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

carinjo

A bit of a topsy turvy week. I missed an essential watering and got to the plot the next day and my poor sweetcorn burned to a crisp. Managed to save 4. 
My sister came to the rescue (she of the tiny garden and magical green fingers) and gifted a courgette and few patti pans to stick into plot. 
This morning we started first thing. Ms C weeded the broadbean bed and i transplanted a few to make a neat couple of rows. Tomatoes got weeded and fed. Potatoes doing lovely. None of the outdoor cucumber has germinated, took the fleece off and put some marigold seeds in between the rows, just in case it still decides to come up. Runnerbeans doing ok and the HM aphids spray done it's job. Ms C started trimming the chest high grass on the new plot, trying to find the perimeter, know i've seen a path at the back of plot at some point!  Planted some gifted parsnip seeds with radishes earlier this week, fingers crossed. 
I have all sorts stuck in everywhere now! 
The pear tree, gooseberries, red currents, berries doing well, again Ms C been a big help with watering. My back's been acting up and she just gets on with what i needed done. 
This week will have to be watering very early before work, but love the quiet time before the start of the day.
At home done some salad and herb boxes after seeing an old program of Alys Fowler's Edible Garden on BBC iplayer. Later today, after the heat, doing some HM growbags for extra gifted tomatoes and patti pan. Thanks to the person who mentioned that one does not need specialised growbags for tomatoes, but compost will do just fine. Using folded down potato bags and compost gotten from Costco. Gro-Sure 125L for about £6. 

silverwhistle

I cycled down to the allotment yesterday for watering and weeding and to check on the pond for the frog and the slow worm but no sign of them yesterday. For the first time I took a nicely chilled can of Pilsner Urquell as a reward and sat on a stool to contemplate the place. As I did a low flying blackbird came sweeping in and alighted on the red-currant: I scared him off but obviously that's the next task.. but I've found some netting in the shed, and although it won't completely cover the bush at least it'll discourage the Baedeker raids..

[Deleted User]

Another big day in the garden - lots more done and I've ordered some more plants! 🙌 I've got blueberries coming in pots which will be a welcome addition to my veg and fruit patch - I'm going to plant on/rescue the raspberries and tayberries/loganberry tomorrow so even if they give up this year, we might manage to revive them for next 😉 a few strawberries are on their way too - I haven't sorted a 'window ' box yet but hopefully can either make on with some leftovers wood or can plant in pots until I sort one! 😊 
Nothing interesting happening with the seeds yet - surprisingly I'm feeling impatient!! 😂

Scrimps

I think I read somehwere on here about pink gooseberries - please could you tell me more, are they genuinely edible straight off the plant?  I have been put off gooseberries but hearing that theyre no good eaten fresh, i am no jam maker.  I have 3 honeyberries which many have proclaimed give nice berries but I get the most sharp acidic berries - not edible at all so I dont want to rely just on what the plant sellers say!!

Scrimps

its been a very odd year for germination, weve never had any issues before but have lots of issues this year, carrots and parsnips particularly but even courgettes and squashes - i dont think ive ever had that issue before.
Weve had an amazing strawberry crop so far, I have read that the fine spring weather is leading to great results, previous years have been alright but most have been eaten by slugs and woodlice. The work to remove the snails and slugs from the garden and doing a decent tidy early in the year has made a massive difference.
Peas, mangetout and lettuces going well.  Some pests have got into my turnips so ive only had one that ive been able to eat.

Im finding myself spread too thin in the garden again.  I think I might say this every year: next year I really want to focus my time on growing what I enjoy growing and grow it well, rather than what I hope i will enjoy growing and grow is badly because I dont have the time to tend to it as much as I would like. Even carrots, I would say that the flavour makes it worth it but I seem to have so much bother growing them with little reward I think I shall stop doing them for a few years at least.

greenbee

My courgette seeds are FINALLY showing signs of activity. I've build another raised bed and sorted the compost area this weekend, so really need to get on and sow some more stuff now I have gaps to put things in. 

Charly27

scrimps it’s hard to get the balance right. Growing your own is hard work, don’t care what anyone says. I grow a lot of flowers because that’s what I like. My DH doesn’t eat peas or beans and doesn’t like dirty veg. 
At the moment it’s a struggle to keep everything alive in Norfolk. Everything needs watering at least every other day. The only things I feel I can leave are the trees which I do once a week a couple of cans each.
Mini greenhouse is nearly empty - serious greenhouse envy after reading this thread!

Suffolk_lass

Scrimps said:

I think I read somehwere on here about pink gooseberries - please could you tell me more, are they genuinely edible straight off the plant?  I have been put off gooseberries but hearing that theyre no good eaten fresh, i am no jam maker.  I have 3 honeyberries which many have proclaimed give nice berries but I get the most sharp acidic berries - not edible at all so I dont want to rely just on what the plant sellers say!!

We grow at least three varieties of dessert gooseberry. The red variety we grow is Whinnhams Industry - you can pick them to cook with (Fool or crumble anyone?) when they are just turning pink and just a bit soft when you squeeze the berry gently. The yield is good and we have never had mildew problems with them. If you can resist picking them then, leave them and they turn red and get much sweeter, so they can be eaten direct from the bush (a little tart and sweet at the same time).

We also grow a dessert yellow berry called Hinnomaki yellow - I believe it is a commercial variety and is easy to grow (they also do a red). They are more tart from the bush but I think I always pick them too soon.

Our other dessert variety is the best but has lost its' label - I am 90% sure it was a heritage variety, Leveller - you have to be brave and leave them on the bush longer than you think. They are definitely the best. No hairs, sweet, delicious. We got ours from a local (20m away) nursery (The Crown Nursery at Ufford) that was in the RHS handbook but they closed at the end of March 2019 when they wanted to retire and the landowner wanted to build houses and care homes on the site.

If I were buying from a website now I would normally go to Ken Muir (Clacton) because they are relatively local to me and their fruit is always good quality, but their range is small on gooseberries. I would look at RV Roger in North Yorkshire (rubbish website but good nurserymen) or Chris Bowers and Sons - which has a good page of advice (link) on conditions and siting them (Ken Muir website also has good resources on pruning, feeding and disease prevention and control). 

While the majority of dessert berries are now red, my childhood was full of the big fat yellow dessert berries that we ate from the bushes. You do need to look at the location in which you plan to grow (ideally open and sunny), the habit of the bush (whether you can minimise risk of mildew or sawfly) and how much maintenance you want to do, but for me, they are in my top five fruits.

MovingForwards

Another newbie to this section. Completed flat purchase a month ago today and it came with a private garden. All last month was spent uncovering the walled patio, removing tree stumps, cutting / sawing trees / bushes down, having two trees felled and general preparation. Last week I was able to get on with planting some bits.

The patio (L - R) houses:
-- compost area. 
-- greenhouse with peppers and tomatoes.
-- seating area, with newly felled stump.
-- gooseberry in a tub.
-- Around the inside of the patio is a border which has my herbs, I've not decided what will go into the back inside border by the dry stone wall as I'm currently establishing what light it gets (the building next door neighbour has laylandii)

In front of the patio is a path, I will be planting runner beans etc in tubs, with a wigwam cane frame, plus a few sacks of potatoes (currently in a dark cupboard sprouting). The tubs are discarded flower buckets from a supermarket.

In front of the path has what used to be a neglected lawn.
--It's now got a section prepared for salad, with a wood surrounding, next to big newly felled stump.
-- hugle mounds to dispose / use garden waste and hopefully put some goodness into the soil.
- comfrey roots along the right-hand side.

This section is still needing work so is mainly going to have prep done. Going to bulk order compost etc, get that worked through and have some goodness put in.

The start of the garden is having a walled flower bed and rose garden, the roses are planted and have loads of buds.

Possibly should have written this in the front to back order, rather than back to front!

As it's been neglected for so long, it's been interesting uncovering and discovering loads of 'spares', tools, wood etc and using / repurposing everything. My OH does most of the work and aside from salad and flower bed, the rest of the old lawn section is his responsibility as is the compost area. Plans are in place for root veg etc.
I potter about the patio, greenhouse, plant, tend and water due to chronic pain and mobility problems.

According to Earth, our entire plot is 8x11m, it's mostly south facing and I'm in Scotland, a few minutes walk from an estuary should the need arise 😁

MingVase

Can anybody tell me about growing turnips? I threw a load of seed into a big trough planter, and now the leaves are around 6" tall and very bushy. When I pulled a couple out the turnip was around the size of a pea! Is this normal? Should I thin them out?