The all new 2019 growing your own thread!

Dizzy_Ditzy · 2 January 2019 at 9:11PM

Welcome to the new ups and downs of growing your own!

Everyone is welcome. Come and tell us about your growing shenanigans

What do you like to grow?

Are you going to try anything different this year?

Did you try anything different last year? Did you like it? Would you grow it again?

Do you have any tips for growing?

Do you make anything with what you grow?

How much does growing your own save you?

I'll use this post for links that folks might find useful. If you want something adding in, please just let me know

There's a fab Facebook group called "Allotment Club - Mind your peas and cues" I'm not affiliated to it in any way but it's a fab little group. It's a closed group but is worth looking up if you're on Facebook. Or there is a fab group called "The allotment shed"

[purplesignup][/purplesignup]

Dizzy_Ditzy · 2 January 2019 at 9:22PM

I've decided that two plots on two sites with a full time job is just too much so I've applied to the council to get a plot on the chicken site. There's one I've got my eye on so I'm hoping that I'll get it quite soon I'm already making plans for it there is a lot of work needs doing to that plot but with two of us there daily because of the chickens it shouldn't be too difficult to do

This is last years first update - I've swapped plots now so we have pretty much one big plot :j oh how much easier we are already finding it! Within two weeks of signing the agreement I had cabbages planted in and they are ready now. Fruit cage frame is up but we still need to wire/net it. That won't need doing until around the spring time so there isn't any big rush.

Winter onions are in, garlic is in, raspberries are in and it's nearly all dug over ready for this years goings on

Kantankrus_Mare · 3 January 2019 at 10:03AM

Hello. :j

I'm in again for the coming year. As ever, I intend to get more off my plot than I did the previous year.

I have even gone through all my seeds and put in diary the earliest date I can start sowing.;)

I have over wintering onions in, rhubarb, which I need to split one of the older plants to complete my row.

Garlic looks to be doing ok. Raspberries are awaiting the chop but I need a new pair of secateurs. Anyone have recommendations?

I bought a new contraption from B&Q for growing sweet peas and I am very impressed!! I planted the seeds November time and I have some really healthy looking plants.

One of the things I want to grow more of this year is bog standard chillies. We use lots of chillies in cooking and this year I found they freeze quite well so I need to grow more.

Every year I have a go at bell peppers without much success. Not sure if i leave it too late to get started? Dont put in big enough pots? Dont feed? I will have one last go this year.

Mange tout is something else we love but I grow without great success so will be trying that again.

Have lots of strawberry plants to fill my gaps in the 3 beds I have.

Have loads of flower seeds and along with all the bulbs I planted last year should in theory give me something to pick.

Just remembered....I have a packet of aubergine seeds. never grown them but can be sown from now. :T

I love the anticipation of the possibilities of grow your own.

My dad finally got his triple heart bypass and is in his 6th week of recovery. All went well but will be a while until he can get back involved with the allotment. I know he is itching to get back down there.

Good luck everyone. Lets make it a great year!! :j

savingpennies · 3 January 2019 at 10:31AM

I'm going to join in this year, as I would like to be self-sufficient, as least in salads and tomatoes this summer. I have a small greenhouse, three veg trugs and a tiny patch in the back garden. Fruit wise, I have raspberries growing against one fence, three cordon apples and a pear along another fence, 3 currant bushes, 2 blueberries and some strawberry plants. I've never had much of a crop (apart from raspberries) but last year I moved the blueberries and currants to give them more space and hope things will be better. I didn't get many strawberries either, so I am thinking of putting them in pots this year.

I'm really hoping I can get lots of tips on tomatoes, as I suffer from tomato envy; all my friends/neighbours are more successful than me. I try every year, and although I've not completely failed, I never seem to get many or they ripen late in the year.

I can grow beans (runner, French, broad) and courgettes. I've also successfully grown turnips and mixed salad leaves.

I also have a thriving herb patch, which gets a bit overgrown, so I need to learn how to preserve as much as possible.

So my aims for the year:
More fruit, especially soft fruit,
Lots of tomatoes,
Lettuce and salad leaves,
Salad veg - radishes, spring onions, beetroot,
turnips,
beans,
courgettes,
potatoes (in bags).
Sorry for the long post:D

spadoosh · 3 January 2019 at 10:46AM

Can i join in? Im still a newbie and struggle with organising everything. I made my first proper effort at growing last year, whilst ive always grown something its typically been a small batch of say carrots or spuds.

Last year i grew:

Strawberries
Cauliflower
Broccolli
French beans (failed miserably)
Courgette
Basil
Corriander
Lemon balm
Mint
Spinach
And squash.
Forgot my peas, they where pretty rapant

Ive got an apple tree that was potted last year and a pear tree that probably been in too small of a pot for too long and potentially dead but we'll see. The blackcurrant had its first crop last year but it amounted to about 9 berries.

Had a great time last year, was ace just sending my 2 year old down the garden to pick herself some strawberries (yeh a few plants got damaged) and amazed at how many runners they sent out, ive not tidied them up so hoping theyll be happy enough with the mild winter weve had soo far, we'll see. And the squash, just wasnt prepared for that invasion! Took over most ofthe garden never mind the growing space. Im building a squash arch this year, the plants wherent that fruitful (i dont know if you need to help pollinate but the flowers kept falling off very easily, got a few squashes out of them though) so hopefully gives more space to plant some other things.

Still on the look out for a cheap/free greenhouse, keep seeing them but can never get them in time. And i need to make sure i get some rhubarb planted this year.

Suffolk_lass · 3 January 2019 at 11:08AM

Ooh lovely new thread. I am finishing full time work for retirement on 16th Jan and have lots of ideas about growing more things. We already grow masses of gooseberries, raspberries and rhubarb, all of which I would recommend. I plan to overhaul parts of the garden and move the greenhouse so this year might be a bit strange in terms of timing and planting. The last two years we have had borlotti beans which it should be too cold for as here in East Anglia as the Springs are normally too cold and soggy. We will try again.

In the meantime I need to buy seeds.

Thrice · 3 January 2019 at 11:29AM

Morning all, can I join in please?

We have a small back garden, I've grew things in the garden and in tubs on the patio at the back door, but just not a great deal. We have grew a cherry tree from scratch though, last year we actually got nearly 2 punnets of cherries from it!! We have wild raspberries, red currrants, blackberries and gooseberries growing in the garden. Not a huge amount, not like we could make jam, but normally enough to pick and eat in the garden while I'm doing other things :rotfl: The neighbours have two apple trees which we gather from each September (ish)

I'm wanting to grow herbs this year, I need to look at doing some each week (or something) so I have an ongoing supply. When me and MrThrice plant, he tends to do 20 pots of the same thing, so we 'have loads', but I want to do some this week, some next week so we have a smaller but more constant supply.

I need to buy seeds though, I've had some for years now which probably need replaced. I'll need to sort and clean all my tubs in preparation.

unrecordings · 3 January 2019 at 12:40PM

Let's see if I can keep up this year. Tumour came back last autumn so can barely type, never mind manipulate small seedlings, but things are improving incrementally. I Put the last of 2018's tomatoes in a chilli yesterday (well I 'supervised' the putting of the tomatoes in the chilli). Only lost about six after neglecting them for a month in storage. Got a whole heap of catalogues to go through from the usual suspects, and another heap to recycle. I also need to go through 2018's gardening magazines, scan the useful articles & drop the magazines off at the chemo ward next time I'm there

unrecordings · 3 January 2019 at 12:46PM

spadoosh wrote: »

Still on the look out for a cheap/free greenhouse, keep seeing them but can never get them in time. And i need to make sure i get some rhubarb planted this year.

thegreenhousepeople.co.uk - it's sale time right now as they clear stock ready for the new season

unrecordings · 3 January 2019 at 12:49PM

savingpennies wrote: »

I also have a thriving herb patch, which gets a bit overgrown, so I need to learn how to preserve as much as possible.

I bought a dryer about 18 months ago - now we're overrun with dried herbs (which make nice presents when put in jars)

savingpennies · 3 January 2019 at 1:47PM

unrecordings wrote: »

I bought a dryer about 18 months ago - now we're overrun with dried herbs (which make nice presents when put in jars)

Thanks, unrecordings. I saw one on the Lakeland website last week, I'll have another look now.

The all new 2019 growing your own thread!

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