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

Primrose

Mrs McCawber - fantastic display! Bet you are daily checking on progress. I've found that when growing veggies in containers, it gives them a real fertility boost in mid summer to fork in a few chicken manure pellets into the containers. This is when they're all growing most strongly and it helps compensate depleting nutrients which will be getting low if you've used compost from Growbags to fill your containers.

hathor

Most impressed by your patio - we have a balcony only.
I've never been interested in gardening before, but financial embarrassment has pushed us into trying to grow some veg & herbs this year.
I see you have some crops in what look like plastic storage crates, and would like your advice:
Do you put holes in the bases of the crates?
Do you put gravel or similar at the bottom for drainage?
Do you raise the crates a little bit off the ground so that said drained water can get out?
Sorry if these seem obvious things to you, but I've never even grown mustard & cress before and am desparate to get it right.
So far there are 2 tomato plants, some onion & spring onion seeds, rocket seeds, herb seeds, carrot seeds on the balcony and carrot, tomato, radish and more herbs growing from seed in little pots on the window ledge (inside).

MRSMCAWBER

Hi there Hathor

I resorted to the collapsible crates when i was getting desperate for more things to grow in -have got a bit carried away:rotfl:
I got hubby to line the sides with cardboard to stop the compost falling out and it also helps retain the moisture.....but not the bottom.. and to be honest i havent added and gravel into the bottom as most things in there are things that don't have deep roots like lettuce, raddish etc... the water does escape through the bottom as i have some melons growing in 1 in the tent thing... and when i have given them loads of water it has run out .... so you don't need to raise them off the floor either :T

If you think i can help with anything else just let me know and if i don't know the answer i can lways ask my lovely mum

hathor

Thanks so much for that; I feel somewhat reassured. I am growing in plastic washing up bowls with holes in the base, but they just stand on the floor.
I was thinking of starting a couple of pepper plants and have dried out the seeds from some peppers on a sunny window ledge.
I was just about to put some in a pot to germinate for putting out on the balcony later - I'm in Cornwall, so the climate is quite mild - when I was told you have to keep seeds like this for a year before putting them out.
Is this true, and if so, why? Seems a bit strange to me, but as I say, I know nothing! Could I plant seeds from a butternut squash as well?

Oh, and I only just noticed the bit at the foot of your post: congratulations on the weight loss. You must be one determined lady; I am in awe.

MRSMCAWBER

hi there

Thanks for the congrats on the weight loss..i'm getting there

You don't have to dry the pepper seeds... i tipped 8 straight into a small cottage cheese tub filled with compost (with holes in the bottom)..covered them over and kept spraying them to keep moist in a sunny window .. and all 8 made it ... in fact they germinated better than the packet seeds .. If you have a clear lid..pop it over them until the break the surface and then take it off so they don't rot... and i potted mine into bigger pots once they had the 1st pair of proper leaves on...

You can do the same with tomatoes out of the fridge too and chillies;) .. great as you can buy a small pack of good quality tomatoes and grow extras :dance: i have done it with several varieties this year

I haven't tried doing it with butternuts..only because my mum sent me some seeds ... but i don't see why it wouldn't work....

I have started some pak choi, salad leaves in old washing up bowls too in fact if it isn't nailed down and it looks like it might hold compost it is in danger in this house :rotfl:

Primrose

Hathor - you can use tomato, pepper, chilli, cucumber and squash seeds virtually straight away. I usually just dry them out for 24 hours on a piece of kitchen tissue paper to get rid of the "squishy" coating and then plant. It saves money on buying packets of seeds when you only need a few of each type. Be warned about squash seeds though. Sometimes the fruits don't always grow true to type, and this also applies to other vegetables if they are known as an F1 hybrid, but generally you can get away with using seeds from shop bought vegetables, or alternatively save your own from previous year's growth.

comping_cat

Primrose wrote: »

Hathor - you can use tomato, pepper, chilli, cucumber and squash seeds virtually straight away. I usually just dry them out for 24 hours on a piece of kitchen tissue paper to get rid of the "squishy" coating and then plant. It saves money on buying packets of seeds when you only need a few of each type. Be warned about squash seeds though. Sometimes the fruits don't always grow true to type, and this also applies to other vegetables if they are known as an F1 hybrid, but generally you can get away with using seeds from shop bought vegetables, or alternatively save your own from previous year's growth.

Sorry if i sound stupid, but what does 'grow to type' mean? Would you still be able to eat something that is a hybrid?

MRSMCAWBER

hi catowen..

Im not following you honestly :rotfl:

It just means that you may not get exactly the same variety of tomato etc that you expect.... they are still fine to eat..
If you grow packet seeds that are F1... and save the seeds from your crops to sew next year it could be that when they were first grown they may have been growing next to another variety..so may actually be a cross strain.. so its sometimes a bit of a lucky dip... but still edible and it just adds to the excitement of waiting to see what you get

I grow from seeds i have saved from tomatoes etc and have never had a problem yet...

misspenny

mrs mcawber my stepdad can beat you, he has a washing up bowl mini pond on his plot, every year he takes frog spawn from the big pond in the garden and puts a bit in then it grows into slug killers to roam free on the allotment

comping_cat

MRSMCAWBER wrote: »

hi catowen..

Im not following you honestly :rotfl:

It just means that you may not get exactly the same variety of tomato etc that you expect.... they are still fine to eat..
If you grow packet seeds that are F1... and save the seeds from your crops to sew next year it could be that when they were first grown they may have been growing next to another variety..so may actually be a cross strain.. so its sometimes a bit of a lucky dip... but still edible and it just adds to the excitement of waiting to see what you get

I grow from seeds i have saved from tomatoes etc and have never had a problem yet...

Thank you!!!! This is my first proper year attempting to grow anything really (last years carrots were a disaster, and we had enough potatoes for about 2 meals, but it was a start, and im much better prepared now!!!) and im always buying butternut squash, so this weeks ive kept the seeds, so im going to attempt to grow them now!!