The even newer good, bad and ugly of growing your own in 2021!

Fosterdog

Pennysmakepounds said:

I'm having a HUGE issue with mice/rats again this year too, they are digging up all my seeds/seedlings.
I have planted some peas outside and they were just about germinating and then WHAM..one night the whole patch has been dug up.
Not sure what to do about it, it was even protected under a  poly tunnel, but alas they dug in under the lining and got it and destroyed the whole lot.  Looks like ill be re-planting it again this week and adding the traps i have ordered on-line.

That's so frustrating, if you have space it would be worth starting things indoors to put off the pests, or maybe use cut off bottle tops as individual plant protectors.

Not much going on here, I've put some Russian Giant sunflower seeds in today to hopefully brighten up the garden a bit, also put the footings in today for a new retaining wall to replace the collapsing and rotting wooden posts installed by the previous owners, step one of out perfect patio is now done, wall will be built over the weekend and patio laid as soon as we can decide on the stone we want. Also one of my neighbours is getting a mini digger in over Easter weekend and has offered us use of it so all of our ground levelling by hand can be done in a day instead of gradually over a couple of years. It will be a godsend and now I can come up with so many more plans for the next few years. Only downside is my pea and bean bed that has been carefully tended, hand weeded and soil improved over the last year is right in the line the digger has to pass over to get where it's needed, it a small sacrifice for the long term goals but frustrating all the same.

Suffolk_lass

Something in the greenhouse has chomped four of my tomato seedlings. I don't mind sharing produce but not my seedlings!

I really empathise about vermin @Pennysmakepounds - we have blackbirds pulling onions and garlic sets out and rabbits digging and chomping on anything they can get at. Mercifully no mice or rats at the moment, but we had mice in a roof this winter and have previously had nests in the veg plot

the_cross_rabbit

We start our onion sets in compost in the greenhouse, Once they sending out a green shoot we put transplant them in the allotment. We do it this way as they have developed some roots and this acts as an anchor once in the ground which stops them been pulled out by birds and mice. Done this for years and appears to not affect growth.
CRx

MovingForwards

That's why I'm not doing peppers this year @Suffolk_lass I never got to eat any of them.

I've sowed 3 types of tomato seeds and they're sitting on the window ledge. 2 are from what I grew last year, 1 is new out the packet. Sorted out my annual herb and companion plant seeds, which I aim to get in by the end of next month. I've another lot of onion sets to go in this week.

Still loads to do for a while.

Caitykinss

Hello all, I'm new to the party but would love to join in!

I started growing my own last year during lockdown 1 and loved it. It's something I've wanted to do for a long time, but last year was the first of my adult life where I had my own garden. I bought a mini greenhouse from Aldi around May time, built two raised beds out of decking boards at the bottom of the garden, and grew runner beans, onions, carrots, parsnips, kale, spinach, radish and rocket. I've also got some strawberry plants which did well, a blueberry bush which did nothing and a dwarf plum tree that also did nothing. I started a bit late for anything else, but this year I'm well prepared and am massively upscaling! 

I've got potatoes chitting ready to plant in bags at the weekend, sowed pepper seeds on the windowsill about 10 days ago (no sign of anything yet, worried it's not warm enough) and plan to get my tomatoes on this weekend too. I love tomatoes, so I'm having a go at four different varieties (had to stop myself buying more!). I've also got some nasturtiums and zinnias going on the windowsill (doing well), and a few more flowers to sow.

I'm planning on doing onions, carrots (two varieties this time), runner beans, kale, radish and rocket (this time in a pot) again, but also have some dwarf french beans for pots, purple sprouting broccoli, lettuce (in pots), leeks (in bags after the early potatoes), chard (in pots). I've decided against parsnips as they're not my favourite and we ended up with far too many. I'll have some space left in my brassica bed too after all that, so not sure how to fill it. Spinach bolted quickly last year, so would like to try something different. Any suggestions welcome.   

Ganga

Fosterdog said:

Pennysmakepounds said:

I'm having a HUGE issue with mice/rats again this year too, they are digging up all my seeds/seedlings.
I have planted some peas outside and they were just about germinating and then WHAM..one night the whole patch has been dug up.
Not sure what to do about it, it was even protected under a  poly tunnel, but alas they dug in under the lining and got it and destroyed the whole lot.  Looks like ill be re-planting it again this week and adding the traps i have ordered on-line.

That's so frustrating, if you have space it would be worth starting things indoors to put off the pests, or maybe use cut off bottle tops as individual plant protectors.

Not much going on here, I've put some Russian Giant sunflower seeds in today to hopefully brighten up the garden a bit, also put the footings in today for a new retaining wall to replace the collapsing and rotting wooden posts installed by the previous owners, step one of out perfect patio is now done, wall will be built over the weekend and patio laid as soon as we can decide on the stone we want. Also one of my neighbours is getting a mini digger in over Easter weekend and has offered us use of it so all of our ground levelling by hand can be done in a day instead of gradually over a couple of years. It will be a godsend and now I can come up with so many more plans for the next few years. Only downside is my pea and bean bed that has been carefully tended, hand weeded and soil improved over the last year is right in the line the digger has to pass over to get where it's needed, it a small sacrifice for the long term goals but frustrating all the same.

Put some planks of wood or sheets of plywood down for the mini-digger to run over ,most hire type mini excavators are not that that heavy ad do not have much of a footprint so using bits of wood will hopefully protect your seed beds.

Suffolk_lass

@Caitykinss welcome! You could try rainbow chard instead (or as well) as spinach - I grow some in my salad bed so I snip it more frequently for the bolting reason - does not stop it but I got to eat more that way. I just need to be better at succession planting in that bed

Ellie78

Morning everyone.   I'm hoping to be quite active on the thread this year.   After 6 months of being on the waiting list I've been given a plot at my local allotment which is a lovely surprise, thought I'd be waiting much longer.  I have to wait a couple of weeks for the last chap to clear his belongings and I think he's digging out all the fruit bushes which is a shame but will be nice to have a blank canvas.  It's a perfect little sun trap plot, not too big.  Picked up a second hand greenhouse a few days ago and all sunny windowsills in the house have been taken over by pots and propagators!   

So far growing 3 types of tomato (gardener's delight/moneymaker/tumbling tom), courgette and aubergine (black beauty), bell pepper, cayenne chilli, basil, sweet peas, 2 different types of sunflower, dahlias, echinacea and cosmos. 

Looking forward to chatting with you all and getting inspiration/advice! 

MovingForwards

@Ellie78 welcome and congratulations! Aldi have fruit bushes in £3.39 a tub, worth a quick look if you have spare money.

First thing this morning I popped to two Aldi's and grabbed some raspberry and gooseberry bushes. Which now takes me to 2 of each. Afterwards I helped SIL with a bit of weeding on her allotment, was given 2 baby strawberry plants as a thank you, they are now planted with my others. 

Ellie78

MovingForwards said:

@Ellie78 welcome and congratulations! Aldi have fruit bushes in £3.39 a tub, worth a quick look if you have spare money.

Thanks!  I popped to my local nursery this afternoon and picked up a big raspberry bush, a dwarf cherry tree and a rhubarb so that should get me off to a good start.   I'm not sure where my nearest Aldi is but if I find it I might get a blackberry!