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

LessImpecunious

Definitely not Rumex acetosella - which is not a pernicious weed in Europe, but in North America has become invasive, like many plants from Europe - suggests the app is from across the pond so may give info not correct here. The photo certainly looks like a willowherb, the square-stemmed one can be a weed in cultivated land according to at least one Uk website (http://www.seasonalwildflowers.com/square-stalked-willowherb.html), so seems a possibility...Doesn't look like Rosebay WH or Great Hairy WH so probably not too difficult to weed out!

Suffolk_lass

I would have guessed at rosebay willowherb from the picture. If it is, it is readily pulled out, with relatively shallow roots but seeds everywhere, so well worth controlling (especially in your veg beds!).

My latest cucumber seeds (planted Sunday) have germinated on top of the bug zapper on my kitchen windowsill. Very chuffed. My problem now is the mice (mouse) in the greenhouse. The electrician is coming Monday and phase two of his work (after the electrical safety work) is to run electrics to the said greenhouse and use the hose through the base that DH put in for electrical installation - which we think is their in-out access route!

droopsnoot

Thanks everyone, I will continue to remove it now I know it's not supposed to be there. Re the dogs and cats thing, it certainly hasn't put the cats off using it as a toilet. The app sounds interesting, my only difficulty is that I currently have an old Symbian smartphone and it almost certainly won't run on that. When I replaced it with a more modern phone, I could run apps but the signal strength was very marginal, so I'm a bit stuck on that front, apps or phone calls.

Thanks for the assistance. The digging resumes. It was pretty easy to remove, I also found some potatoes starting to sprout so once I've cleared the patch I'll put them back in.

Suffolk_lass

droopsnoot said:

Thanks everyone, I will continue to remove it now I know it's not supposed to be there. Re the dogs and cats thing, it certainly hasn't put the cats off using it as a toilet. The app sounds interesting, my only difficulty is that I currently have an old Symbian smartphone and it almost certainly won't run on that. When I replaced it with a more modern phone, I could run apps but the signal strength was very marginal, so I'm a bit stuck on that front, apps or phone calls.

Thanks for the assistance. The digging resumes. It was pretty easy to remove, I also found some potatoes starting to sprout so once I've cleared the patch I'll put them back in.

I find that here but it is handy when I run the phone off the house wifi (and elect to make phone calls that way in settings) - I can use apps but on the house broadband signal - that helps - and the phone signal is much better

Caitykinss

Glad I've not moved anything out to the greenhouse yet, other than the leeks and beetroot I sowed on Saturday that have yet to germinate. Went in this morning to check the temperature, and was relived to see 10 degrees on the thermometer. Everything looked fine, until I picked up the bottle of water I'd left in there - frozen solid! 

Potting on more tomatoes this afternoon. I'm going to start dishing them out to friends and family at the weekend to make more space. Still need to get my carrots and lettuce on, as didn't get chance at the weekend. Onion sets and chard in the calendar for this weekend coming, so might wait and do the carrots at the same time, as they're going in the same bed as the onions. 

Worried I might've killed my fig tree somehow. Bought last year for cheap from Morrisons and it grew well, although didn't fruit. All was looking good, with buds appearing a few weeks ago, but now they've all disappeared. The cherry, apple and plum trees I bought a couple of weeks ago are all looking good though. 

carinjo

I am once again reminded of why i would never want to be an office worker (with appologies to those who are/were) my shift pattern this week meant no time to water before work and too cold at night to water afterwards. A quick check yesterday showed though that the first batch of lettuce and radish have come up, but still no sign of two row of flowers done almost a month ago (think it was cosmos). 
At home the tomatoes are going crazy, i will have to start hardening them off next week and fingers crossed no late frost beginning may. All the seeds in the house have germinated, but none in the zippy  greenhouse, i'm starting to think what the point is of it. Off on sunday and will have to do all the pumpkin, courgette etc sowing. And start on the runnerbeans and tomato beds. 

RelievedSheff

Everything is growing well here, surprisingly. Not managed to kill anything off with the frosts. The beetroot and parsnips are doing really well and growing really very quickly now despite the chilly evenings. 

The carrots are also doing well and the four chilli plants on the kitchen window cill are also doing just fine. We have thinned those out now before they get too big.

Fosterdog

I've done some more potting up here so have no delicate little seedlings left, going to get my maincrop potatoes and ginger in their tubs today and then I have a few weeks before anything else needs direct sowing or planting out. The peas and runner beans I planted out last week are going nuts, hopefully get some nice early crops from them. My marigolds were out in the ground yesterday, only 3 germinated inside so I didn't bother with any hardening off because I started more outside yesterday that will hopefully do a bit better. None of my other flowers are showing any sign of life but my fruit and veg are all doing well.

@carinjo I've never had luck with the zip up greenhouses either, tried a few over the years and they've all been pointless for germination. I have used one for hardening off one year which seemed fine and I think I still have the shelving it came with packed away at the back of the shed to put in a real greenhouse if I ever get one.

Has anyone ever hardened off using an open window? My garden layout means that it goes up in steep levels and my growing plot is the very top level heading onto the mountain and it's a lot of work to carry things from an upstairs windowsill and up four levels of garden with steep steps, one trip would be manageable but I have so much it would be 3-4 trips twice a day so I'm thinking instead of just using the tilt and turn windows and opening them wide but unsure if that will be enough to harden them off enough.

MovingForwards

I've started putting my peas outside, but put some protection up three sides to calm any early morning wind.

Transplanted 3 toms, only another 30+ to go as they get adult leaves. They will all be grown outside and I'm plotting an easier way of watering them all.
- I'm contemplating making a permanent / solid Perspex house next year; depends on money.

I'm not going to put up my plastic greenhouse this year as it got battered last season, but will be using the frame to create a netted area for my fruit. 
- they are great if a garden doesn't get anything more than a gentle breeze, or it's all strapped and weighted down; not those silly bits of string it comes with.

Later I'm popping to a nursery to get loads more canes for my peas / beans. I'm also going to get some shorter ones for my brassica's and then I can set that netting up too.

carinjo

@Fosterdog i keep.my windows open during the day now to slow down some of the tomato plants which seems to work. Sure you can try it. If you got some extra of anything, maybe just take half outside, that way you covered. 
Regarding the greenhouse, if nothing else, hopefully it will house the eggplants during the summer, they all got lovely big true leaves already.