The all new 2019 growing your own thread!

Viking_mfw

Planted weird, ahem, I mean heritage tomato varieties this afternoon, in an attempt to tempt my husband who doesn't like shop bought toms.
Also popped some nasturtium seeds around various things in tubs, at which point the toddler demonstrated he's pretty good at poking seeds down into compost but less good at letting them alone once planted!
Plus sowed my free salad leaves from T and M. Fingers crossed it all takes!

rosie383

]Primrose thank you so much for the advice about the mini greenhouse. I am now feeling very tempted and can even picture a perfect spot for it.

I do think that I need to get started with sowing seeds much earlier next year. I thought I was good this year until all you lot showed you're way ahead of me!

I ended up putting the romanesco seedlings in the raised bed and they are pretty pathetic looking tbh. But I shall nurture them and hope!

I couldn't believe how dry the raised bed was. I thoroughly soaked it, then dug down into the lovely cat-poo-free compost and it was like the Sahara under the top inch! I've watered it a couple more times and we are due for rain tomorrow so hopefully it will get damp eventually.

Primrose

Rosie, you are right about the dryness of the soil. I have been weeding over Easter and our soil deep down is as dry as the sand in the Saraha dessert! Bearing in mind this is where the roots of plants are it's worth remembering that a light sprinkling of water on the surface is pretty much useless when soil is this dry. It just evaporates.

Even after a very heavy shower which makes the soil's surface look wet can leave the soil six inches down still very dry Although rain and watering does has a capillary effect and spread it'a not as great as we would imagine for supplying the need for moisture at a plant,s roots.

If you have any water retention crystals to dig into your raised beds this may help a little. I use them regularly in my patio pots to help reduce watering in the height of summer. They only last one season and then dissolve but if you dig them down deep at plant root level moisture will be retained in the co post a little longer. You just have to mix them well with the soil or they cling together like frogspawn when moistened.!

Bvv

Joining this thread as I am trying to grow vegetables for the second year after buying a ground floor flat. Unfortunately the garden is covered in decking, so the only option is to grow in pots and raised bed (there is concrete under the decking, so no option to just remove it and grow in soil instead).

Last year's attempt went pretty well. This year I've started my tomato, aubergine and pepper seeds a bit earlier, as last year they weren't ripe until September-ish (maybe because I'm up in Scotland? despite the good start to the summer, it kind of fizzled out from late July).

Like others, my problem is now that my plants no longer fit into my kitchen window sill. I've had some of them out in my mini-greenhouse (one of those green plastic ones) over Easter, but with the temperature dropping back to 13 (daytime) / 6 (nighttime) degrees, I'm wondering if they'll be okay in there? The other option is that I can move some of them into my bedroom windowsill. While the plants will get plenty of light there, it is northfacing, so no direct sunshine. Any suggestions what might be best? Keep them outside in the mini greenhouse or move them back inside?

Primrose

Bvv wrote: »

Like others, my problem is now that my plants no longer fit into my kitchen window sill. I've had some of them out in my mini-greenhouse (one of those green plastic ones) over Easter, but with the temperature dropping back to 13 (daytime) / 6 (nighttime) degrees, I'm wondering if they'll be okay in there? The other option is that I can move some of them into my bedroom windowsill. While the plants will get plenty of light there, it is northfacing, so no direct sunshine. Any suggestions what might be best? Keep them outside in the mini greenhouse or move them back inside?

A north facing window is far from ideal in terms of providing sufficient daylight to prevent the plants from becoming too leggy be viable.
Do you have an old blanket or some similar protection you can place over the roof of your mini greenhouse which can drape down over the sides? That should add increased frost protection overnight for your plants , just as long as you remember to remove it in daylight hours!

Or do you have small folding table or trolley on which you could place them temporarily closer to another flat window which perhaps gets more daylight/sunlight?

unrecordings

If you've an Ikea nearby, why not check out their hydroponic setups

Pablosmummy

Just had some heavy rain which was much needed and the forecast for tomorrow is rain all day so I've got all my rain collecting buckets out ready to be refilled!
Sowed some small carrots in a pot today and spring onions. Then I had to salvage my radishes that have been pulled up and pecked to bits by a cheeky bird grrr. That whole area is now covered in net so hopefully the peas and lettuces will be left alone.
I have also completely run out of room, my dining table is covered. Luckily it's Infront of the sunny patio doors so everything is getting plenty of light but no idea where I'm putting the 24 petunia plugs arriving tomorrow...

rosie383

Thanks for the valuable advice Primrose.

Just wondered...is it just me that very kindly returns next door's property back to them?
(Their 2 cats' poo). I'm just so fed up with it that I've taken to chucking it back over the fence. It does just go into the soil under the shrubs between our properties so isn't going on their lawn or into their veg raised bed or anything!

Primrose

Why is it that cats never seem to want to foul their own nests ??
I don,t blame you for returning it, especially if they're fouling a vegetable patch but probably bettter to do it after dark !

unrecordings

Your neighbours need to set up an outdoor latrine - that's one of the first things we did - put aside a bit of border, get the stones out & fill it with nice deep soft compost - then empty it very very regularly (we call it truffle hunting).