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

GreenBucket24

Glad seeing your post Dizzy_Ditzy. More power to you.

kiss_me_now9

-taff said:

first early - takes 10 to twelve weeks to be ready

second early - takes 12 to 14 weeks to be ready

maincrop - takes 14 to 16 weeks to be ready.

don't worry, I learned that this week....after 20 years of growing veg...to be fair though, i didn't grow potatoes that often, only in the last five years...

Thanks, do they all go in at the same time? My first earlies haven't chitted as well as my second earlies, which look like they're desperate to get in the ground. 

-taff

they can, or you can leave the ones that a shorter time a bit later if you see what I mean. Personally, I'm in the no chit camp, I can never remember to do it at the right time so I just stick them in and hope for the best...

got to admit though, I'm in the making things easy on myself school too so I do no dig, no pesticides, feed comes from tomorite or the compost bins or comfrey/weeds. if bugs appear, I let them unless it's a massive infestation and I compost my blighted tomato stems....because I like to flirt with danger...

Suffolk_lass

I rely on the soil being post-frost rather than the growth on the potatoes, although they do sit on the kitchen window sill in their egg boxes. Some varieties really don't chit like you expect. We had frost here yesterday, so I'm waiting a week.

My sweetpeas were being pulled out as soon as they were shooting in my cold greenhouse, so they are outdoors with a cloche now. I'll have a few to attract pollinators to my beans.

All the tomatoes except one have needed potting on. They are taking up lots of space and I need to get the greenhouse cleaned so the spiders and other gribblies are reduced before they outgrow their cloches 

kiss_me_now9

Really appreciate the potato tips, thanks. I'm planning to experiment with different containers for them this year. I've previously done them in the ground or in potato sacks but have seen some people on social media doing them in buckets, tubs, trugs, pots, lots of different things! Which suits my lower maintenance ideas for the garden this year. 

We have some tomato germination and my aubergines are starting to put out their true leaves I'll leave the aubergines inside until we're well and truly frost free. I've been keeping an eye on the greenhouse temperature recently and it's still going down to <9C overnight so only sweet peas and some hopeful lettuce in there atm (probably a mistake with the lettuce...). My sweet peas look great though  

It's a lovely day today and little one is at nursery so I'm planning to get a few bits done this afternoon. My peas did nothing so I will restart them and also put some broad beans in too (if I can find my seeds... if not I know our local Tesco and Lidl are selling them and I need to pop there anyway, not as cheap as a garden centre but otherwise it's a 15 minute drive and 'big' job to get the seeds which puts me off doing it). 

I will need to go to the garden centre eventually to buy some more pots though... somehow 6 dahlia tubers fell into my shopping basket last night and are on their way to me now. Not sure how that happened. A mystery! A couple of years ago I had about 15 Dahlia tubers but unfortunately when I was pregnant they completely slipped my mind and after I pulled them up I left them in the greenhouse over winter and they've all got frost bitten and died. They belong to the giant spiders that live on the bottom of our greenhouse potting shed pallet now. 

TracyS66

Went to a garden center yesterday and got some tomatoes plants all different ones, planning to plant them this weekend along with my potatoes, if the weather allows me to get in the garden!
I have 2 tubs for the potatoes and the tomatoes will go in my raised bed next to the already planted onions, I have to leave enough room for lettuce and some rocket so I hope I remember to!!
I have a tub that has one of last years old potatoes in it, who knows I might get something from it. It is growing,,,,
Fingers crossed for a bit of a dry spell over the Easter weekend.

Farway

TracyS66 said:

Went to a garden center yesterday and got some tomatoes plants all different ones, planning to plant them this weekend along with my potatoes, if the weather allows me to get in the garden!
I have 2 tubs for the potatoes and the tomatoes will go in my raised bed next to the already planted onions, I have to leave enough room for lettuce and some rocket so I hope I remember to!!
I have a tub that has one of last years old potatoes in it, who knows I might get something from it. It is growing,,,,
Fingers crossed for a bit of a dry spell over the Easter weekend.

I don't know where you live, but tomatoes outside in UK now is death sentence.

Every year retailers sell them for Easter, knowing they'll be dead & you'll be back for more by Whitsun

-taff

@kiss_me_now9 there is a variety of lettuce called reine de glace [ I think it's that] that will stand even in snow. Might be worth looking for that.

I'm in agreement re the toms outside. They should be ok in a cold frame or greenhouse though, the leaves tend to go a bit purple underneath in the cold but they shouldn't die. Outside though...I'd be giving them last rites...

Suffolk_lass

@TracyS66 I would nurture your tomatoes for at least a couple more weeks; putting them outdoors during the day and bringing them in overnight as they will be tender (ie indoor raised) and if the temperature dips again, they will wilt and die - you need to harden them off.

In addition, personally I never plant tomatoes in the ground, always in pots or grow bags as they are the same family as potatoes and prone to the same disease groups. It is always fresh bought compost here for them, and the spent compost goes on the flower beds, not the veg beds. 

kiss_me_now9

Finally got my shallots and onion sets into the ground today. Went to the outhouse after I'd planted them to get something else and when I returned to our little veg plot (at the other end of the garden) a cheeky little squirrel was running away rather rapidly and a few of the sets had definitely been disturbed! I didn't even consider they might be seen as a free snack  Hopefully he doesn't eat all of them!