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

KajiKita

@ladybird1106, not quite on your scale, but I did take a piece of parsley from the clumps in the greenhouse to use in the side salad for our curry last night 😊

K.k

Prudent

Can I join please? I am very new to all of this. Last year OH and I had a quarter plot which was completely overgrown with heavy clay soil. OH grew potatoes (earlies successful, main crop less so), I grew courgettes (in abundance!, peas, beans, radishes, salad leaves, sweet peas and strawberries. I started off some leeks in a seed bed there but when we were given a full , very overgrown, plot I transplanted the leeks there. 

We got the full plot in the summer and in the autumn we put up a polytunnel and a shed. The shed was a freebie and is a bit flimsy but we couldn't afford anything else at the time. We also have some compost bins (one bought, the rest given), a water butt, some potato pots and a few raised beds that I bought cheaply in a sale. Hoping to make more of a go of things this year with the extra space. The soil on this plot is much better too. The only downside is that one side of the plot is very shaded. 

ArbitraryRandom

Prudent said:

The only downside is that one side of the plot is very shaded. 

I'm not sure what you want to grow, but some strawberry varieties can do quite well in shade (some prefer it), as can less sweet fruits like raspberries, blackberries, cooking cherries - then less common options like gooseberry and damsons, and depending on space crab apple or cobnut (which depending on variety can be grown in a large tub)  

ladybird1106

Harvested leeks from the plot. Went and collected our rotary sieve to make our own fine compost. We have been very disappointed with garden centre compost the last couple of years and they are not cheap to buy anymore. Not alot else to report other than it's super muddy up there. 
Love 🐞

ancientmum

I went to the plot for an hour today before the wind and rain came in.  Pruned the blackcurrant bushes, and chopped up small twigs to put into the spaces of the pieces of pallet round the compost heap. They won't easily break down but provide habitat for some tiny creatures. The bigger branches I will use for pea sticks.

DD265

Rescued a hedgehog from the allotment yesterday - saw on the wildlife camera that it was coming out mid afternoon and very small, so I waited 2 hours in the (unheated!) greenhouse before it put in an appearance and I scooped it up. Checked the camera footage again today to see another hog out around 3.45pm (missed it by 20 mins) - but this one looks OK size wise so will leave it be unless we happen to stumble across it.

I've moved the feeder to be closer to the houses, so the hedgehogs don't have so far to travel, and cut back some of the brambles to allow better access; the second house is a bit in the way of the original route critters were taking. I've not seen the foxes for a few days, but hoping they just don't like the change and will come back soon.

Yesterday's rescue



And the one I just missed (before I moved the feeding station nearer to the houses)



I've sorted and moved my compost bin today. It's one of those daleks, and it blew off recently so I had a little tidying up to do. Not entirely convinced it'll be there tomorrow, but we shall see. I also fed the garlic, except none of it has put in an appearance. I'm hoping it's just slow (I planted 10th December) given the water-logging and then the cold. Normally I don't plant it until spring, but at least that's still an option if these fail.

Zero progress on the shed - ground was simply too hard - and we've not had the opportunity to go down together and decide where to put it. I've tasked OH with getting me another pallet collar this week so I can finish my last raspberry bed though. I also planted a load of bulbs in bulb baskets, but need to get them in the ground when the opportunity arises.

If only work wouldn't keep getting in the way!

sammy_kaye18

Room for another (not so little) one?


What do you like to grow? I usually grow the basic things we eat. I don't have an allotment so I am focusing on using my garden at the minute for our crops. I have previously grown lettuce, rocket, radish, courgette, cucumbers, strawberries, potatoes, peas, runner beans and carrots but I'm hoping to expand this year. 

Are you going to try anything different this year? Well I now have two larger dogs who I caught eating my produce last year so this year I will be making a fenced in area for my growing to try and deter them from that. Strawberries seem to be a favorite of theirs apparently! I have brought some seeds to try - sweetcorn, broccoli, and more flowers. Also I need to get better with succession planting. 

Did you try anything different last year? Did you like it? Would you grow it again? I did try a different type of cucumber last year which I found out was more a pickling cucumber as opposed to a salad cucumber so I think Ill go back to the other ones since we prefer it. I have also picked up a few types of tomatoes to try, and chilli's that I hope to dry and store. 

Do you have any tips for growing? Planning, research and ask questions. If you don't know something, ask. There are no stupid questions and lots of gardeners have more experience and can offer advice and solutions. They are all trying to teach (you will find the odd pill box) but most of them are lovely. 

Do you make anything with what you grow? I store a lot and everything I grow is things we eat. If there is any surplus etc then we have a guinea pig and a vegetarian neighbor :-) 

How much does growing your own save you? I would say a fair bit. I was diagnosed diabetic so have been eating more veg. Potatoes alone saved us a small fortune last year and fresh salad is always nice. 

I have chased up our local allotment department within the council. I put my name down back in about 2005 and was told a year later that I was 12th on the list......I checked with them two weeks ago and I am now 7th! So I am not holding out for an allotment any time soon but keeping my fingers firmly crossed! 

Well done on your rescue @DD265 I have a stack of hedge clippings behind my shed that I want to move but I'm hesitant in case there is a small furry buried down for the winter in there so I will leave it for now and focus on it in spring / summer when it will be vacant hopefully. 

Christianne1957

De-lurking to ask if anyone knows when Lidl will start stocking seeds this year please?

ladybird1106

Trip to the plot, asparagus bed weeded, add some compost and then put protective netting back. DH repaired some of the asparagus bed edging as its starting to rot. Started putting compost on the rhubarb bed but ran out of energy. Collected seed potatoes etc from local transition town potato day. 18p per potato. 3 types of early, 2 type of second early and 4 types of mains. Looking forward to try the new types. Seieved 2 bags of homemade compost when we got back home.
Love 🐞

KajiKita

Need to track down some seed potatoes. The word is spuds are going to be in short supply this year due to weather conditions. Just told Mr KK I’d like to pop in the garden centre on our way home from the tip this afternoon and he rollled his eyes at me! 😂😂