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http://www.weegarden.com/Welcome.html
Stumbled upon this and thought it might apeal to gareners out there - esp those with small gardens.
http://lifehacker.com/5229896/gutter-gardens-grow-produce-without-taking-up-space
Another idea for those with limited space or wanting new ideas.
I hate looking at my garden @ the moment.
Couple of pumpkins,some pretty sorry looking sprouts,garlics,leeks nothing more
Roll on Spring
my leeks are shite - hardly bigger than pencil thick, and the snow has done for anything else although some chard is just hanging on to edibility. so I'm taking everything out of the deep bed and going to give it a good manuring over winter and start again.
as you say, roll on Spring.
With thoughts turning to spring, I'm looking to get a greenhouse. The range avaliable is somewhat daunting! Are there any particualrly good makes I ought to be looking for, or duffers to avoid? And any features that you wouldn't be without??
I missed not having one last year, so will be getting it sorted in time to plant my tomatos, cucumbers and fail once more to grow melons.
I was given one of those plastic mini greenhouses for christmas - put it up and it git blown over so now it's tied against the fence - just hope it doesn't pull the fence over.
I have had long term plans to build a cold frame. It hasn't happened yet.
Helen Liz, my suggestion would be to pick one with a painted aluminium frame and real glass, or safety glass. My greenhouse is now 3 or 4 years old, I think, and the frame is fine, but I chose the twin-walled polycarbonate glazing. This is now starting to look pretty dirty with green mould on the inside,and of course you can't clean it. Added to that worms, flies and other insects have crawled into the gaps in the glazing and died there - can't get them out either.
morning you green fingered lot. My garden, once the site of plenty, has been fallow for 2 years............... this year sees a return to full production. I'm starting to plan what goes where and when and nearly getting excited about the whole thing!
Bookmarked....
PSC, I'm hoping to get some early spuds planted by mid-March (weather permitting), so really could start chitting fairly soon. I only got my allotment Nov/Dec so this will be my first go.
The Beeb suggests 6 weeks for chitting, and you can, apparently, brush the first chits off if they're too early, and let them chit again.
thanks - I've never heard of re-chitted spuds, but why not....
I might try and pick some seed spuds up soon then! The ground is so wet at the moment! I've just cleared my beds ready for digging so am off to a good start this year.
I've just been onto Marshalls and ordered:
Onion seeds
Runner bean seeds
Raddish seeds
Beetroot seeds
Brussel sprout plants
Pentland Javelin seed potatoes
...now all I've got to do is work out how to plant them and look after them!
I'm soooo excited!
oi.you - there have been some studies done that would indicate that you get as good a yield from unchitted spuds as you get from chitted, which kind of begs the answer "why bother"? I guess it's one of those traditional things you do to kick the season off. our spuds will go in bags as usual and we got 3 varieties at the weekend. we don't have a huge need and many local suppliers only sell in 1kg bags which is way too many but we have one garden centre that sells loose so you can buy as many as you need. Swift, Charlotte and Pink Fir Apple this year.
all the seeds have arrived so I'll start setting the toms, chillies etc this weekend so they will be ready to plant out when risk of frosts are past. ordered aubergine as plugs again so it will be a while before they will arrive.
the winter has killed so many of the succulents we had outside in pots - these have been slowly collected over the years on various overseas trips, so is quite sad to lose them but we knew thy aren't full hardy in the UK, just this year on top of last winter, I think they've had enough. anyway it gives the missus the chance to buy more - and she's going to try some odd species from seed including some unusual agaves.
and so many so called frost resistant pots have cracked - some have just fallen apart - so that's more purchases.
the upside of a cold winter is that hopefully a lot of pests like aphids will have been killed off.
bring the warmth on!!
FB I'd love to plant toms but I don't have a greenhouse or even a coldframe.... the wind howls across the fields here with little protection, so do you think if I planted some toms in the shelter of the house they would survive?
Broad beans are in pots in the greenhouse and they seem to be doing really well.
The leaf shedding Blueberry plant is coming back to life and happily the poor chucked about raspberries are starting to bud so FB it looks like I might have to go looking for crumble recipes after all
FB, I might try a non-chitting approach next time. I've already got my spuds chitting away for this year, so too late this time. I might try it if I do a 2nd season crop for Christmas tatties.
How about growing potatoes under black plastic sheeting? Have you tried that? Supposed to minimise weeding and eliminate the need for earthing-up - according to RHS Fruit & Veg Gardening book anyway.
FB - I have lost so many plants (and pots) this year. It saddens me as I lost my cissus strata which i propogated and have had for about 11 years.
Hopefully I will have the wall for my figs built by the end of summer. Have to wait til march before orderring the bricks. Having visited a number of vinyards I am now lusting over some vines.
Fingers crossed for the blueberries and raspberries Happychap. Mmmm blueberry muffins - or raspberry and white chocolate.
My rhubarb is looking good already.
Afternoon all!
Hope everyone's well, and looking forward to another growing season.
Things are starting to happen in my garden...
Not sure what to do about strawberries, though.
I had a strawberry planter for my birthday back in November, when it was already too late to plant some strawberries immediately.
I'm now reading up, and some of the guidance online suggests they can be planted outside June-September and that if they're planted any earlier you should remove all the flowers in the first year to help promote good growth in the plants. Is this definitely true?
I've heard from colleagues etc who have got plants in the spring, not bothered to remove all the flowers and harvested the fruit, and have still had plants that got stronger in subsequent years, so not sure what the rule of thumb is.
I can cope with being a bit patient, but I have to admit I'm slightly disappointed with the possibility of having to wait another full year before getting some actual fruit
- does anyone have any strawberry experience to pass on to me?
Ta!
last weekend I planted carrots, chard, spring onions, and various salad leaf varieties including rocket, sorrel, mizuno etc into the deep bed - nothing showing just yet.....
my propagator has been in use for a month or so now and the toms are already into larger pots and leaves and roots are setting nicely. I have the chilli seedlings to pot on this weekend; and the chitted spuds (Swift and Charlotte at least - too early for the Pink Fir Apple) will be going into bags at the w/e. the missus has also been using the propogator for some unusual (and inedible) pot plants she wants to grow this year - things like ricin (castor oil plant) and some trailers/climbers. she's also having a crack at cacti from seeds.
I wouldn't put french beans in a propagator LP - they'll bolt too much. they'll come up quickly enough in a room temp pot if you put it inside a plastic bag to keep mositure in. I won't start mine for another month or so as they do come on rapidly and if you plant out too early, they might succumb to late frosts.
can't help on the strawbs issues though - haven't grown any for well over 20 years so forgotten what you need to do with them!
Cheers, FB - in that case I'll just start them off in way I've done in the past.
No worries! Oh well, i'll wait for further wisdom from other forumites!With all plants - they have x amount of energy - they can put this energy into growing roots or into growing flowers / producing fruit. When I worked in horticulture we took the buds off everything to prevent flowering and promote root growth. (it really was a nursery - baby plants) Same with fruit trees - remove all fruit (apart from maybe one or 2 for tasting purposes) in the first year. It does work, but I don't know that I'd bother woth strawbs, the things take off like weeds. Maybe have some for this year that you leave and some that you set aside for next.
I planted my onions - I just chucked them randomly at the soil. It doesn't matter, the things have legs and get up and walk in the night. They are never where I left them.
I have repotted all my baby fruit bushes - I now have a ton of soil to raise the ground level and extend the fruit garden. The Ash tree is 3/4 down. Should be logs by w/e
I'm running out of compost, may have to do another big order.
Now I just need to find some more garden.
I didn't bother to remove the flowers in my Strawbs in the first year. Got bumper crops and enough runners each year to have kept them going and give loads away to friends. Very strong plants now and great crops.
For info, I clean them out of the bed each year and move them into the next one as I have a kind of crop rotation system going and it means I can take out all the dead runners and leaves.
Broad beans are doing great in the green house. Just put in salad leaves, coriander, moneymaker toms and rocket. Garlic seems to be doing really well despite being planted late and my gooseberry has gone crazy mad. I'm hoping we don't have any late frosts otherwise I'll have to fleece it.
Thanks peeps!
Might do as you suggest, BM, and do half and half with the plants.
Broad beans are in, starting to plant the root veg now and have just potted up some runner beans and plonked them in the greenhouse (hoping it's not too early).
I invested in a bay tree yesterday. A dwarf varietal apparently. And some comfrey. Just noticed that a load of comfrey products have made their way onto the market. My grandmother used to make her own salves and stuff 30 years ago. Although we used to keep quiet about any sprains we had as she'd whip off our shoes and dunk our foot in a comfrey tea which use to feel very bizarre on tickly feet.
I also got given some globe artichoke cuttings. I was short of time so just practically threw them in the ground. Does anyone have any experience of them ?
I've grown globe artichokes in the past - they weren't very productive compared to what you see in the shops so I never bothered again.
spuds are coming along nicely in the bags and my tom seedlings are now in the plastic greenhouse outside hardening off - this week being forecast to be warm is a good week for hardening plants off. chillies are still a bit too small to go out yet though.
aubergine plugs have arrived so they have been potted up.
various seeds in the bed are all coming along nicely now - won't be that long before I can start picking some salad leaves