beans in Tesco is £1.50.

rosie383

Went out to have a look at my poor garden this morning early, before the builders came. While they are being as tidy as possible, my lawn is pretty bad looking already. I haven't been able to cut the grass for a while so it is shooting up. I probably won't be able to cut most of it for another while either.
At least it has been pouring all flipping week so I haven't needed to worry about watering what few seedlings I have.
The slugs have eaten every single beetroot seedling which had been trying to poke their wee heads up.
Strawberry plants are looking amazing. Should I get hold of some hay to keep them up out of the way of the slugs? They seem to be quite tall-growing rather than along on the ground like my previous ones. I really don't want to lose them as it looks as if we won't be gleaning much else this year!

zafiro1984

Fruittea wrote: »

It's also shopping day for me and the Veg Plot Challenge - I have herbs £1 salad £3, potatoes £1 and rhubarb £2.50 at a cost of £7.50 - so my total in the pot is £16.00 so far.
I'm having to buy beans, asparagus broccoli, mushrooms and tomatoes this week. Roll on the bean crop as the average bag of beans in Tesco is £1.50.

Hi Fruitea:- Just added up my weekly Veg Plot Challenge - Japanese onions 1.34, basil/sage 20p, loads of strawberries all carefully weighed, 6.73 Total this week 8.57. Dwarf beans and potatoes should be coming online next week. I'm going to put it on my signiture:)
Bought carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, tomatoes and mushrooms this week.

moneyistooshorttomention

Most plants growing fine - though the slugs have done for another courgette plant. I do hope I'm going to get 2 of my 5 courgette plants producing. Had my first rhubarb yesterday.

The weeds are also growing apace though:(. Does anyone else notice they seem to go in "waves" though? (duh...potentially silly comment - as I guess weeds have seasons, same as wanted plants do....).

First I had lots of rough field grass and couchgrass growing. Then it edged over into that creeping buttercup stuff (which is still trying to pop up the odd one on me). Now I'm getting an avalanche of persicaria affinis aka Himalayan bistort (which I guess got brought in with the soil - as its purchased topsoil?).

I'm guessing that its a case of a lot of the weeds came in with the topsoil and/or were "left alone" by previous owners of the house (who preferred to work on a "bury it and forget it" plan for the garden from what I can see)? Presumably, after a while, these former owner weeds/new topsoil weeds will presumably surrender (ie I've whipped out all there was and weeds could only get in after that by the standard route - ie air-borne)?? Does anyone know? Does it get easier after a while - ie after once one has dealt with the consequences of "other peoples neglect"?

Fruittea

Morning Everyone
Lovely day here in Gloucestershire. I'll be going over the river to see Westbury Court Gardens today - it's an example of a Dutch water garden. Don't know quite what to expect but I'll let you know.
Good to see your Veg pot info Zafiro and a great idea to put it in the signature - I'll do that to. I think when the big crops come in (like the onions) I'll just add so much to the total each week - say £1 for onions as I don't want to weigh the lot at on time. I'm expecting my over wintered red/white onions and shallots any time and some of them are quite big beasts. I planted a bag of each with 50 - plus the garlic which should last for most of the year. I love the job of stringing the onions - they always look so good.
Really feel for you with the weeds Moneystoshort but you'll get there - target the perennials and all the big stuff - then just keeping hoeing the annuals and airborne stuff and don't let anything set seed. It will get easier. Are you covering any unused/empty soil? Maybe with cardboard. That always seems to make the weeds bolt - so you can see them and they're easier to got to.
Have a good day Everyone.

moneyistooshorttomention

Plan is to "cover" "unused soil" one way or another. I'm working out what materials I reckon I want for "rustic" type mini-paths for access at the moment - and think I've got that sussed.

Once I've got what I can of the earth I'm using up in raised beds - then that will mean some of the garden is a lot easier to maintain (as I'll just be able to lean over and pick out a weed on the one hand or an item I want for dinner that night on the other hand).

Dizzy_Ditzy

Evening all

I got back from a week away on Tuesday. Wednesday was pretty much a washout in terms of gardeny things because I had to try and de-jet lag pretty quick before going back to work on Thursday yesterday was the first chance I had to be getting to the plots

We ended up buying a load of plug plants because of being away.

Yesterday, in went a load of beetroot after my first two showings failed miserably. Two different packets of seed, two rows of 20+ and only one took :mad: tomatoes, peppers and chillies gave gone out into my little Mediterranean corner, weeds all dealt with for now and we got some French beans, butternut squash and pumpkin planted out.

At the other plot, today we have weeded and weeded, planted out some brocolli, pulled a load of rhubarb, cut the grass and tided up the strawberries. We found two nearly red strawberries :j Shame the ants and wood lice found them first :mad:

Back to the other plot later today to thin out the gooseberries - my biggest saucepan is full of them

Rhubarb and gooseberry cake being made tomorrow

I'm amazed that so much grows so quickly in a week. If we'd been around, none of it would have grown so quickly :rotfl:

moneyistooshorttomention

Oh yes - I'm certainly noticing stuff growing very quickly over about the last week or so. We've got summer here in Wales at last (possibly the first one since I moved here?) and we're not letting it go:rotfl:.

Definite beyond-shadow-of-doubt identification now made of the weed that is being so troublesome at the moment. It's persicaria maculosa (aka redshank). Google tells me different verdicts about whether its an annual or perennial. The balance of opinion seems to go in favour of it being an annual - for which thank goodness. Once I've hoicked out some wanted plants from the bit its in and planted them elsewhere - then I can get a clear run at it and hoe to within an inch of its life.. At the moment its having a good go at swamping my wanted plants. I dont think its one of those weeds one has to physically remove from there - or else it will re-root and rise again? So I guess I'm safe to just get it hauled up everywhere with my hoe and leave it lying there on the surface and it will shrivel up and die? (The thought of having to painstakingly pull up each individual seedling would be more than a little daunting - as there's so many of them).

So - once I've given it a "good clobbering" basically then fingers crossed I'll only see the odd few stragglers from here on in and not loads of the blimmin' things...