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

Fosterdog

Things are starting to wake up here and get into the swing of growing season. My peppers have finally germinated, as have my giant sunflowers, my salad leaves and lettuce, and my first early spuds. I've put in my second early spuds, two rows of parsnips, and four apple trees outdoors, indoors today I have sown sweetcorn, melon (can't remember what melon I harvested seeds from so will be a surprise), marrow, cucumber, butternut squash, peas, runner beans and dwarf sunflowers that came as a freebie with some bee bombs I bought, I've put a couple of sweet potatoes laying on some moist compost to try and get some slips and cut up some ginger and just leaving the cuts to dry ready for planting. Overall a productive week.

Suffolk_lass

I've got some toilet roll holders I will use for sweetcorn seeds - they are the perfect length for the roots (then we cut the holders down their length and pop them in the ground when the roots are ready). Other than that it is the squash seeds I want to get going. I have my (new) mini propagator but I think this will hold only two 9cm pot in each of the four compartments and I need to plant that many each of butternut, cucumbers, courgettes and pumpkins. I am not growing melons this year.

I will wait to put carrots, beets and peas direct into the ground along with dwarf, runner and borlotti beans - carrots do better for us planted direct. Using long pots for seeds is fine until you come to plant out and then we ended up with bent ones where the vertical roots went wonky, getting bent in the transfer.

MovingForwards

@Suffolk_lass I'm another fan of the tubes, makes it so much easier to transfer. People do use them for carrots as the whole thing gets transplanted, I sow my root veg seeds directly into pots and garden.

Yesterday I planted more spuds and I will keep setting up more bags over the next few months. 

Later I will be sowing more beans and peas, when they are ready to go outside my OH should have finished setting up the plot and stakes. I'm using tree branches as stakes this year, wanted something a bit stronger than bamboo canes.

Fosterdog

@Suffolk_lass this is the first year I've started sweet corn indoors and I didn't even think of using toilet roll tubes, I haven't grown it for about 5 years and forgot that I used to use the tubes to support the seedlings when I planted in ground. I guess I'll be planting mine up sooner rather than later to fix my mistake. I've only started half indoors and was going to direct sow the rest anyway so there's time to save my tubes until planting time.

I only ever directly sow root veg outside, I tried starting indoors a few years ago but didn't find it made any positive difference to the end plants and added a whole extra stage of work and took up space for seedling that did need starting indoors.

LessImpecunious

Suffolk_lass said:

 I have my (new) mini propagator but I think this will hold only two 9cm pot in each of the four compartments and I need to plant that many each of butternut, cucumbers, courgettes and pumpkins

You could multi-sow each variety in one pot in the propagator, then as soon as each seed germinates !!!!!! them out to individual pots on the windowsill (or anywhere warmish and light) - it's only the germination stage that needs the really high temperature...(you do need to be quick tho, as they grow big very quickly!)

Caitykinss

Finally weeded my raised beds and borders ready for a good mulch. Also bought three fruit trees (cherry, apple and plum) for £10 each from Morrisons. Pretty big trees so really pleased. They need planting this afternoon when I decide where they’re going to go! 

I’m also quickly running out of small pots. My tomatoes and peppers are ready for potting on and I’ve somehow ended up with 63 tomato seedlings out of 72 sown! Never done tomatoes before and really didn’t expect them all to germinate so unfortunately I think I’ll have to sacrifice some as I really don’t have the space or pots! 

the_cross_rabbit

Hoping by the end of the day all the digging will be done and the potatoes can go in next week. Still playing musical windowsills, but the first lot of leek seedlings have gone to the allotment to go in the cold frames. 

CRx

greenbee

@Caitykinss - I have the same problem both with lack of small pots and with the inability to sacrifice any seedling that has managed to germinate!

ancientmum

I've been using plastic milk bottles (2  pint size)  cut in half for potting on or for bigger seedlings like pumpkins and cucumbers.  I make a hole in the bottom for drainage.  The upper half with lids can be used to top canes instead of the more picturesque but expensive flowerpots.

bluesooz

It's definitely the time of year to get inventive with pots - yoghurt pots are always useful, but anything going in the recycling/rubbish. gets considered!  I always save the trays that grapes/toms come in both for seed sowing now and for harvest time.

I've potted on my tomatoes and had roughly the right number, but then a few late little seedlings have appeared next to the potted on plant - and like greenbee I find it hard to sacrifice any seedlings. I'm sure i'll find space somewhere or a willing person to donate to.   It's similar to when pruning bushes - I feel I have to try to root some of the prunings for yet more plants