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

Caitykinss

My zippy greenhouse did me well last year for germinating runner beans and lettuce, but I didn't buy and start using it until well into May. I have my leeks and beetroot and a tray of various flowers in there at the moment, and think I'll bring them inside as they're not doing anything! The temperature is too difficult to control in there until the outside temperature is more consistent. Yesterday mine went from frozen overnight, to 38 degrees in the day. In the summer it works well if you keep it open in the day, and shut up for an extra bit of warmth at night, but it just doesn't hold up against sub zero temperatures and . I'm planning on housing my peppers and aubergines in there once the frost has well and truly gone, and I'll use it again to get my beans started.

Mine is also well secured to the garage wall and has paving slabs over the bottom flaps to keep it down after a few wind related disasters last summer. It's held well through the winter so fingers crossed. It's going to be quite a few years before I can invest in a proper greenhouse I think.   

bluesooz

Weather has been very gardener unfriendly, with the warm/hot sunny days then cold nights and no rain again - one of the driest Aprils apparently, we've only had a couple of mm here. All my water butts are only half full at the moment.

I've relocated some of the larger/hardier seedlings to the greenhouse freeing up some windowsill space as no more frost forecast.


The asparagus have just started to show above ground so soon be harvest time as they grow so fast.

Decided to grow a few more red cabbage seeds yesterday as only have 8 baby plants.  Was sorting through old plant labels and rubbing off old penciled on names, only to come across one with red cabbage already written on and the date 22/4 - so obviously sowed red cabbage on the same day last year!

Suffolk_lass

We planted beetroot and carrot seeds direct in the raised bed for roots - I don't start carrots inside as I always end up with a two-pronged or bent carrot because of the root disturbance when transplanting them - just make sure the soil is nice and loose. It also means the disturbance and smell does not attract carrot root fly (and it is also why I don't weed that bed, I know, slovenly!).

Also in went a variety of salad seeds - radish, two kinds of spinach for snipping young, four kinds of lettuce and pak (bok) choi and endive.

After an afternoon when the temperature never got above 11c (promised 14c) we gave up on the plan to split the bees into two colonies and built my new cold frame (polycarbonate, middle of lidl, for my birthday from my Mum) so I will be moving some beans that have germinated and some squash out there (hopefully away from the mice), to harden off a bit before planting out. 

I found a mouse tunnel under the weed suppressing membrane, along with several runner bean seeds!

The weather here remains really cold for the time of year, with a cold north easterly hitting East Anglia instead of the usual south-westerly gulf-stream remnants warmed as the cross the south of England. Most frustrating.

Only the new asparagus is showing any signs of life, with the cropping crowns completely missing in action. I do hope DH did not mess up when he planted the new ones. If he buried them deeper we may well have lost them.

C_J

All the replacement squash seeds (which I sowed three days ago) have germinated, yay!!!

MovingForwards

Sowed more cabage and cauli and put netting up.
Finished the pea and bean frame. I will plant a few more peas out later, just waiting for runners and borlotto to have bigger tendrils before I put them out; the roots of the borlotto are out the pot already.

I've sowed a couple more squashes as there's no sign of the first lot. Worst case is I end up with loads.

"MIL" has asked for 6 tomato plants and 2 pea plants.

"SIL" is having my blackberry bush, she has an allotment. My OH has dug about 6 up from 2 neighbours gardens and was adamant I wasn't keeping mine, even in a pot. It's the first time since we've been together he's said no to something and I can see his point. All the peas, beans, parsley and spinach will soon be ready to go over to her, but we will probably just plant them in the allotment as it's one less thing for her to do.

Have to transplant more toms later and I'm pleased to say my black russian have started to sprout.

Suffolk_lass

I popped to a neighbour with seven tomato plants, some without labels but I know he has two sungold and one black russian. He might have a cuor di bue (Italian culinary variety) or a black russian beefsteak as I have grown these four this year. I also gave a couple of Sungold to my cousin and need to pot on my squashes as five to a pot at the moment (assuming they survived night 1 in the cold frame)

greenbee

I need to check which tomatoes survived the greenhouse and sow more of whatever hasn't made it. Plenty of aubergines have germinated, as have peppers and chillies. I'm tempted to move the french beans on, but I think we have a few more cold nights coming up. Salad leaves seem to be OK so far. Radishes coming on nicely. Broad beans growing slowly, chard doing great. One courgette doing OK, so need to sow more.

I really do need to think about what will go where!

MovingForwards

I've sowed another couple of melons and squashes, the spotted one squash from my original lot is producing a seedling.

Put another 2 peas outside and gently hand dug over the bit the French drawf beans are going. The borlotto and runner sections are fine. 

Also did some weeding, just have to pop back out later to water as it's been another hot one today.

carinjo

Dug over most of the runnerbean bed this morning. First sowing of lettuce and radish have all germinated. The onion and garlic all looking good, will be able to remove the netting soon. 
At home finally done the sowing: honeyboat squash, bush marrow, black beauty courgette, patty pan, cucumber, crown prince, butternut, zephyr courgette. I am hoping for at least 2 of each to make it from pot to plot! 
Some the flowerseeds planted last weekend have gone leggy, think they too far from the window and the forest of tomato plants in their way too. *sighs* A bit of reorganising needed next few days.
On the plus side, looks like the last very cool night for next 2 weeks will be tomorrow night. After that should be ok for planting out everything to allotment.

Caitykinss

Managed to get out yesterday afternoon and sorted my raised beds out and topped up with compost and top soil. Sowed two types of carrot, planted my onion sets, and sowed rainbow chard, radish and 'mixed' lettuce. Feel like I'm finally getting somewhere now I've got something in my main beds. First beetroot germinated after I brought the tray inside from my zippy greenhouse. Still nothing from the leeks. Managed to get rid of 6 tomatoes and 2 peppers, giving them to my parents at the weekend. I also bought 9 more big pots - £1.50 for 3 in Morrisons, so think I'll have space for about 30 tomatoes now. Only about 20 left to get rid of!

Looks like more frost this week now!!

On a slightly more comical note, I netted the onions to keep the birds away yesterday, looked out this morning to find next door's cat stretched out using the netting as a hammock!