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

GunShotResidue

This is such a lovely thread, can I join? I'm getting obsessed with my gardening and no one in real life is interested! I've subjected my poor husband to a number of garden tours over the past weeks and he really couldn't care less (although he does try to pretend). 

It's only our second year trying to grow our own, we had some successes last year but had to move in October which interrupted us a bit. I've been trying square foot gardening, I have a patch that is 4x8 which has some broccoli, cauliflower, sweet peppers, aubergines, courgette, squash, cucumber, onions, leeks, corn and parsnip. No idea what will grow, especially as the grown is a bit clay-ey. I have 5 big tubs, 4 with potatoes and one with carrots, a tiny greenhouse full of tomatoes and a 'berry wall' which consists of 13 strawberry plants hanging from the wall, and 4 raspberry, one tayberry and one thornless blackberry along the bottom. We have a lot of green strawberries, I'm very excited for them to ripen. I'm also attempting a 'pea (and bean) tee-pee' but will need to find more long bamboo sticks. Inside we have a windowsill with some lambs lettuce, rocket and pea shoots. 

greenbee

I've been reading along and like @GunShotResidue now feel ready to join in. I travel a lot for work, so when I moved house 6 years ago I left my tiny veg garden behind and didn't put a new one in. The house has taken a lot of work anyway, and when doing the garden there didn't seem much point in focussing on food. I did build a greenhouse base at one point, as I was offered a second hand greenhouse - but reconstructing it turned out to be too complicated given how old it was. The frame went to the tip - the glass is still in my garage if anyone wants it!

I stopped travelling in early March - a couple of weeks before lockdown. Once I realised what was going on, I opened up my growhouse (not used for a couple of years) and dug out what seeds I could find (a couple of packs that came with RHS membership, some nicotiana alata from a year or so ago, and some veg a friend gave me for Christmas). I also started sprouting seeds again when food started to be hard to get hold of as by then I was in isolation with covid symptoms... A bit of online ordering later and I had a couple of raised planters, seeds, topsoil, compost and strawberry plants on the way. The planters I put together myself, some seeds I've raised indoors, some in the growhouse. Last week a friend's husband put together a raised bed for me (8ft x 4ft), and today I constructed the veg cage and planted my broad beans and some strawberries, and sowed radishes and lettuce. I've put a seeper hose in it a couple of inches down, connected to the water butt - if I start travelling again I hope I can put a timer on it.

I've also FINALLY ordered a greenhouse - I was about to do it, and then they all seemed to go on hold. However, they're available again, and I found one that fits the base and doesn't break the bank. My friend's husband will install it for me. I've also just set up a hotbin (having emptied my 4 tiny compost bins into the raised bed) and am hoping to construct a more sensibly-sized compost bin next to it. I get a lot of weed out of the streams that run on 2 sides of my garden, which makes great compost, but takes up a lot of space when you first pull it out! I'm also looking forward to the hotbin taking food waste and the bins being less smelly...

I have a LOT of Gardener's Delight tomatoes, as the ancient seeds all germinated - so the greenhouse will be mostly tomatoes. 7 broad beans out of 8 germinated and are in. I've got about 20 strawberry plants of 2 varieties. Courgettes, mange tout and french beans are in the growhouse. Basil plants and half the tomatoes are indoors still. The other half of the tomatoes are in the growhouse. I'm enjoying growing things again - I just hope I'm here to harvest it!

Suffolk_lass

Ooh lovely, new people - welcome to all here, it is very friendly.

We did absolutely nothing, nada yesterday, enjoying a day to kick back and relax, taking part in small, low key celebrations. Today the rest of the garden takes priority - the national collection of weeds needs my full attention.

Gardeners World should reassure those of us thinking we are too late with our planting (I was thinking the opposite).  I really hope the expected cold snap does not impact on my beans and courgettes that had to be planted.

And I had confirmation by email that the remaining fruit cage netting my Mum has, is on its way to us. We plan to build a little protection for the redcurrant that we have never tasted more than one or two berries from (thanks to the pigeons), and cover the beds that brassicas are destined for

Jazee

Just eaten my first strawberry.

C_J

Hello everyone, what a lovely thread!

I was a bit surprised to see that Monty has only sown some tomato seed last week, and only did his squashes yesterday. I did mine several weeks ago and they’re all the size of teapots already! In addition to courgettes (three colours), butternut squash and pumpkin (two varieties) I am also growing some Uchiki Kuri (also known as Potimarron) which look like small pumpkins and supposedly have a great flavour.  

I also sowed some pink banana squash seeds a couple of weeks ago but so far they’ve not germinated, so that one might be a failure.

Tomatoes and cucumbers are doing very well, everything germinated despite it being very old seed so I am very pleased with that. Only managed to get three chilli seeds to start - Hungarian Hot Wax - but they are growing strongly and I suppose three healthy chilli plants will be enough for me and Mister CJ.

This weekend’s job is to strip the ripped cover off the 3mx2m polytunnel and move the frame to another part of the garden, where it will be covered with debris netting to create a walk in brassica cage. A new polytunnel will then be put up next to this, and the place where the original one stood will be rotavated for other planting. This is an ambitious list for a warm weekend! Better get cracking .....

-taff

My cucumbers have just come up, the courgettes and sweetcorn have yet to appear, but there's still time. It all depends on what part of the country you're in too. I know it's probably safe to put stuf out now but as I sowed my toms indoors [well, in a lean to with a polycarbonate roof] I'm babying them until I know frosts has passed. I have sown them before in an unheated greenhouse and they did survive the frosts but fiddling aorund with the greenhouse this year meant I couldn't do that.

I haven't sown quite a lot fo things yet, but will do in the next week, things like kohlrabi, scorzonera, kale and fennel.

GunShotResidue

That's an impressive to-do list C_J!

I planted some broccoli and cauliflower out yesterday without looking at the weather forecast! It was looking a bit miserable in the bright sun today so I've given the bed a deep watering. It's not expected to get that cold here over the next few weeks, but I do have some fleece somewhere I could use for night cover. I've never used it before so might have to google it!
I have also taken a giant planter that I tried to grow a peony bush in. Unfortunately it didn't take so I've moved it and planted half with some beetroot and half with some round carrots, which my 3 year old will love. I often find him sneaking carrots out of the fridge to eat! 

crv1963

Suffolk_lass said:

carinjo said:

Suffolk_lass said:
My GW magazine (bought for the garden entry 2-for-1 card) did not have the seeds . 
...
We do have one area for Asparagus and pretty straightforward but needs attention to weeds. Unfortunately there is a bit of oxalis corniculata and a tiny bit of bindweed in the bed, together with regular invasions from autumn fruiting raspberries trying to spread from the neighbouring strip bed. We have them on mounds like potato earthing up mounds and that works well.

I got my GW magazine through a link from MSE weekly email, paid the extra £1 for the seeds. Think still able to order before 20th May if anyone interested. 
Considering i haven't managed to kill my potatoes yet, earthing up asparagus sounds like a plan.

I do have a quick question regarding courgette/pumpkin growing for the board: i've read one should try and raise the pumpkin off the ground so it don't rot etc. Could i cover the ground in tarpaulin/cardboard and grow courgette, pumpkin over it? It's an idea for the new plot anyways.
I've only got enough room left for 2 courgette / 3 bush marrows. The bush marrow might have to go into pots at home otherwise.

In other news: i've planted my leek seeds into too shallow pots, couldn't understand why they wouldn't develop any further. Will have to try and rescue them tomorrow. Live and learn.
Charly27 i've also got a similar frame, glad to hear it worked for you. I am planning to keep mine in same place though.

Just to be clear - you form the mounds (and if your soil is heavy, consider adding grit or loam to improve drainage) then spread the asparagus crowns out on top of the mounds and then cover them - the mounds are about the same size as potatoes earthed up, but the earth is not on top of the crowns.

- taff - here you go - climbing beans in the right hand bed, furthest from the camera, with brassicas going in when I have more netting, runner beans and borlotti beans closest on the right (with peas), front left is roots and courgettes to try and encourage on the canes, back left is potatoes.

Thanks for posting this. I was going to sort my frame for the Runner beans this week and this has given me a different idea that may allow me to free some space. I never thought of growing them across the path bed to bed.

crv1963

Mrs CRV were busy in the garden yesterday- she kept my greenhouse watered while I was away working last week, so when she wanted  to remover the dead wood from the shrub roses yesterday I was all too willing to help. Mammoth task! Took all afternoon and then as it was tinder dry we burnt a lot of it.

Mrs CRV has ordered a skip to dispose of a load of our garden rubbish as the local tip is still closed and between our efforts in the garden and the builders efforts in the loft we cannot see the front lawn and path to my veg patch! So today is officially filling the skip day. 

Tomorrow hopefully will be veg patch day!

Suffolk_lass

Received our new Asparagus crowns from Ken Muir - and here they are, looking a bit weird before being covered. The canes show where there is an old crowns are, the yellow markers show the new ones (so we don't pick too many next year). I can't claim the credit - DH did it all. Hope fully he restred the rabbit fencing when he had finished. I might go and check...