The "Grow Your Own" Thread

[lemonjelly]

Crop of 'second early' potatoes in today - harvest from July on hopefully.

LJ would be happy to have your experience in bringing stuff on from seed - need to get hold of a greenhouse, but finding it harder to find established stuff locally ready to plant up immediately so may well have to bring my own on from the start.

What do you want to know mate?
I just put the seeds in some mud and hope they grow
I grow everything from seed. Basic rules are:
plant more than you need. Approx two thirds will sprout.
Courgettes are the exception to the above. One plant is more than enough.
Pot up/thin out when the plant looks strong enough.
Plant out may onwards when the weather is nice enough consistently.
Keep regularly giving the toms bigger pots to encourage further growth.
Have a water butt.
Water every 3-5 days depending on how hot it is, and how damp the compost has got.
Remember that every year you fret that nothing will sprout. Stop looking at the trays/pots every few hours/days at the beginning, as it takes time!
If you see a slug, kill it. Snails also learn to fly...

 

[Parkins left foot]

Thank you for the technical info Warren - putting seeds into mud I can understand (I do hate it when people get so detailed that I can't follow what they are on about)

Will need to get hold of the greenhouse though to bring on any initial tries - have a base to put it on, just need to find one which meets my budget as this landscaping has cost enough already (though was more than pleasant watching others do the heavy work rather than doing it myself :icon_biggrin

 

[So Long Architect]

Vegetable gardening - nine months' hard work for three months' disappointment.

 

[Parkins left foot]

Vegetable gardening - nine months' hard work for three months' disappointment.

But getting stuff that actually taste's like food rather than mass produced stuff

Cost's less (though involves a little work)

 

[Paul]

SLA is correct, it's not worth the effort, but I love it and do it every year

 

[So Long Architect]

I've given up in the last few years. My current garden just doesn't seem conducive to veg growing. Had much more success in my last house and used to grow loads on the allotment years ago. I just don't have the time at the moment to make it work. My garden is now a place for having a glass of wine and falling asleep in.

 

[lemonjelly]

I fundamentally disagree. I don't think it's a lot of hard work - provided you keep on top of it. Maybe one/two big jobs (turning the soil etc). A few time consuming ones, but as I don't have kids, then I need to spend my time somehow.
I also find it a great stress reliever, and the taste of home grown toms compared to the shop bought rubbish is phenomenal. Everything tastes better.
I also love chilling in the garden too.

 

[So Long Architect]

Don't get me wrong, I love gardening, always have done. When the family obsession with canoe racing subsides I'll no doubt get back into it a bit more seriously.

 

[Paul]

I fundamentally disagree. I don't think it's a lot of hard work - provided you keep on top of it. Maybe one/two big jobs (turning the soil etc). A few time consuming ones, but as I don't have kids, then I need to spend my time somehow.
I also find it a great stress reliever, and the taste of home grown toms compared to the shop bought rubbish is phenomenal. Everything tastes better.

WE will never know as were never invited around to chez jelly for a salad ???

Don't get me wrong, I love gardening, always have done. When the family obsession with canoe racing subsides I'll no doubt get back into it a bit more seriously.

Stop backtracking, you'll never be as cool as us 'The Good Life' crew

 

[So Long Architect]

WE will never know as were never invited around to chez jelly for a salad ???


Stop backtracking, you'll never be as cool as us 'The Good Life' crew

Listen I vote Green and everything. And I've still got a thing for Felicity Kendall.

 

[Paul]

I was half expecting

 

[Parkins left foot]

Listen I vote Green and everything. And I've still got a thing for Felicity Kendall.

All those of a certain age have that

Some tomato plants & lettuces in to the new beds today, plus new front lawn had its first cut, though a bit pissed off that the first day for two weeks that I don't need to get the hose out on the turf it starts raining (which it hasn't at any point before when I did need it to get some water!!!!)

 

[The Bear]

Listen I vote Green and everything. And I've still got a thing for Felicity Kendall.

Felicity Kendall is sweetly pretty, and I want to protect her.

 

[Paul]

Id still 'protect her' and she's 70 apparently ! (and I never knew she was from Solihull )

Anyway potatoes and lettuces and shooting along

 

[Parkins left foot]

Potato plants just getting above ground, but tomato's were a dead loss.

Will have to try again

 

[lemonjelly]

Tomatoes usually take longer than you think to sprout!

I weeded half the veg patch yesterday. I'll plant out the beetroot in a week or 2 I hope.

I have a few tomato sprouts now. Slugs have trashed my cucumbers, so I've planted some more.
Have repotted quite a few marigolds, and the sunflowers too.

 

[b3h]

This year I'm only growing chillies, peppers, spring onions and carrots. Wasted a whole greenhouse of tomatoes and cucumbers last year, plus enough radishes for an army of ants. And in fact those that I'm growing so far I'm just doing in the bladdy shed. So all in all gardening can just naff off ha

 

[lemonjelly]

Lovely weekend, and as carols predicted deluge didn't happen, I took advantage & had a bostin time in the garden:

Lettuce first batch in & being eaten (indeed as I type, having a lovely chicken salad sandwich!)
leeks - planted 5 out in the ground. Some from late last year are still there...
parsnip - first go at growing these. Planted out 7 or 8 that had sprouted. Sowed a few more seeds.
black cherry tomatoes - slow to start, only 3 or 4 have sprouted. Leaving them a bit.
other tomatoes - repotted about 20 tomato plants across the weeken.
thyme, basil - both sprouting nicely. Basil is hard to grow. The thyme is thin, but looks ok. Still have some drying off last years plant, as well as stuff in jars.
lemon cucumber - bastard slugs! :argh: only 1 plant survived. Hoping to get some fruit off it.
cucamelon - very small - not yet repotted.
normal cucumber - bastard slugs again! 1 survivor. Planted some more a week or 2 ago, which have just sprouted. Will repot next weekend.
french beans - planted out.
pepper - 4 appear to have sprouted! need potting up.
and lots of beetroot - I planted too much beetroot! Planted out loads! Running out of space.

Also have potted up a lot of marigolds, and sown more, so there is colour about later in the year. The slugs decimated the river daisies I planted - I think 3 survived. See what happens with them. Sunflowers are fin though, and will need planting out soon.
The composters are choc full again!

 

[Paul]

Last nights wind has beat the crap out of my potato plants :rage:

 

[lemonjelly]

Last nights wind broke my stainless steel watering can! :rage: :argh:

Plants seem to be ok. The blueberry and raspberry plants seem to have a fair amount of potential fruits on them.