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

-taff

https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/grow-your-own/vegetables/turnip

GunShotResidue

I'm grateful for the rain this morning (even if it woke me up) as it gives me a day off watering! It's a bit miserable here today but tomorrow looks nicer. 

A few months back I planted two square feet of onions, one with sets and the other from seed. I put 4 or so seeds in each hole and most of them have germinated so I've started pulling up some from each bunch to use as spring onions and will just leave one to become a proper onion. We've pulled up a few baby carrots to thin them out too, I get very excited about everything we get from the garden! We planted two pots of first early potatoes a month apart and the first lot should be ready soon, I'm going to reuse the pot for some autumn king carrots which say they can be sown until July. The peas are doing really well, the beans not so much. It's our first year growing them (we just did peas last year) and I don't think we'll get many! I need to keep a better diary with what we planted and when so I can learn from my mistakes for next year! 

Scrimps

Thank you for the gooseberry advice.  I am going to look into those varieties more and get a couple of bushes in the winter.
Another big strawberry harvest this morning. Ive got some lettuce ready to harvest and more mangetout.  The beans I wasnt sure would survive planting out in the strong, dry winds have recovered and are catching up so hopefully I should have some soon.

Re the turnip advice someone said about - I havent read that link but Im finding that a fair bit with my roots this year, I suspect its because it is both very dry and because I have tried 'multisowing' and theyre too close together.

Weve had a bit of drizzle here but no rain,  I can see we're expecting some next week so I am going to do the building jobs required this week.  I need to connect up one side of the greenhouse to the water butt - currently it just drips into open ground - I need to save or at least re-direct that water somewhere useful.  I feel for you people on the eat side of the county
Im also converting a large shed into a playhouse for my two toddlers so I need to find a new home for all the things that are in there first!!  Ill get sone ground weeded and cleared and sown into also so I can take advantage of the rain for watering seedlings next week

greenbee

Drizzle here too. I'm hoping that it helps with the overly dry compost, although I have a feeling I'm going to need to mix some topsoil in whenever the next lot gets here... However, I have now harvested ONE radish (to test) and it was fabulous. So I need to make sure I keep sowing them. They're definitely doing better in the big raised bed than in the small planters, probably because it is holding moisture better (it has a soaker hose and topsoil and half rotted compost under the top layer of compost). 

Charly27

movingforward sounds exciting.
Here in Norfolk I feel it’s a constant battle to keep everything at allotment alive. Trying to water every other day. It wouldn’t survive a week. 

My IBC is now empty and I was watering with two cans - took me 16 cans and an hour last night! 

MysteryMe

No rain my way yet but it is forecast for showers over the next few days so fingers crossed!

MingVase

I planted radishes and turnips and spring onions and chives. Turnips growing like mad but it's all leaves; chives are very spindly and feeble and everything else has vanished. I need to start again.

[Deleted User]

It rained overnight and I am grateful for it but the weather is very grumpy today! 😔 windy, cold and overcast - no getting out there today for me! 
Beetroot, sweetcorn, radish and purple basil have all started to make an appearance so I'm very happy about that - just need a bit more warmth to keep encouraging them! 😊

Suffolk_lass

It was really cold under the cloud cover and too warm when the sun came through yesterday. Most frustrating. I resorted to working in the greenhouse but making up brood-box frames for bee hives. I have no more foundation in that size but five spare frames. I suspect DH will want to swap some for the older ones. I might do the same today - it looks as though it rained overnight. We need to cut lots of pak choi as it is all trying to go to seed - might try a method where you cut the middle and leave 4-5 outer leaves to let it regenerate.

greenbee

Greenhouse frame was constructed yesterday - it's being glazed and finished today. So I've got a busy weekend ahead of me!