The all new good, bad and ugly of growing your own in 2020

MysteryMe

My seeds were planted in multi purpose, didn't even sieve it and seems like other than the red romano peppers everything else has germinated so fingers crossed with a few days of sunshine and light they will start popping their heads above the compost. I will have to transplant the courgette soon as the leaves are reaching the top of the plastic cover.

carinjo

On allotment first thing again this morning. Continued digging the runner bean trench, one more session i think. The OH wanted to keep a small section of raspberry canes in front of shed, so i undid the runner bean frame into smaller section. Sawing through rusted bolts at 9am sure works up an appetite! Marked out the spot for sweetcorn rows and most importantly, managed to get my pile of old bramble etc into a massive bag and home for the recycling collection before they came around! Since i misunderstood when one is allowed to burn stuff, glad i got rid of it and can work on my paths soon. Had a lovely moment of calm when a robin came to visit while i was catching a breather. He went over all the bits i dug and weeded. Felt like my hard work was helping him find breakfast. A bit silly, i know 
Home now and going to built a small bird feeder for OH once i can find the leftover pallets i got in back of shed.

DiggerUK

Lettuce, because some areas of the veg plot were dug later than they needed to be we have a lumpy tilth, we're hoping to get around this by doing some of our planting out with toilet roll tubes. Will report back on outcome.

Still bunged up in the greenhouse, need to get stuff out, even if not planted out, to get growbags planted up. 'Luckily' the toms, peppers, aubergines, gherkins and cucumbers are slow and aren't in need of planting out. 
So far 1 of 15 sweetcorn have put in an appearance....same problem last year, took three plantings to get  the 12 we needed.

But joy of joys, driving past the nursery and veg farm shop we popped in and collected 3 x 75 litre bags of compost, ✌🏽£11..._

silverwhistle

Isn't it a little early for sweetcorn? I'm on the south coast and will be sowing some in root trainers, with heat,  probably early next week when I pot on the current occupants. I've never tried growing it before but hope to put in a block of 16, but without checking I think the seed packet mentions May.

Suffolk_lass

silverwhistle said:

Isn't it a little early for sweetcorn? I'm on the south coast and will be sowing some in root trainers, with heat,  probably early next week when I pot on the current occupants. I've never tried growing it before but hope to put in a block of 16, but without checking I think the seed packet mentions May.

I have a packet of thirty seeds planted in toilet rolls, stuffed in bigger pots (7 or 8 to a pot) all filled with seed compost. I planted 9 days ago in an outside unheated greenhouse. About 20 seeds have germinated so far and I hope if they don't grow too fast to keep them there until the end of April then plant out in a 5x6 block. We grow it every year like this and it is fine in (cold-Spring) East Anglia

Suffolk_lass

Having been held up with the mega greenhouse build I planted nothing until 8 days ago. The warm days have made loads of stuff ping into action and apart from a tray of green courgettes and one of slightly old runner beans, everything is germinating and we will have plenty. In the meantime 8 raised beds are prepped with a combination of home-made compost and local nursery delivered farmyard manure (the stinkiest ever, not their usual supplier, I would hazard a guess it is from a pig farm).

All lovely at this time of year. None of the horrible nettles, bindweed or oxalis corniculata have really become a problem yet.

I have also dug out a bulk bag full of Spanish bluebells. They are such thugs. Completely overwhelmed my beautiful mauve crocuses. Only the onions are planted so far but DH is planting potatoes as I type. I really must go and do some more.

carinjo

Suffolk_lass said:

I have also dug out a bulk bag full of Spanish bluebells. They are such thugs. Completely overwhelmed my beautiful mauve crocuses. 

So that is what those flowers on the edge of my plot is called! Took over a spot i cleared of bindweed at end of summer last year. Had a quick look on rhs website, so will add digging it out to my jobs to do. Thanks!

silverwhistle

Thanks suffolk_lass. Checked my packet of seeds from Real Seeds (Swiss Open pollinated) and they say in modules from May. I was going to sow them soon, but the weather has been nothing like a normal mid-April so they should be fine earlier than normal..

The courgettes Rond de Nice are coming along fine on the windowsill and the winter squash is showing too. Today I put out some Tromba d'Albenga plants at the allotment, but under cloches for now.

Charly27

carinjo said:

On allotment first thing again this morning. Continued digging the runner bean trench, one more session i think. The OH wanted to keep a small section of raspberry canes in front of shed, so i undid the runner bean frame into smaller section. Sawing through rusted bolts at 9am sure works up an appetite! Marked out the spot for sweetcorn rows and most importantly, managed to get my pile of old bramble etc into a massive bag and home for the recycling collection before they came around! Since i misunderstood when one is allowed to burn stuff, glad i got rid of it and can work on my paths soon. Had a lovely moment of calm when a robin came to visit while i was catching a breather. He went over all the bits i dug and weeded. Felt like my hard work was helping him find breakfast. A bit silly, i know 
Home now and going to built a small bird feeder for OH once i can find the leftover pallets i got in back of shed.

Not silly. I love it when I take a breather and the birds come and perch on my spade or wheelbarrow. The robins seem to all the bugs the blackbirds and thrushes leave.

Suffolk_lass

I have some packets of annual seeds at the ready but there are so many rabbits I think it would just be rabbit food if I plant it now. My flower garden is decimated - all the tips of perennials are nibbled and the Campanula are just little stumps. All the protective fencing is going up round the veg beds as we plant them.