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

Suffolk_lass

Thanks both of you. I have bookmarked the page and will have a consider in due course. It did occur to me that we could take a cutting from the current trees and graft on to a different rootstock. We will have to do some thinking, and discuss here at Suffolk siege HQ

sammy_kaye18

KajiKita said:

Oh @sammy_kaye18, that made me chuckle 😉😂😊

KK

Ah yes but the question now is - did you go to the garden center and did you ONLY get compost? 

Also can I ask about your produce counter? Are you keeping track of how much your garden is saving you by GyO? Thats a great idea

sammy_kaye18

Right 
well I am my own worst enemy. 
I sat down last night to realise I have 3 types of potatoes and only 5 bags to put them in so I sat this morning to buy some more bags to grow in and accidentally ended up adding a blueberry bush and cucamelon seeds. 
Now having to sit and plan my garden out for where to put everything this growing season but what I do know is I am going to be a busy girl this year!

KajiKita

sammy_kaye18 said:

KajiKita said:

Oh @sammy_kaye18, that made me chuckle 😉😂😊

KK

Ah yes but the question now is - did you go to the garden center and did you ONLY get compost? 

Also can I ask about your produce counter? Are you keeping track of how much your garden is saving you by GyO? Thats a great idea

I only got compost! 🎉💪👏😂

It’s just a spreadsheet where I record what it would cost me to buy what I produce from the garden as organic produce from an online seller. Herbs rack up really quickly! I set myself a target of £100 last year and got to c. £178 I think, this year I have set a target of £300. I’m hoping it will act as an incentive to persist as I keep being defeated by the bindweed - not helped by working full time with a significant commute and doing DIY on the house as well. 

KK

~FlowerPot~

Managed to get outside Yesterday for an hour and weeded the strawberry patch. Very glad I did as the weather today is filthy! So wet and windy!
I think i will get my seeds out and see what I need to order i definetely bed cucumber seeds and prob tomatoes..... 

sammy_kaye18

KajiKita said:

sammy_kaye18 said:

KajiKita said:

Oh @sammy_kaye18, that made me chuckle 😉😂😊

KK

Ah yes but the question now is - did you go to the garden center and did you ONLY get compost? 

Also can I ask about your produce counter? Are you keeping track of how much your garden is saving you by GyO? Thats a great idea

I only got compost! 🎉💪👏😂

It’s just a spreadsheet where I record what it would cost me to buy what I produce from the garden as organic produce from an online seller. Herbs rack up really quickly! I set myself a target of £100 last year and got to c. £178 I think, this year I have set a target of £300. I’m hoping it will act as an incentive to persist as I keep being defeated by the bindweed - not helped by working full time with a significant commute and doing DIY on the house as well. 

KK

Well done! 
Thats a great idea too about keeping track. I think once I have actually started growing things and harvesting - maybe I will keep track of what I am buying / producing and saving and see how much it actually adds up to as I imagine like you said it can be an eye opener. Also I use a lot of mixed herbs so I was looking at a dehydrator to actually make my own. 

~FlowerPot~ said:

Managed to get outside Yesterday for an hour and weeded the strawberry patch. Very glad I did as the weather today is filthy! So wet and windy!
I think i will get my seeds out and see what I need to order i definitely bed cucumber seeds and prob tomatoes..... 

The weather is filthy here too but I am hoping that my make shift water butt is filling up nicely but I am so eager to get in the garden. 


I am waiting in today for a delivery from B&Q with fencing mesh, canes, a wood saw, pot and compost, and Im sure there is other bits on there so I will be ready to garden once the rain decides to give us a break. 
Also asked a friend who is a gardener to help me cut my hedge down at some point. Its about 10ft high and so hard to cut so I want to take it down to about 5ft so its manageable and before any birds start nesting in it for the year. 

ArbitraryRandom

sammy_kaye18 said:

Right 
well I am my own worst enemy. 
I sat down last night to realise I have 3 types of potatoes and only 5 bags to put them in so I sat this morning to buy some more bags to grow in and accidentally ended up adding a blueberry bush and cucamelon seeds. 
Now having to sit and plan my garden out for where to put everything this growing season but what I do know is I am going to be a busy girl this year!

Wait... hold on a sec... I also have three types of potatoes and only THREE bags... how many should I have!!! 

(Three tubers each of vivaldi and maris piper, 5 of charlotte but they're a bit smaller). 

droopsnoot

I put some chilli and tomato seeds in trays yesterday. I don't have propagators, so they're just on the window sill, but it's above a radiator so maybe something will happen.

kiss_me_now9

I sorted out the veg bed last night. Cardboard laid, then put some pine cones/needles that had rotted down in the corner of the garden over the top and then covered with a couple of inches of compost. It's not pretty and it's not got any sides but hopefully it'll be better for the plants I eventually put in it. 

OH has put my peas, onion + shallot sets and potatoes somewhere and I don't know where that is so I'm trying not to fuss about them for now. I need to get some more compost as I used all we had on refreshing the bed. 

I am slightly worried as I... ermm... found a couple of bags of old compost in the back of the shed to put on the veg bed (it was looking a bit sparse) and one of them was definitely quite mouldy. Will it be ok? Or should I not risk planting into it? OH said "well you'd plant into horse poo!" 

kimwp

kiss_me_now9 said:

I sorted out the veg bed last night. Cardboard laid, then put some pine cones/needles that had rotted down in the corner of the garden over the top and then covered with a couple of inches of compost. It's not pretty and it's not got any sides but hopefully it'll be better for the plants I eventually put in it. 

OH has put my peas, onion + shallot sets and potatoes somewhere and I don't know where that is so I'm trying not to fuss about them for now. I need to get some more compost as I used all we had on refreshing the bed. 

I am slightly worried as I... ermm... found a couple of bags of old compost in the back of the shed to put on the veg bed (it was looking a bit sparse) and one of them was definitely quite mouldy. Will it be ok? Or should I not risk planting into it? OH said "well you'd plant into horse poo!" 

That sounds very industrious! When will that be ready for planting?