Fruit & Veg growers Club 2007

[nikkie]

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.

Thanks for that link nikkie - I've subscribed to the free e-newsletter

Thanks Mrsvern will try them tomorrow for green hous ething, my kiwi needs it

nikkie - how often do you plant a new lot to keep your rotation system going with the rocket and lettucey stuff?

Usually as I finish eating one then move onto next one and plant seeds in new empty one IYSWIM.No plannning in it

Ooh Tumbling tomatos in hanging baskets are good too

plants to buy online

doh! thats so thuddingly obvious i cant believe it never occured to me!!
right then, rocket all summer this year it is!

last yr was my 1st ever go at growing stuff. i tried toms, potatoes, strawberries, rocket, broad beans, sweet peppers... varying degrees of success. all in pots.

this yr i want to build an 'allotment' (we have a field - as you do - but is overrun w rabbits, deer, foxes etc, so we have to build a secure fenced off 'bit' w raised beds n stuff... i want to grow everything!

of course, i'll prob just sack the whole thing off for being too much bother and feel crap about it instead... (how negative am i tonight?? -sorry)

Carrots are better raised apparantly carrot flies only fly 18inches offthe ground?

Nappies-don't outface yourself, the allotment takes alot more work,find my backyars/pots so much easier

carrot flies won't be deterred by raised beds - I need enviromesh or fleece over them all year AND a spot where there are no larve in the ground already. I do mine in the greenhouse now, get tehm going very early so they are ready to harvest when the tomatoes need to go in.

runner and climbing french beans, leeks are wonderful I am harvesting them now, garlic (too late this year really), ONE brussel sprout for xmas, curly kale and cavolo de nero.

I only tried aubergines once and had such terrible whitefly I never tried again

Chilis - but just ONE plant this year, I could supply sainsburys with what's still in teh greenhouse.

My favourite tomatoes - Sungold (fabulous in every way, sadly often all get eaten in teh greenhouse and never make it to the kitchen) and Alicante as a Good Doer.

ONIONS - grew them from seed last year, a fabulous success but should have been planted on Xmas Day

ooh, I am all excited now!

I had athing last year about'different' veg.
I had purple peas, golden beans, red and purple carrots, yellow courgettes and tomatos.I've loads of catalogues full of variations.

youre right of course, nikkie. should just chill abit and grow in pots for this yr... dp and i can build the allotment next yr

Well he could start whilst you do the pots
or just do one plot?

Still got some leeks and a brussell sprout going strong.

I am going to avoid onions and pots this yera as they took up too much space and in hindsight, there are equally easy and cheap to buy in the shops. (I dont have enough room in my garden or time for an allotment).

I am going to do spinach, carrots, rocket, plum tomatoes (so very tasty last year), peppers - great success with these last year too. Sweetcorn was good, and french beans, peas and broad beans in containers.

Was pleased to see the new year in - it means the start of sowing seeds.....

I have to be controlled with the seeds this time.Last year every window sill (except kids bedroom)and the green house thing and the wendy house were full of seed trays

LOL! That sounds familiar

Hello. I'd like to join too please (although I don't know yet if I'll get anything growing this year as fingers crossed we'll be moving house). My big success last year was cucumbers in the greenhouse. Would defo do them again. Potatoes in old compost bags worked very well too. But things went to pot (pardon the pun) somewhat in July when I had DS. The garden's detached from the house and I can't get the pram down the path, so very little was done once DS came along. Here's hoping this season I'll get a garden I can see!

You are all a very bad influence on me! I only popped to the garden centre this morning for a coffee and cake with DS and came away with a blueberry bush!

I'd like to join please. We have 3 raised beds for veg patches that got done last year. We started off well but were rubbish at watering and weeding and everything got infested with caterpillars. I have the most pathetic looking leeks in there still, they look more like spring onions. And I found that sweetcorn doesn't grow on the top of the plant like I thought it did, but on the side. By the time I found this out, the cobs had dried out. The birds got all our strawberries and we didn't pick the lettuce and rocket fast enough and they bolted. Am going to try harder this year.

I was a bit late planting seeds last year so got some really good quality seedlings from here .

I'll sign up, please.
I bought a little apple tree in autumn, so looking forward to seeing what that produces.

Had lovely tomatoes last year (but had to cheat and buy plants as my seedlings got scorched in the greenhouse)

The chilli and pepper seedlings went the same way, so this year I think I'll start them inside on a window sill and transfer them to the greenhouse when they are a bit stronger.

This thread is getting me raring to go- might have a little sort out of seeds this evening, and a tidy up in the greenhouse tomorrow.

betty - nothing wrong with buying young plants from the garden centre (although, I agree - its more satisfying knowing you have done it all from scratch).

To help prevent scorching in your greenhouse whitewash the side that the sun shines through, or, get some of that mesh/net stuff that you put over the greenhouse to reduce scorching.

Sorry but I am pmsl at your post kittypickle re corn on the cob!!!!

To stop birds AND caterpillars you need to get some fine guage net to put over your strawberries and your cabbages/broccoli.

I hated that Grow Your Own Veg programme - had high hopes, but thought it was all style over substance ... I wanted much more gardener's world style practicality ... although might just be that I was confused with for her lovely huge garden...

Ah yes fp - when she said "Now my children have gone and I'm retired from running my nursery busines, I have the time to grow my own...." DP and I both scoffed and said "Is she having a laugh...just look at the size of her garden "

Other stuff on it was quite helpful, if you get past the apparent showing off about living in the country with farmer friends

I thought there were some nuggets of useful information in there such as what types of seed potato to buy if you want to avoid blight etc....

Ah, if you want to know that, you werent watching properly

She said early types were better because you harvest them before blight tends to take hold (around June time).

There are some types that are more resistant, but I dont know off the top of my head - will consult my fab book when i get home.

Betty - I just sorted through my seeds too

OH hmc ignore me totally. I totally misread your post.....