Beginners, what lessons have you learnt?

irishwexford

I have learnt what emerging carrots and parsnips look like. I asked a fellow allotment holder to show me and realized I have pulled some up as I thought they were weeds. Peas will need netting next year as birds have eaten them but everything else is going fine in our first year with allotment. We are now eating potatoes, cabbages, radishes and caulies and very nice they taste too. This is the time when its all been worth it when you see the amount of veggies waiting to be eaten. Leeks, runner beans and sweetcorn I grew from seeds in a mini greenhouse, also tomatoes and french beans. I have so many salad leaves growing we just cannot get through them fast enough. I am looking forward to raspberries, strawberries and rhurbarb next year and will be busy planning out the site this winter. We love it.:D

tomsolomon

A good gardener knows his weeds.......:D

BUBBLES_3

For a continuous supply of lettuce, sow more seeds at the same time that you plant out your seedlings into the plot!

C1aire

If I spend ages bending over my new raised bed with my nose pressed to the soil searching for signs of life, nothing grows and I will get a bad back. If I go do something else, everything starts sprouting in the blink of an eye :rotfl:

MissMuppet

I've learnt that I always need more compost, to be more patience, not to be afraid of the bees and to ask questions... My step mum is gutted that all my crop seems to be thriving and her being a gardener for years is having so much trouble.

And be better organised for next year... I moved house right around the time things needed to be sowed!

ironed_out

I've learnt that I didn't need to sow that whole packet of black cherry tomatoes 'just in case'
Also that blackfly love broad bean plants and I need to pinch the top 10 cms out to discourage them.
I've also learnt that sowing parsnip seeds in loo roll inners and giving up on them pays off in the end! I now have 12 plants about 2 months after sowing them....they are so slow to germinate.

AND I've learnt that there is no better feeling than picking your own veg for the first time.:j

Fern_Merkin

C1aire wrote: »

If I spend ages bending over my new raised bed with my nose pressed to the soil searching for signs of life, nothing grows and I will get a bad back. If I go do something else, everything starts sprouting in the blink of an eye :rotfl:

Did that with my radishes, suddenly I had 15! (small 2x1ft planter)
And every one ws tasty! (many more to come!)

I've learnt that you need to give them what they need. By all means try other ways of doing things, you never know but generally, 'give them what they need' works.

JX

SEE

I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m also learning about quantity.
I planted 12 dwarf peas, 9 broad beans, and 12 runner beans, but the way they crop means I should have sown twice as many. Sharing a tablespoon of peas between 3 isn’t much fun, especially when I insist on having half:D In fact the pea thing is a real opener when you’re used to pouring them out of a bag from the freezer. It’s a real education knowing that they’re not all ripe at the same time, and I suppose it’s the same with tomatoes, although I did sow way to many tomatoes, and gave tons of plants away.

This week I've had 4lb of new potatoes, and 2 yummy strawberries from the garden:D

frivolous_fay

I've learned that wherever you plant something... the slugs will find it
And that you shouldn't put neat tomato feed on tomatoes unless you want them to die. Or chillis
And that herbs prefer the windowsill to the patio
And that blackbirds will dig things up for no good reason, even when there's nothing edible
And that oregano is tougher than you'd think once you get it past the pathetic little seedling stage.. plsu the slugs don't eat it (spot the only pot on my patio with something green in it)
And that wild strawberries don't get eaten by slugs and they look after themselves and don't die like pretty much everything else

BabyKat

i have learned not to sow a whole packet of seds at once cause they all grew...lol
What i use and what to plant more of next year.
To sow everything that little bit earlier
I have been lucky as hubby made me a cold frame and put more shelves in my greenhouse for next year so thats done
I have really enjoyed doing my little gardent his year and i take great pleasure in all the things being grown in the garden...flowers and veg ...are all grown by me from seed.