The great, good and not so good bits about growing your own dinner 2017

Fruittea

Tibawa really pleased for you that you have your plot but not all plots have been cared for in the right way. So I would say take things very slowly and you'll get there rather than rushing in. I only have a small strip rather than a full allotment but even on that some things grow well and others not so.
I would suggest you start small and decide on the placement of a few raised beds - they don't have to be expensive make your own or invest in some pallet collars. So you can control what you grow in.
Take a good look at what's already growing - you may have fruit bushes and rhubarb under weeds and old grass - so see what's coming up. Get a plan in place and do it a season at a time otherwise it will be exhausting. Leave the places your not working on as they are. Decide on a space where you can burn rubbish (if it's allowed) and pile any rubbish up until you get enough for an evening burn when no one is around.
You asked about woodchip - collect it all up - don't let it decompose as it contains formaldehyde which could leach into the soil. When you burn this material wear a mask and keep downwind of any smoke.
Lots of people build retaining wall with bricks and bits and pieces and as you will find just leave things laying around and in a season grass weeds will take over. Pile them all up in one place - something might be handy later
So clear in patches - you could use weed killer - I would be against it and most become harmless in the soil after 14 days. and you can always improve the soil as you go and move on to be organic.
Check out the compost a bit more and if it's viable use it on any new raised beds or knock off any grass growth and grow some pumpkins on the top of the compost - the leaves will cover weed growth. In fact pumpkins are great for getting rid of weeds as they drown out the light from everything else.
Hope that helps.

zafiro1984

I sowed my sweetcorn yesterday in individual pots, I had 2 packets, one was early variety and the other one a late variety. I only did it because the farmer next door has already sown his.

Spent an hour tidying up, and took one enormous bag of rubbish to the bonfire area, mainly cardboard and plastic bags. I've started to sort out the area at the back of the greenhouse and discovered a rhubarb in a pot plus about 40 hawthorns also in pots, I've a good place to plant them. When the area is sorted I'll have to weed kill it because last year it was so full of tall nettles I didn't venture into it. I hope to do more today providing it doesn't rain.

Just had an email to say my asparagus and raspberries are on their way and should be here before Easter. No guessing what I'll be doing over the holiday.

Fruittea

Hi Everyone - good day for gardening - I should really be out there but I know I'll be potting on all afternoon - I just need to go to the lotty to collect the pots.
Great news about the raspberries and asparagus - I looked at the asparagus bed for the people I garden for yesterday and it was doing great guns. I wondered Zafiro if you are anywhere near a beach where you can pick up some seaweed - if so it will really make a difference to the asparagus if you could lay in plenty of seaweed at the base of the bed. Apparently asparagus love it and it's certainly working well at the bed built last year. If not it might be worth investing in some calcified seaweed.
For the first time ever in trying I seem to be getting some reasonable Okra seedlings. Early days I know but they're looking good. I think the difference is the little light box I now have - it seems to have been a really good investment.
All the best for now.

determined_new_ms

Morning trying to get the motivation to go to the lottie for an hour before oh goes to work, but my sessions at the weekend, where I dug for far too long have killed a little love for it for me and to make matters worse I went there yesterday and it looks like those 3 blackcurrant bushes are wilting away anyway I knew it was too late to dig them up! I gave them another good soaking and will just hope for the best...

Things really coming along at the other plots so I'm now going to start planting up my seedlings too need to get in the shed and investigate the netting that is there so my calabrese can go in. Yesterday I got another row of broadbeans, did some hand digging of weeds germinating in the strawberry bed and hoed off the other beds.

Ok going to force myself to get up and go!

CAFCGirl

determined_new_ms wrote: »

Morning trying to get the motivation to go to the lottie for an hour before oh goes to work, but my sessions at the weekend, where I dug for far too long have killed a little love for it for me and to make matters worse I went there yesterday and it looks like those 3 blackcurrant bushes are wilting away anyway I knew it was too late to dig them up! I gave them another good soaking and will just hope for the best...

Things really coming along at the other plots so I'm now going to start planting up my seedlings too need to get in the shed and investigate the netting that is there so my calabrese can go in. Yesterday I got another row of broadbeans, did some hand digging of weeds germinating in the strawberry bed and hoed off the other beds.

Ok going to force myself to get up and go!

Take a few days off from it and maybe treat yourself (if possible) to a little mooch round a garden centre and buy a new plant. Doesnt have to be anything big or expensive but just something to motivate you to go up there to plant it - even if it goes in pot.

As for the blackcurrants, even if they do wilt this year, the chances are they will come back next year. I did exactly the same with 3 currant bushes I was given - completely wrong time of year to move them about etc, they didnt do much the first year, in fact they looked pretty dead. This year theres new growth and theres a small possibility of some fruit off them:A
To paraphrase LOTR, and something I say to myself everytime I look through the reduce garden plants:

'Not all those who wilt, are lost'

determined_new_ms

CAFCGirl wrote: »

Take a few days off from it and maybe treat yourself (if possible) to a little mooch round a garden centre and buy a new plant. Doesnt have to be anything big or expensive but just something to motivate you to go up there to plant it - even if it goes in pot.

As for the blackcurrants, even if they do wilt this year, the chances are they will come back next year. I did exactly the same with 3 currant bushes I was given - completely wrong time of year to move them about etc, they didnt do much the first year, in fact they looked pretty dead. This year theres new growth and theres a small possibility of some fruit off them:A
To paraphrase LOTR, and something I say to myself everytime I look through the reduce garden plants:

'Not all those who wilt, are lost'

awwww fanks CAFCGirl :A I did go for an hour and I'm glad I did did 30 mins digging over where I am going to plant my potatoes in the next few days and investigated the shed. Have meters and meters of netting but what I thought was the parts to the frame is not looking hopeful. So will buy some plumping pipe to make a little structure also found a couple of reels of membrane (lightweight) with a few meters on each which I will use to plant through :T looks so good now and I have spent very little on it :money:

early potatoes at home need earthing up again :T

Think I'll have a little look through my seed box to see if anything else can be sown & do some potting on later. I'm loving the little and often approach, seem to get a lot done

Have been eating rocket & kale from last year this week

Fruittea

That's the spirit Determined everyone has a down day. Brilliant about the membrane - it sharpens it up straight away. Give yourself a slap on the back for getting so much done. And good advice CAFCGirl a trip to the garden centre always does you good. I'm aways amazed about the prices and how much we all save when we grow our own.
I'm just doing one thing today as time is limited and that's rebuilding one of the raised beds down at the lotty. That will be number two and then just one more to do.
I've planted out some quick growing lettuces in between the potatoes - thought I'd take a chance and try to use every bit of space. I also have some of the pumpkins just showing their first leaves - very early I know but I'll keep them in the green house until late May.
Also potted up some of the purple sprouting broccoli into individual pots - seems I have plenty.
I need to pot on some of the tomatoes - most will be put out to sell - I was just wondering how much to charge for an individual plant - do you think 50p is a bit cheeky? I'll also have cucumber plants. Your thoughts would be welcome.

zafiro1984

Fruittea:- I'd forgotten about selling tomato plants at the gate thanks for the reminder, I'll get on and sow my spares. 50p is not expensive, I may also take some to the Farm Boot Fayre, that's where I sell my spare eggs, loads of folk take along their spare produce, it's as much a veg/produce sale as a car boot sale.
Well done Determined I can see why you chose that name, it is very you.

Raspberries arrived yesterday, just 12 new canes but I have a few others in pots, Asparagus has just arrived, I think I'll put well rotted manure at the bottom of the trench as we don't live so close to a beach for seaweed, but more near to the ports.

Went through the box of seeds this morning at breakfast to see what else I could start off, so I should be busy this afternoon as there is loads to do.

Looks like rain here.

TallingtonGirl

Good Afternoon

I haven't forgotten the thread i've just been so busy in the garden, it's starting to look really good now.

Over the past week i've managed to dig out and remove the compost out of 2 of my 2.5m x 1.5m raised beds and replace with top soil and manure. Bloody hell that top soil is so heavy. Carrying from the front drive to back garden 2 buckets at a time, it's labour intensive but worth it in the end. Still got 2 more beds to do!

I've gotten rid of any leftover brown sticks from last years annual flowers and then mulched all the flower beds and put in a few perennial plants instead.

Seed wise i've sown Beetroot and Carrots in pots outside. Inside the holey greenhouse (6 panes of glass missing, thanks Storm Doris ) i've sown Peas in guttering (trying the guttering for the first time this year) and in paper pots that I made i've sown Runner Beans and French Beans. Then last night I sowed my Sweetcorn seeds and left them on the windowsill in the dining room. I've never grown them before but I hope they grow nicely, I quite fancy eating corn on the cob straight from the garden.

I'm looking forward to this long weekend now, going to put the work in Friday, Saturday and Sunday out in the garden. Then got about 10 friends coming over for tea and cake on Monday, hopefully the weather is nice and we can sit outside.

Hope everyone has lovely Easter weekends.

TG

tibawo

Just been up with the girls to the lottie. We are doing about 30-45mins per day while we are off. Six bags are waiting to go but there will be so much to get rid of it remains a daunting prospect. I only have a small car. Both mum and me live close by and i know we are allowed to put one bag in our general waste that is collected fortnightly but that would take forever. I will compost some but there is just too much. How did people get rid of theirs?


I did dig up the chipboard. a few flakes remain but i will tackle these tomorrow as covered with sheeting at the mo. I was just pulling on the top tuffs of grass and have discovered another clump further up for me to tackle.


Girls attacked the blackberry brambles at the top. Other plots have put up bamboo reed. I am therefore assuming that this deters it?


Sorry for all the questions. I do google and read but don't want to have to keep redoing areas and wasting money.