Show Us Your Veg Patch - You Know You Want To!! (Merged Thread)

Mr_Warren_2

Just found out this morning how to up-load pictures so will bore you with all my photies from now on. This is a view on this rainy morning, of my still on-going project to build a greenhouse as replacement to the 40 year old lady that stood there before. I did not use any plans/drawings etc so dimensions were "what they were" but luckily it ended up ok using standard dimension greenhouse glass panels. I have recovered 12 pieces 16" x 24" glass of the roof from the old greenhouse and worked around that dimension for the outsides. The center piece luckily worked at 24" which is also a standard greenhouse glass dimension.
The main wooden frame was recycled from packing cases we received at work (had to work at removing all the nails but the wood was in excellent condition). Just finished to glaze the roof and part of the walls yesterday and could not stop myself bringing in the tomatoes, peppers and cucumber plants recently purchased.

I was very lucky to have the wood for nothing and estimate the overall cost of this project to be £200 when it is all completed sometime this week)

Mr_Warren_2

PS: behing the greenhouse are my two raised beds with first earlies, cabbage from last year still consumed as spring greens. Chive grows to the right of the photo and mint at the bottom of said pic, to the left of the greenhouse door. I will add 2 other tomatoe plants later this week and plant salds (Cos and Red leaves) when am done with the glazing.

Primrose

Congratulations and well done on a splendid effort! Your new structure looks very solid and will hopefully last as long as its predecessor, as well as withstanding all the winter gales. Bet you can't wait to get the glazing finished so you can stuff it full of nice veggies to eat.

mary43

MrsMacawber - thanks for that info. Maybe I can talk him into two tubs of carrots ! We eat a lot of them so it would make sense.
Hope we're not too late for spinach...........haven't even got the seeds yet

Mr_Warren_2

lbt wrote: »

Is there anything you can do to stop things from going to seed? My coriander went to seed pretty quickly. I have spinach in - planted from seedlings - and I really don't want it to run to seed to quickly if there is something I can do to prevent it.

To stop coriander/carrots etc going to seed, you must keep soil moist at all time (either by watering or mulching). The carrots/corriander will start seeding as a survival reaction to drought.

KAAT_LADY

I wish someone would let me know how to upload photos as I am getting frustrated trying

hathor

Hi folks

Just got back from the shops where I succumbed to temptation and bought a strawberry plant in a pot for £2.99. It's a fragaria ostara - whatever that means - and stands about 9 inches above the potting medium, ready-staked, in a pot 5 and a half inches diameter by 7 inches tall, and already has some flowers on it. I thought this was a bit extravagant, given that you can buy a small plant for 79p, but reasoned that it was worth the extra for being so tall and already having flowers. Then when I was Googling for info, found one of the same variety - on clearance, no less - for £12.99, which made me feel a lot better on the reckless spending front!

A look at the IKEA-style card with it - ie all pictograms and very few words, in 5 languages - suggests it should be well watered into a waiting hole in the ground, but as I only have a balcony, no can do. Does this mean it will have to go into a big new pot more or less straight away (next weekend will be the earliest as I can't get any more potting compost till then) or will it be happy enough in its present pot? If it has to be re-potted, what's the smallest size you think I could get away with?

If I'm interpreting the pictograms correctly, I think the card says it will flower in May, and fruit from June to October. Is this right?

It also says "perpetual fruiting". Not a clue what that means; clearly not "perpetual" in the same way that my sideboard is a "perpetual" harbourer of dust! Does it mean that the same plant will fruit again for a few years, perhaps?

I think the card tells me to feed it in March: does this mean it won't need any further feeding until then, apart from the extra nutrients it would get from re-potting?

So far I have just watered it, as it was looking a bit droopy (hot & sunny here today) and put it on the kitchen windowledge, which gets full sun in the morning till about 12-ish, but it will be going outside on the balcony on the other side of the building where there is potential sunall afternoon/evening.

What do you think? Will I get home-grown strawaberries this year?

mary43

I'm no expert but as far as I can remember, when our neighbour gave us ours some years back, the fruit followed the flowers and just kept coming and coming.
This year the flowers are bigger and OH is saying that means we'll get bigger fruit..............don't know whether thats wishful thinking on his part though.

[Deleted User]

KAAT_LADY ~ you need to upload your pics into www.photobucket.com first and copy the 'direct link' address of the picture (it's displayed under each picture).

Then come over here and in the reply page you'll see a square yellow icon with mountains, click on it and paste your link. Hey presto! :beer:

[Deleted User]

Mr Warren, what a fabulous job, it looks very solid!