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

Primrose

On the question of thinning out seedlings, I think this largely depends on how much space you've got available and how well manured and full of humus your soil is. I don't have a huge vegetable patch and am greedy to grow as much as possible in the space available, so tend to manure it well and grow things much closer together than recommended spacing. Lettuces, spinach, Swiss chard, beetroot are all only about four/five inches away from each other.Leeks are 6 inches apart. Broccoli grows tall so the minimum I would recommend is 10 - 12 inches. Lettuces can be grown quite close together if you use the outer leaves as "cut & come again" types. Even my tomatoes are planted only 12 inches apart, and climbing beans about 6 inches.

noonesperfect

paintpot wrote: »

Hi

I watch this post avidly to pick up tips and admire everyone's veggie patches so if anyone can help I'd appreciate it as it's my first attempt.

I am delighted that I have courgettes growing however they are all round, about the size of a normal tomato at the moment - never seen round courgettes before, will they become long

All my other veggies are growing, I have carrots, raddish, brocolli, spinach, rocket, beetroot, baby sweetcorn and various lettuces (I went a bit mad :rotfl: ) however I am bit worried about the spacing. If I don't thin them out enough I am worried that they will stop growing but I don't want to reduce my potential crop too much. Any advice on how to thin and how much to thin?

thanks and happy growing everyone, keep up the good work. I can't stop looking at mine as every day I see changes :j

I'm as bad, I go and inspect mine "crops" at least twice a day!!

This is a good website for straightforward advice, I refer to it alot.
http://www.rhs.org.uk/vegetables/crops/marrow.asp

KAAT_LADY

kazwookie wrote: »

Oh dear, I have just been to a well known auction site, and now have a bid on a greenhouse! :rotfl:

You lot really do have some thing to answer for!:T

I have been waiting to hear if you were sucessful:j in you bid and do you now have a greenhouse

kazwookie

Kaat

There is another day to go, auction closes / end Monday at 10pm or there abouts, I'll be back to let you know how I get on. If I do win, it then needs dismantling and collecting!

KAAT_LADY

kazwookie wrote: »

Kaat

There is another day to go, auction closes / end Monday at 10pm or there abouts, I'll be back to let you know how I get on. If I do win, it then needs dismantling and collecting!

If you would like any help:rotfl: dismantling:rotfl: and collecting.:rotfl: please dont call as I am too old now
Are you still in with a chance then

hathor

Well, I’ve been a busy girl this week-end!

I’ve made up some self-watering crates, filled with magic mix and planted out. I’ve put a tagetes in each for pest control (read that somewhere, although I’ve forgotten which pest they repel! ) then added purple sprouting – I was told they’re not suitable for containers, but I couldn’t bring myself to throw them away, even though I only paid 20p for 9 – also savoy cabbages, broad beans, Moneymaker & Marmande tomatoes (both raised from seed on the window ledge), and some pepper plants (also raised from seed).

I’ve also thinned out the carrots. I was horrified at how many I had sown and have promised myself to sow them more thinly next time, even if I have to use tweezers! Again, I couldn’t bear to bin them straight away, so I’ve transplanted some, in the hope that they might survive the upheaval. The way I look at it, if they don’t make it, I’m no worse off than if I’d binned the thinnings or thinned them by pinching out the tops, so it’s just cost me a couple of hours’ labour, and I might get a few extra carrots!

That just leaves the “strawberry jar” thingy to plant up with herbs, which I was about to do, when I read that different herbs like different conditions, many of them even like to struggle, so the magic mix I was going to fill the pot with would probably be too good & rich for herbs. Maybe when I’ve worked out which herbs need poor soil and which don’t, I can establish little micro-climates in the pot, using poor soil in the pockets for those that like it, and magic mix for the rest. I’ve got some sharp sand to blend with the good stuff to “weaken” it.

The only snag is: I promised myself I wasn’t going to put much out on the balcony till after the painters had done my bit (the exterior of my building is being painted at the moment) so my pots etc wouldn’t be in the way, but I seem to have got a bit carried away. I’ll just have to hope they do my bit soon, before the tomatoes & beans get too big and have to be supported, so I can bring things into the apartment out of the way. Rather than buy canes, I was planning on tying climbers to the railings for support, which will be a bit of a problem when the man with the black gloss paint comes around, methinks! At least once it’s done, they won’t be back for five years, so I can turn my thoughts to planting seeds for veg to be harvested next year.

There’s a lot of brain-work in this here gardening lark, isn’t there? Not sure I’m up to that…. Best cheat & follow you folks, I think.

MRSMCAWBER

Afternoon all

Just had to pop back as i have pulled up a few of my first potatoes today :T and even more exciting...my asparagus peas have decided to produce buds at last:j they have lovely deep rusty red flowers apparently..can't wait
oooohhhh and i have flowers on the melons too..ok they are male so far..but its a start :rotfl:
hope everyone elses gardens/potios are coming along nicely ..we have had 4 or 5 days of on and off rain and no fierce sun -so everything is going into overdrive ..

bexbex

here's a few of what I'm growing..

Just shows how easy it is.. I have a 3 year old son, 3 cats and a puppy who also share the garden and yet can still manage to get good results from the veg and fruits..


Strawberries in hanging basket, planted this year (from wilkos)





Mixed salad leaves, great for just picking a few to have on a sandwich.
Also some baby carrot sih the same toy box, mainly for the rabbits as a treat.





Tomatos growing everywhere!
In my upsidedown coke bottle too hanging off the fence, doing very well and is getting it's flowers on it now








Swede and beetroots






Standard Apple tree






Courgettes









Herbs





Spring onions






yum

Also have chillies growing in the conservatory and peppers in there too

zarazara

I'd love to, .........but.......................the slugs have eaten nearly everything. only things they've left are the potatoes and onions.

hathor

Bexbex

Did I understand you correctly, that you have a tomato plant growing in an upside-down Coke bottle? (Sorry, it's a bit difficult to see in your pic. I'm a bit dim!)

Oops! On second viewing, you're using the bottle like an topsy-turvey planter (also not cheap) and growing the tomato through the bottle top, aren't you? Silly me.

What a great idea: they're much the same shape as those flower tube thingies that people pay a fortune for, with a ready-made drainage hole at the base, and one thing less for the bin man! Well done you. :T