The ups, the downs and the insides out of growing your own in 2024!

Suffolk_lass

@-taff and @ArbitraryRandom this RHS article seems to explain all of the spread (by wind), the soil-born and the tuber-spread - like so many things, it is changing, adapting and resisting the resistant varieties. Fortunately (!) for us, the farmer behind us is growing winter wheat

-taff

Thanks! That was very interesting and ended up leading me down the irish potato famine and the disapora, and the origins of blight

Sweetbriarrose

I was wondering has anyone grown aubergines, what variety would you recommend. 

They would need to be grown outside as I don’t have a greenhouse, but I could find a sheltered spot.
 Thanks 

alicef

I hauled out another propagator and sowed tomatoes and aubergine; potted up the sweetpeas that had germinated.

@Sweetbriarrose - I have only grown aubergine in the polytunnel and I find them  bit hit or miss, (unlike tomatoes or peppers).  I'm too far north to grow outdoors, but I think I saw on GW, some while ago, a clip from a lady in London who did grow aubergines outside.  Anyhow, I'm guessing you will need to get  the seed sown pronto and have an early ripening variety.

Sweetbriarrose

Thanks for the advice. I think I’ll give them a go as I am in the London area.

-taff

Ah, then you're lucky, it's always warmer in London than anywhere else. I've been trying for years and only managed a good year once, I think early sowing would deifnitely help as long as you can either avoid legginess or stake well. I'd also look into restricting the amount of fruit on a plant if you're going for full size ones. Maybe go fro some smaller varieties too?

kiss_me_now9

Sweetbriarrose said:

I was wondering has anyone grown aubergines, what variety would you recommend. 

They would need to be grown outside as I don’t have a greenhouse, but I could find a sheltered spot.
 Thanks 

We tried last year, I think if I had been more diligent with watering we might have got some fruit off them but everything kind of went to pot. I do have a greenhouse though and they are very heat loving - much like chillis, if you've had any success with them. Apparently both chillis and aubergines need to be sown now (or so tiktok tells me). What have you got to lose? 

kiss_me_now9

I am worried I'm missing the boat on sowing a lot of my seeds. I have some shallot and onion sets and early potatoes to get into the ground, as well as aubergines, chillis and sweet peas to sew out. I won't be able to do anything until at least next weekend if I'm lucky, possibly not for two weekends after that as I can't do it during the day (I worry my LO will wake up from his nap early and I won't be able to get to him with dirty hands - even though realistically he'd be alright for the five minutes it'd take me to get in from the garden and sorted) and at weekends we're very busy this time of year. 

ArbitraryRandom

You can only do what you can do and it's all guidelines anyway as you can't predict what the season's going to be like one year to the next! 

I planted some squash very late last year (about 2ish months late) and by all accounts it was an awful growing year for a lot of people. I didn't have much fruit from them but what I did get was lovely  

sammy_kaye18

Havent sewn a single thing at the minute. 
Still trying to get myself in order before I can think about the garden and having husband and daughter home has meant I have been well and truly side tracked. 
I have however made a list of things I need to do when I actually get my act together. 
I was meant to head out for more compost today (I dont drive) but husband has been struck down by man flu so that stopped that. 
I really do need to get chitting, sewing and potting some things up though.