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

GlasweJen

This is our first year growing our own, when we bought the house we didn't think we had much of a back garden but then we realised the back garden is huge, once we tamed the trees that the previous owner had never pruned in the 60 years he lived here!

Last summer a neighbour was getting rid of his old greenhouse and we took it so husband built it up. 

We bought seeds in lidl, just what we could get due to the lockdown, we had planned on going to the garden centre but a trip to the mainland is a big deal and we didn't manage to get one in before they declared lockdown. Shortly after the lidl trip I got a letter telling me that due to my heart transplant I should try to not leave my house until next week (been extended to the end of July now).

So our successes have been: 
lettuce - we have thousands 
broccoli - huge leaves and it's starting to grow it's little broccoli head in the middle 
peas - we have one pea plant that's gone white and I wonder if the sun has scorched it (it's still producing pods) but the others are fine
courgettes - already harvested two and got more on the way
strawberries - 1 plant is doing great and the other 2 haven't given me anything, only throwing off runners which is frustrating 
tomatos 
onions 
potatos
rhubarb 
garlic 

failures 
carrots - I know it's early days but I don't think they like the sea air
beans - lots of flowers but no beans yet 

Herbs - only one that's come to anything is chives, the rest get to a couple of inches and then shrivel, no idea what's going on
The fruit trees - already in situ when we moved here, between the wind and the birds nothing survives on them 

carinjo

Between weather, being under the weather and work, not much got done last week or so. Sister and family came to visit today to see allotment, so done a quick weeding, trimming and watering yesterday. Discovered lovely red gooseberries on new plot hidden behind the 6feet high grass! @Suffolk_lass they were very tasty indeed! Spoke to sis and hope to have enough from the 5 bushes (2 red, 2 green and 1 hidden behind the tall grass still!) to make some chutney. She's going to teach me how. 
At the moment the 2 rows of second earlies  potatoes have started flowering, the runner beans from seedlings and seeds doing well. Stopped watering onions, waiting to mature (?), is that the correct term? 
Pak choi, lettuce, beetroot and leaf beet all in raised beds coming along nicely. The turnips lots of leaves, nothing underneath yet. 
Gifted cabbages have established now and looks like i only managed to kill one, the gifted chard got a drowning, but still surviving, as is all the patti pan and courgette. Looks like i got gifted 3 or 4 different types of tomatoes, some growing very thick stems, will have to guess which to remove side shoots from. 
No sign of the outdoor cucumbers, so goning to transplant some nastursiums got in pots into the space instead. 
Got a couple of weeks off now, so a bit of painting and decorating at home and getting the new plot ready for next year. 
Ps. The salad and herb boxes at home have both germinated and can't wait for my first cuttings! 

[Deleted User]

Well something has attempted to eat one of my sweetcorn and it's literally cut off the stalk then left it! 🤔 I had too many brussel sprout plants for the beds so have grown 5 in pots on the patio and the creatures have had a good munch on those too 😂 I expected as much though so no issue with it - I'm just glad the the rest of the brassicas are under the mosquito nets...
Very pleased that the hotbin is working perfectly- it got up to temperature this weekend and we've already got liquid fertiliser out of it 🙌 The nettle fertiliser is coming on well but I think that the comfrey root I planted has been munched - I had it in pots- think I'll have to replace it with plants next time...
Most of the veg seedlings are doing well but I'm a long way off getting any veg yet (if at all this year) I also think that despite trying not to, the direct sowing stuff is far too close to each other - a lot of thinning will be required! 
As it's the first year and all was started late, I don't have any real hopes other than getting my major mistakes out of the way so that I don't repeat them! 😂

Suffolk_lass

There are some lovely accounts and details in there everyone. I just wanted to say a few things that might help - 

@GlasweJen - just sow a few lettuces for later - the big mistake we all make is growing too many at a time - lettuce soup is lovely too! - and don't worry about beans you are a bit early for this year as everything germinated early, paused through the May cold snap and has been slow to resume. It is like that in lots of gardens.

@carinjo - please don't make chutney with your lovely dessert gooseberries (use the culinary harder, green ones) - top and tail and freeze the red ones (or eat them off the bush as a fantastic snack) - they make THE most fab crumble for a treat dessert in winter (I add no sugar to the fruit and rely on a crumble mix of 6oz flour (150g), 4 oz (100g) each of butter or stork and sugar) - or stew them with a little sugar and mix with custard and cream for gooseberry fool - sieve them before mixing if the seeds bother you (nylon sieve).

@squirrelgirl we don't thin - just snip - so baby leaf spinach and carrot tops are lovely for example. Thin sowing of carrots is something we cannot master, despite years of practice. Other lessons are harder to learn - as weather conditions mean it is different every year - just be aware - it takes a long time and only Monty gets it right - and even he has the odd disaster or mistake.

By the way, does anyone else think, "that is far too many Xs" when he is showing his veg beds or potting on? I have over 30 tomato plants this year - 7 outside with set fruits and over 25 in the greenhouse. I'm not convinced the pollination is going as I hoped in the greenhouse. I might have to have the doors and windows open all the time. I plan to freeze and cook most.

My new chest freezer is coming Wednesday. Not because of the tomatoes - just because I don't think the upright one is keeping stuff cold enough.

greenbee

I have FAR too many tomatoes, and they're all Gardener's Delight. But that's what I had. The ones that were in the dining room have got very leggy, and I don't think the one that flowered while indoors has set fruit. I'm not sure what will happen in the greenhouse. I'm wondering about moving a few more outside if I can find somewhere that they won't get blown to bits!

Beans and courgettes are germinating (although the yellow courgettes seem to be sulking). I'm waiting for the courgettes to be a bit bigger before I plant them out, as between the pigeons and the slugs/snails they'll have a tough time once out of the relative safety of the growhouse. 

-taff

@Suffolk_lass if you're worried about the tomatoes pollinating in the greenhouse just go and shake the plants. Tomatoes are self pollinating so they only need a bit of a shake.  If you were talking about something else apologies for explaining the sucking of eggs

bluesooz

-taff - I give my tomatoes a friendly tapping everyday to help with pollination 😀

Great to see some of the pics on here - always interested in other peoples gardens and to read how others are getting on

Having variable success in the veg patch.  Although the weather is now a bit cooler and we're having a small amount of rain, we had about 10 weeks of scorching hot weather with only 1 day of rain in the middle.  Our chalk soil drains too well so it's a constant battle to provide enough water.

harvesting lots of rhubarb, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, broad beans (from autumn sowing) lettuce, asparagus, peas, radish and spring onion.

french beans and runner bean plants are shooting up their support with some at the top already (@6ft) with others still only a foot tall.  2 courgette plants are looking good, (and small courgettes forming) 2 are still weedy and 1 has died!    I am trialling growing 2 squash plants in last years compost bin - and they're looking good (although one had to be replaced as it looks like it was dug up by the squirrel looking for his nuts, and as I didn't see it for a couple of days the plant died) I'll compare this to 2 grown in the veg patch.  Outdoor cues about 6 inches high but looking ok


Gave up with chinese cabbage plants as they went to seed without actually gaining any more leaves (don't think they liked the very high temperatures, so will try again in autumn).  Red cabbages were totally infested with aphids, so haven't grown at all, and now the kale that was doing well is infested too. 

In the greenhouse - the toms are doing very well, with lots of green tomatoes.  The 2 cucumbers plants are growing well with a couple of cucumbers formed.  Chilis, peppers and aubergines grwoing well and just starting to flower.  I'm experimenting with growing celery in tubs as it was mentioned they need to be kept damp - and that was never going to be an option in the veg patch.  Will probably keep one in the green house and the other outdoors

GlasweJen

@Suffolk_lass thanks for the reassurance, it's difficult to know what to do. At the moment we are pretty cut off from the world, my husband is staying on the mainland and running his shifts together and I'm staying home and isolating so it's the TV and books that getting me through this.

We didn't expect much to work because of the salt in the air but we are very south facing and surprisingly warm considering how north we are so we got lots of seedlings and we should probably have discarded some but I think we expected for it to shrivel up at some point so everything has been chucked out into the garden and nothings really died off yet! 

It's nice when my husbands home he gets to see the progress, I see it every day so it's not as surprising for me but he gets all excited when he comes in and sees the peas or the tiny little green tomatos. 

silverwhistle

It's interesting how site can impact growth. I've some Tromba d'Albenga climbing squash, the one by my back wall is over 2m high from soil level, in the sheltered back garden it's over 1.5m and at the exposed allotment about 25cm if that. Plenty of fruit forming on the back wall one and I understand they're good eating.

My first redcurrants this week from the existing bush on my first year at the allotment: mum had a few and the first for about 80 years as they had a bush when she was growing up. She also loved my broad beans: so happy she's still interested in what she eats.

Lots of gaps in my beds, seeds don't come up and seedlings disappear. It's a real learning experience and different to having a small patch in the back garden. Following a new back door I now have a nice double glazed pane to use as a cold frame/raised bed cover,  and there's still some space left to make a custom sized little bed to fit. More development next winter along with a fruit cage or structure.

The two pallet compost bays are working well, but when I finally use the contents I'm going to have to be careful as each one has a slow worm (or more?).

carinjo

Thanks for the tip @Suffolk_lass ! I saw Monday another of the bushes also making red fruit. The idea had more to do not being a fan of tart tasting things, but the red ones a lovely sweet taste. The shed on the new plot being removed next week, can then get into the area and tidy it up for shady seating.
The council cut the grass down on the plot yesterday, so can now cover it up ready for next year. I found tarpaulin weighed down with pallets worked well for me last year, so will try that again. 
Doing some diy at home at moment and with the rain, at least getting something done.