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

nmaria

alicef said:

@nmaria - I love your grapes and I'm very impressed that you get a crop outdoors!  We have some vines in the polytunnel and my OH makes wine every year, (though I understand he does mix our grapes in with a 'kit').

I have been rather lazy and now am a bit guilt-ridden as I've only started pruning and I have stuffed a bin once again over my poor rhubarb.

I have never tried to make wine.
we get around 150 bunches every year and eat them from beginning of October till the frost kicks in. 

alicef

nmaria said:

I have never tried to make wine.
we get around 150 bunches every year and eat them from beginning of October till the frost kicks in. 

Is your grape a seedless variety?  We have a generic purple skin muscat grape and 2 green skin grapes, (can't remember the cultivars), but they aren't seedless and whilst the green skin grapes taste very nice I don't like the pips. Though it's got me thinking, and having had a google there are seedless cultivars - might be able to squeeze another grape into the tunnel!   

Suffolk_lass

Ooh, good reminder to pop the forcing pot over the early rhubarb (don't ask what variety, it was put in (by me) 18 years ago and I foolishly made no record) the other crowns were dug up at my Mum's in Scotland. No idea what this is but it is a good sturdy crop (whereas the early stuff is relatively spindly and pink, by comparison, but deliciously sweet). We have some spent mushroom compost that needs to go on around the crowns now I can see the pink bobbles of new growth. I always wait for these before adding the compost as you must not cover them. It is traditional to feed them in January and err, if we do it today, we will have done so!

I can't remember who recently said they hated rhubarb but new season, sweet, mild rhubarb is a delight. The stronger tasting later season stuff? I totally get why that might put some off. And if Grannie's rhubarb, harvested too late with red stripes down it, in the mistaken belief that this would be fine (and children were starving so you had to eat it), is your only experience of rhubarb, no wonder it put you off!

alicef

My garlic in pots have thrown up shoots.  I have potted up the broad beans that showed signs of an emerging tap root, (some of my seed is a bit long in the tooth - so I like to pre-germinate on damp paper towel before allocating my precious store of toilet roll inners to planting up).  I have emptied a couple of packets of sweet pea seed onto damp paper towel.   I tidied the potting shed and cleaned another propagator.

Other than that it is pruning ... and more pruning.

ladybird1106

Didn't manage a trip to the plot as the weather was naff. Opened up the kitchen table, spread old dog towels over it and set to sowing. Chillies, peppers, basil, aubergine and onions done. Propagaters on for those that need it. Hopefully in 2 weeks I can move them on ready for the tomatoes. 
Love 🐞

ladybird1106

Windy day but at least it was dry. Managed to get last asparagus bed cleared of weeds. Harvested psb, kale, brussel sprouts, leeks, celeriac and parsnip for tea😋.
Love 🐞

KajiKita

My onions have germinated 😊🌱

KK

Jillburrage

Just home with my Lidl seed haul, most packets just 29p or 49p ( even cheaper when bought in multiples of 4) tried these out last year and wasnt expecting much at that price but they far excelled all my other big brand seeds

kiss_me_now9

Popped to the nursery today before messy play (glad we didn't go after... what a disaster XD) and picked up some seed potatoes, some shallots, onion sets and peas to try. I also grabbed some more compost so I can get the beds prepared with the cardboard I've acquired too. 

As a vegetarian, I should like a lot more vegetables but I actually can't stand beans, peas, sweetcorn or many other 'easy growers' (though I do love tomatoes, courgette and cucumbers). As my LO is going to be eating more and more though I want to have fresh veggies from the garden for him. He loves being outside in nature so I think as he gets older he'll start to enjoy seeing the fruits of the labour too. 

I'm thinking something like this - 

In the greenhouse: 
Tomatoes x 4 in pots this year (to refresh the compost) 
2 x cucumbers (one salad, one mini) and an aubergine in the old tomato bed in the greenhouse
Potatoes x 3 in sacks in the green house (?) 
Cape gooseberries x 2 in pots in the greenhouse
Shallots and onions in next to the existing garlic in the outside bed
Courgette x 2 next to the shallots/onions/garlic
Peas and beans with companion plants underneath in extension of the veg bed
Lettuce mix in pots sequentially in greenhouse
My one strawberry plant will remain in it's pot (or maybe get an upgrade)

Not going to bother with peppers, chili peppers, squash or pumpkins this year. I never have much luck with herbs either much to my sadness. I might try basil and lavender in pots again though. 

sammy_kaye18

Hello All
Took a bit of a step away form the computer and social media for a bit of self care/mental health check but I am sat here itching to get planting but the weather here in South Wales is very temperamental at the minute. 

My greenhouse si still collapsed. The frame is there and reinforced with tape on the joins and a pallet base but I havent put the cover back on yet because I bet as soon as I do we will get another storm roll in and it will all get ripped so I am trying to figure out when to do it. 

I did have a nice delivery today though of some flower bulbs that it says to put in the ground Feb - march so I will get a load of those in before long in some no dig small beds around the garden in the hopes to encourage some more pollinators to my garden. 

Also my mini gala apple tree arrived and is just settling herself before I re-pot her into a bigger tub. 

Also have a box full of seeds as part of a grow along method on IG that I'm hoping to follow. Already looking at ways to store harvests in the future. 

Also thank you @DD265 I managed to get some potatoes. I went for Charlotte, Maris piper and duke of York and got them from the budget seeds site along with a load of sweet pea seeds as well so I'm just waiting on them arriving now. 

Also had some little propagator pots turn up so I will be planting my chilli's and peppers this week to start on the kitchen windowsill. 

Roll on warmer temps when I can get out and tackle the garden. I do need to fence off my veg growing area though because I found out last year that my dogs quite like peas, courgettes and strawberries! 

Also my MIL gave me 6 large recycling boxes and 4 small trough planters to use as growing containers so I have a nice amount of growing space this year already!