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Gardening

Find tips and tricks to make your garden or allotment flourish on our Gardening forum.

Original poster

Fruit & Veg growers Club 2007

517 replies

nikkie · 06/01/2007 16:31

What is everyone planning to grow this year?
I have the bluberry bushes, strawberries,apple and pear from last year and hopefully i will get some proper fruit this year.Will be growing peas/tomatos/lettuce for definate as they all did really well. Cape gooseberry plants did well but fruit needed a couple more weeks of sun and never quite made it ,possibly start earlier this time.

OP posts:
cece · 12/02/2007 20:35

LOL at glory hole! Yuck.

I have planted my blueberry in a pot with that special compost they like. Also planted my new gooseberry plant alhtough it is looking very small and stick like. I got it in Woolowrths for £1.99! It says I get my money back if it doesn't grow. LOL

I have also planted out two pot bound thymes and planted a robinia tree today!

Now have sore arms and back though.

Tomorrow I hope to

prune my wisteria
plant my blackcurrant bush out
plant a thornless blackberry
plant a magnolia tree
plant another robinia tree (can you tell I love them)?

However this does involve moving other plants to make space for them all...

Maybe I will give myself till the weekend to get it all done...

VeniVidiVickiQV · 12/02/2007 20:53

Oh cece - your garden must be HUGE!!!

Cant commend thornless blackberries enough, btw. I've got Loch Ness (i think) variety. Absolutely gorgeous, huge berries, sweet and full of flavour.

Blueberries too....yum....

Original poster
nikkie · 12/02/2007 21:05

Dd2 wants to get a lemon tree!
She saw one in homebase on Saturday and hasn't stopped asking since It was covered in lemons and she was impressed!

OP posts:
VeniVidiVickiQV · 12/02/2007 21:07

Oh i'd love a citrus tree of some sort. But, I KNOW id buy one, all the lovely fruits would drop off, never to fruit again

cece · 12/02/2007 22:24

It is pretty big but the previous owner has laid it out very formally with beds so in process of changing it a bit. He was a bit obsessed with conifers and azaleas! There are a lot of shrubs but some are abit straggly. Graduallt taking them out and replanting wiht plants I like more.

justbeme · 07/03/2007 15:05

Ohh its very quiet on here ?!
Hows everyones seedlings going?
Im growing some inside at the moment and theyre looking good! - Leeks/Toms/Aubergines/Peas
and as its so sunny here today in Herts, Ive been outside and planted some seeds - Lettuce, Beetroot and Spinach - oh and planted by rhubarb root.
Whats everyone else up to then??

budgie · 07/03/2007 21:22

When I first started gardening about 10 years ago I had everything growing by the end of January come what may. this year I have only just realised it's MARCH already, the birds are doing what the birds and bees do, the magnolia is just about to flower, and all I have is a couple of trays of onion seedlings . But my purple sprouting broccoli is at last sprouting beautifully when I'd given up all hope.

Original poster
nikkie · 07/03/2007 22:10

NOt started yet but in my defence it was still very cold here last w/e and ahs only actually been nice yesterday and today

OP posts:
Dozeynoo · 07/03/2007 22:51

I cleaned up the propogator a month ago and set it up. Last weekend I put some seed compost into modules and then left the outside in the torrential rain all day Sunday. The modules have been drying off in the propogator since Tuesday. Hoping to actually plant some seeds in them tomorrow...

Original poster
nikkie · 09/03/2007 19:51

Right am getting myself organised , going for compost tomorrow!

OP posts:
Original poster
nikkie · 10/03/2007 15:57

Have been planting!!!!!!!!!

Have done tomatos, garlic,peas, beans, celery and spring onions.Some are in the house and some are in propagators in the green house.

When do I need to unwrap my Kiwi plant that is fleeced up?

OP posts:
Original poster
nikkie · 10/03/2007 15:57

Have been planting!!!!!!!!!

Have done tomatos, garlic,peas, beans, celery and spring onions.Some are in the house and some are in propagators in the green house.

When do I need to unwrap my Kiwi plant that is fleeced up?

OP posts:
justbeme · 10/03/2007 19:44

im not sure about your kiwi plant im afraid! But i was looking at garlic bulbs in Wilko today - they look just like the ones you buy to eat/cook in supermarkets - so could i just plant one of them?

Heartmum2Jamie · 11/03/2007 19:03

Hi! I'm new here and am pretty new to gardening too. Last year we had tomatoes from one of those kids kits and we had hundreds of the damn things!

This year I already have garlic, tomatoe, pea, onions, spring onions, carrot, sweetcorn, parsnip & leek on the go. The potatoes went in today. I was not sure if it was too early, but as I have so many chitted seed potatoes, I can afford to waste a few if they don't survive. I am pretty much having a bash at most things, so stil have cut & come again lettuce, perptual spinach, sprouts, brocolli, cucumber. I am quite certain I am missing things out! Oh well, most of this will be done in pots on my patio, it will look like a jungle when it all takes off!

cece · 12/03/2007 14:19

I am starting to worry haven't palnted anything yet! Apart form my new fruit bushes...

cece · 12/03/2007 17:58

OK have now planted out my broad beans (that I started in Oct) and also put some yellow peppers in the propagator.

assumpta · 13/03/2007 09:57

We have just moved house and dug up a little patch beside our patio which was full of stones, but actually seems to have fairly nice soil. It is a south facing garden, sun all day, when we have sun. I live in the south east, so usually fairly good weather. I need some advice because we have no idea what we are doing. Should we add bag compost to this soil to help it along as we would like to set a little veggie patch. Should we add manure? If so what kind, or do we go and get some horse manure from a local stable? Please tell me if it is ok to set all different types of veg together or do only certain types work with each other. I am going to try potatoes in a bin, and tomatoes in baskets, what do you recommend for this area, remember we have never done this before! Sorry its so long.

fishie · 13/03/2007 10:13

you could get soil testing kit and find out if it is acid and alkaline, always fun and cheap too. well rotted manure (v important don't get fresh) is always good.

sarah raven is doing a series of articles in saturday telegraph on beginning with fruit and veg, you could google for them. anyway she suggests looking at what you eat most of and growing that. (i am right off her though, her mail order seed company is crap)

ask in library, see if you can get hold of carol klein / rhs book from recent bbc2 series.

assumpta · 13/03/2007 10:16

Thank you so much fishie, I guess it makes a lot of sense to grow what you eat most of, but I want my dd's to try new stuff as well. Does anyting grow in time for eating June or July or am I just being silly.

fishie · 13/03/2007 10:25

yes, now is the time to think about sewing all sorts of stuff, or you could find nearest nursery and buy plants in a few weeks. lettuce etc now. do you have somewhere to sew teh seeds indoors or will it be outside? also for baskets and things think about watering, likely hosepipe ban again this year so you want something that doesn't dry out too often.

i am being wildly overambitious with courgettes, peppers, sweetcorn, tomatoes various lettuce, peas and beans. most seeds not arrived yet though! anyway i am expecting to be eating by july. some a bit later perhaps?

assumpta · 13/03/2007 11:12

DD at home sick today, so we have jointly decided carrots, lettuce and cucumber. I have got a little propogator to start off some herbs and tomatoes indoors to then replant into pots. Do i need to keep this in a warm dark position or a cool dark position. I was thinking bottom of boiler cupboard. Will I be able to set the others directly outside in the soil. How long do I have to leave rotted manure on before I can plant or do I plant first. Sorry for all the questions but I don't have a clue. Would compost do instead of manure as I have that already to hand. Does the soil have to be completely stone free, as I think I may still be at it in 2009 getting them all out?

fishie · 13/03/2007 11:25

compost would be lovely, stones are a fact of life. i've got mine in these (add water they swell up) in propogator on windowsill. they are terribly poncey little pots but pricking out seeds from a tray makes me have a tantrum and you can just plant them straight out.

i haven't ever tried the dark, but believe it hastens germination, what does back of packets say?

fishie · 13/03/2007 11:31

oh have you got SLUGS? lettuce in pots if so. i've never grown carrots or cucumbers, not sure what pests they are subject to (carrot fly??). being eaten is the main risk to your crops really, otherwise so long as you plant in friendly conditions and keep wet enough things are usually ok.

assumpta · 13/03/2007 11:46

I think slugs get everywhere in general around the garden so I bought some copper banding. The area I hope to plant in has a brick border around it so I was going to stick this stuff on to the bricks. I have also bought some netting to keep cats off and I also thought this would help keep other animals off. We seem to have a squirrel this year, which I dont particularly like {2 of them actually, so I guess I can expect more} how do I keep them off? Or have you any tips on getting rid of them in a fairly friendly way. I don't want to blow their heads off, just keep them away from the veggie patch and house. Garden not very big. I have this huge fear of them coming into the house during the summer when the patio doors are open.

cece · 13/03/2007 11:58

With manure it has to be well rotted, so that takes at least 6 months. Otherwise it will 'burn' your plants. Get some now and store it at bottom of garden to put on for the winter. Or I think you can get well rotted stuff in bags at garden centres. Or get it free from stables and leave it to rot down yourself.

Not all veggies like to have fresh manure I think... would have to look in a book to see which ones like and those that don't.