Any novice veggie patch people want to share the anticipation and hope of growing our first edible things from the garden?

[ilikeyoursleeves]

Hi, I've made a raised bed for a veggie patch, spent silly money on soil and compost, and finally planted some seeds in it a few days ago. I'm totally new to this so I've no idea how it will go but I'm quite excited about the possibility of it working. it better anyway after the money I've spent on it

I've only got a 1x2m bed at the bottom of the garden but I've planted:
-strawberries
-spring onions
-spinach
-carrots
-courgette
-leaf salad
All of the above are direct sown (cos I didn't know how to propagate and all that) apart from the strawberries which I bought as plants.

And I've got two separate trough planters for peas plus three bags to grow potatoes. Oh and two blueberry plants I bought last autumn.

I have dreams of nibbling through delicious fruit and veg all summer. Anyone want to join me in the veggie adventures? Or give me any advice?

:)

[ilikeyoursleeves]

Hi all long time no post! How is everyone getting on? My patch is looking ok ish... Peas are growing really quickly so I think I might need to stalk them soon? Can't quite work out how to do it though, I've got some bamboo canes and string but not sure how to put it together.

My strawberries have flowered and I read that you get a better crop next year if you take the flowers off but I can't bear to not get any strawberries this year! So I've taken the flowers off one plant and left them on the other two :)

Courgette plants are growing slowly, as are my spring onions and spinach. Potatoes have gone a bit mental too and my blueberries are looking fab and you can see the teeny berries already forming!

Not doing much other than watering the patch ATM. The slug pellets have killed a few of the feckers :) do I need to keep adding more pellets?

[redwellybluewelly]

Oops.

Thats what happens when I attempt to edit.

I am in awe of potato growers, something I've never had much success with either in the ground or in the proper bags. I've agreed with DH we'll have another go when we take on an allotment next year or the year after.

[redwellybluewelly]

rhihaf my last garden was truly amazing, the veg patch (which was pretty much all of it) was my pride and joy.

This garden makes me weep, so so much potential and was left effectively derelict for over twenty years. We've found the traces of a very lovely 50's style vegetable garden complete with the foundations of a greenhouse. Talking to a neighbour they've told us where the cold frames and fruit cages used to be as well. Such a crying shame.

[redwellybluewelly]

rhihaf my last garden was truly amazing, the veg patch (which was pretty much all of it) was my pride and joy.

This garden makes me weep, so so much potential and was left effectively derelict for over twenty years. We've found the traces of a very lovely 50's style vegetable garden complete with the foundations of a greenhouse. Talking to a neighbour they've told us where the cold frames and fruit cages used to be as well. Such a crying shame.

[rhihaf]

Hi Redwelly
Your garden sounds fab! I am intrigued by these nematode thingies - fabulous! Anything that helps the garden and the birds has got to be a good thing.

My potatoes (Foremost and Arran Pilot) in patio bags have grown so much in the last week that they have almost completely defeated my lettuce on top! So much for lettuce being a speedy crop

My chives all survived last winter and have come back strong in the herb garden; and the gooseberry twigs bushes I got from Lidl have put on really healthy-looking green leaves.

Come on the summer! How is everybody else getting on?

[redwellybluewelly]

Oh and I'm also having a baby in 3 weeks so my ability to garden is severely affected!

[redwellybluewelly]

Can I join in?

I'm not a novice as such, but this is my first year of growing veg again after two years with no garden. My first garden had a 4 x 3 m veg patch which I created, I built a custom made greenhouse and used runner beans as climbers over trellis and garden arches. I adore growing veg but as I am organic often don't get a vast crop.

Anyway. This year after we moved house to one with a fabulous but rundown garden my DH bought me a rocket garden windowbox garden and it arrived on Friday! Dug it in today into my one 1.2m2 raised bed and spent my last garden vouchers on buying a cover for it to shelter the plants and hopefully protect them from cats.

Last weekend I potted up sunflowers, courgettes (2 types), tomatoes (2 types) , and some guords for DD. Don't have the room yet for anymore squash.

Big fan of nematodes and companion planting. I also encourage small birds who do insect patrol, we have nesting robins and blackbirds, and doves.

Must get in some strawberries though...

[lolalotta]

Nemislug is also organic is safe for veg plots apparently, only discovered it this evening on Amazon!

[lolalotta]

Google nemislug ilikeyoursleeves, I just started a thread on it!!!

[ilikeyoursleeves]

Can you tell us more about these wonderful sounding nematode things, pleeeeeease?!

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

they are weeny little creatures that you water into the ground and their natural host is slugs and they kill them off.

[rhihaf]

Ohyoubadbadkitten: What's a slug nematode?
Ilikeyoursleeves: chin up! Give the garden another month and you'll be harvesting your crop and hard-earned veggies. Don't give up!

not that I'm ever able to take my own advice I do find that when I care less, more seems to grow! Honestly! When I shove stuff in anywhere without giving a damn, it seems to thrive, and the module trays of stuff I really nurture never seem as gung-ho.

Does anyone on here earth up their spuds?

[ilikeyoursleeves]

I just went out to inspect the war on slugs and there's a huge slug trail mess over about quarter of my row of carrots now!!! It looks like they were having a feast then slowly crawled to their messy death urgh it's disgusting!

Starting to wish I hadn't bothered with this veg patch, for all the cost, time and effort I doubt ill get much at all in return :(

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

bit of a heads up for a gale warning tomorrow for those of you in the south west, central southern England, midlands (away from the east) and much of Wales.
Went out yesterday and staked my broad beans in anticipation.

also, for the first time ever have been able to get lupins going thanks to slug nematodes. they arent perfect but have reduced my slug mountain.

[rhihaf]

Poor ilikeyourlseeves, have some . Little sluggy shits indeed! Let's all rage against the lettuce-munching-machines, THIS IS WAR you bastards!

Ah, I feel better now.

[ilikeyoursleeves]

Argh bloody slugs!!!! I had a row of leaf salad growing nicely, the leaves were about 2cm and today when I looked it has ALL GONE!!!!

The other stuff is all still there but I don't have any salad at all left, they ate literally all of it, sob sob sob :(

Tonight I am going to put the pellets out, little sluggy shits!

[rhihaf]

Re: regular emptying of beer traps - I meant once a day or two, not hourly or anything!

[rhihaf]

Slug pellets flat out! After last year I totally reviewed my mollusc policy.

You could try beer traps (just dig a hole, put a jar/cup/cut open can of beer in it), but that only works if you can get out to empty it pretty regularly, or it turns into a beery, slimy, gooey, stinky pit of hell.

Anyone planted any broad beans yet? I've never grown them and and considering it. Thoughts?

[ilikeyoursleeves]

Talking if slugs I'm in a dilemma whether to put slug pellets on my veg patch or not. Don't want slugs but don't fancy the idea of poison in the patch cos a) I have kids though doubt they'd eat the soil! B) don't like the idea of killing things c) worried poison wound get on my veg d) worried poison would seep into the soil.

What are others doing?

[orangepudding]

I went to my allotment today and noticed that a cucumber has sprouted, I planted a few so hope they will come through soon and won't be eaten by birds or slugs!

Ilike I have no idea about the courgette seed! Will be interesting to found out whether it is courgette or not.

The seeds in my propergators haven't sprouted yet and I'm getting impatient.

[ilikeyoursleeves]

Wow Jill you sound busy and very organised! Did you go to your allotment today?

I have a mystery going on here! I thought I had a courgette plant sprouting cos it looks like the shoot pictures online and on the packet. But it was about 30cm away from where I sowed it, so today I moved it back to the original hole (where I originally planted 3 seeds) but the three original seeds were still there unsprouted!!!!!



So I've sown three seeds indoors in yoghurt pots in case it's not actually a courgette seed. Hmmmmm. Any ideas what's going on?

On a happier less mysterious note, my peas are sprouting well as are my spring onions, spinach and salad. Carrots are peeking through too and strawberry plants are bigger :)

How's everyone else getting on?

[JillJ72]

Hi all !

Carrots - carrot root fly is a horrible little fellow that can smell a carrot from twenty flaps of its wings, so if thinning, bear that in mind. Couple of simple solutions - put a barrier around the carrots at least 20cm high (ie plastic sheeting), or plant them in pots at least 20cm high.

The plants I put in on Monday have perished, apart from the celery which seems to have relished the frost. I bought replacements today, and also got a thigh high greenhouse thing and also a netted tunnel thing for cabbages and broccoli. Allotment tomorrow it is!

Our allotment is something like 100ft x 20ft. It gets the sun all day and has a fox den in the brambles next to it. It became a plot about 4 years ago, we've had it for 3 now. A few more years and I hope we will have conquered it fully, and evicted most of the weeds.

We don't use chemicals; I've found personally using slug pellets seemed to attract the blighters. Would dearly love to rotavate but the weeds would have a field day!

In the ground already we have:-

Dwarf apple tree
Cherry tree
Plum tree
Raspberry canes
Strawberries
Gooseberry bush
Red and black currant bushes
Self-seeded chard
Narcissi, bluebells and aquilegia (for prettiness!)


To go in we have....

Kohlrabi
Purple sprouting broccoli
Red Baron onions
French beans
Runner beans
Pumpkin
Squash
Courgette (green and yellow)
Red, yellow, orange pepper
Chilli
Potatoes
Couple of types of lettuce


This year I've completely cheated by donating my funds to the garden centre's efforts. May sow a few things from scratch but need to clear our garden room of my crap to make space!

Weather forecast for my area is looking good this weekend so will get some time for digging and planting.

Have a good one!

[DewDr0p]

Are slug pellets ok to use around plants you plan to eat? I'd check the box carefully.

Emerging shoots are extra tender and tasty, I think, so never too early to protect them.

[ilikeyoursleeves]

Aha good idea :) ill do that at the weekend.

I bought slug pellets too due to a suggestion up thread, do I put it on now when the shoots are only just emerging or wait until there's lots of leaves to be potentially eaten?

[TwllBach]

My lemon seeds are growing really fast now, and it occurs to me that I don't actually know what I should do with them now I might have to replant them because they're in an old jam jar atm.

I'm hoping the weather is going to hold over the bank holiday weekend because I have a swede that I would like to plant, and maybe some carrots.

With your courgette seed, couldn't you just carefully dig it and a little bit of surrounding soil up, so you keep well away from the seed itself and just transport your little courgette-y ball from that place to the next?