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

olgadapolga

squirrelgirl said:

My new veg beds! 🙌🙌🙌 (excuse the rest of the bit of garden in view - that's being sorted later this summer! 😂) 
Thought I'd get a piccie on as I'm so happy with them! Sorry! 🙈
Suffolk_lass, I am a bit worried about keeping bees out but I'm hoping it won't have a detrimental effect 🤔

I normally "lurk" on this thread as we have just stripped our "new" garden bare and so are starting from scratch. 

I think that these beds look absolutely incredible. I just wish that I'd seen them a few weeks ago, before we started preparing our vegetable patch as I've spent the last few days putting a brick wall in to keep the soil off the grass. 

Maybe for the next garden, or maybe I'll find some little spaces that need a raised bed.

Thank you for posting the photo. And thank you to the other thread contributors, I am learning lots!

-taff

Wow @squirrelgirl those beds looks absolutely fantastic. Love that you've trellised up the back too to increase growing area. Very very neat and tidy...

And @Suffolk_lass , my new tap has arrived for the stinky smelly liquid feed to be barrel....thanks for the idea!

greenbee

@squirrelgirl those beds are fantastic! I currently have one 8ft x 4ft bed with a vegetable cage over it, and am having another 7ft x 3ft bed built. I do have a variety of raised planter as well, and raspberries in some very small raised beds near the compost heaps and the greenhouse base. There's an arch between the raspberry beds so I'm hoping to grow my climbing beans over it!  I love the idea of 'windowboxes' for strawberries. I have one lot in a planter, and another lot taking up space in the raised bed. I've planted wild strawberries dug up from around the garden round the base of the raised bed where I hope they'll look pretty and attract pollinators and at least be useful. 

Topsoil and compost delivery is due today, so I need to chase up my handyman about getting the second bed built before the greenhouse arrives. My tomatoes are rapidly outgrowing my windowsills so I really do need to get organised. And persuade the courgette and bean seeds to germinate.

Suffolk_lass

peewhyeff said:

Have several large clay pots, and glazed pots lying arond in bits.  On last weeks Gardeners World, Monty Don had a large clay pot which had split into 2 and he said'don't worry, I will be repairing that'.  Has anyone on here had success with repairs,  and what have you used?

My Grandfather used to use cement - cement, water and a few drops of washing up liquid as a plasticiser (to stop it drying too quickly). I cannot recall if any sand was added but probably not. He used to soak bricks before mortaring them and I vaguely remember him having broken pots in water but I can't remember if this was to use them as crocks or to stick them back together. I used to have an old (1930s) terracotta pot with a grey repair and a wire round the circumference, under the rim. Hope that helps

[Deleted User]

Thanks everyone for the lovely comments about the beds! 😊 
The greenhouse glass has been obtained and dh has already put it in! I didn't even notice it as it's so clean in comparison to the rest of the glass! 🙈😂 cleaning that is on my job list for tomorrow now! 
I've been looking at some veg gardening books online (I'd prefer to go to charity shops but obviously not possible at the moment) does anyone have any recommendations for 'year round' veg growing ones? 

camelot1001

Hope you don't mind me butting in, I read this thread and have learned so much from you knowledgeable folk.

I just wanted to say how fantastic your new raised beds are squirrelgirl, I'm a tad envious!

Kantankrus_Mare

Very impressed squirrelgirl!! Another one a tad envious here! Love the idea of trellis at end of each for all your climbing veg. Brilliant!

carinjo

Weeding and more weeding, marestail, bindweed.  Earthed up charlotte potatoes. Worked through some old manure through sweetcorn bed, they will go into ground hopefully in few days. More broadbeans have germinated. Planted runnerbeans in the extra row to go with ones potted out earlier this week. Courgette (none of the seedlings survived, so taking a chance with direct sowing). Mr R bringing me some baby cabbages tomorrow, going in next to the outdoor cucumber (haven't germinated yet). All his frost damaged tomatoes survived too, so he was very happy this morning. 
Found out a bit more about the history of my new plot from Mr A, he planted the (massive) plum tree 7years ago when it was just knee high. Amazing! 

squirrelgirl I had a look through my bookshelves, but all mine are either seasonal, like The Half-hour Allotment, Lia Leendertz or a bit A-Z of veg, like Grow your own Vegetables, Carol Klein. I am using gardenfocused.co.uk where I have set the form to my veg, fruit and area, and my neighbouring allotmenteers for when to do what (roughly). The date on website is set for 2017, but works well enough. Hope this helps. And your raised beds look lovely! 

[Deleted User]

carinjo said:

squirrelgirl I had a look through my bookshelves, but all mine are either seasonal, like The Half-hour Allotment, Lia Leendertz or a bit A-Z of veg, like Grow your own Vegetables, Carol Klein. I am using gardenfocused.co.uk where I have set the form to my veg, fruit and area, and my neighbouring allotmenteers for when to do what (roughly). The date on website is set for 2017, but works well enough. Hope this helps. And your raised beds look lovely! 

Thanks for this carinjo! I'll have a mooch later 😉
Yesterday I spent 12 hours in the garden- we cleaned the greenhouse glass, repotted several plants, cut back some elder, hebe and oak that had gotten totally out of hand (low hanging stuff- checked for wildlife first!) and have started to sort the framework that the new garden design needs 😊 we burnt all of the waste material last night (the heap was the size of everest! 🙈) and it was incredibly satisfying to see the small pile of ash remaining this morning! 😉 I decided against planting out anything as the wind is really strong here and I don't want to lose stuff, it looks like it may be the same for much of the day today too - in all fairness, I'm aching so much today standing upright is a bit of a trauma so I think I'll just finalise my plans today and start planting tomorrow! 😂 
I have question (yep, another one!!) everything I have read states that you start brassicas either in modules or a seed bed to be transplanted later...is there any reason that they can't be sown direct where you want them to be and just left there? 🤔

-taff

There's no reason except depredation. Something might eat them before they get established....