The Vegetable Patch

[MereDintofPandiculation]

Now bookbook has sadly left us, and stirred into action by @DobbleDobble, I think it’s time to start a general thread for those of us who try to grow edible produce, fruit, veg, herbs, to share successes, failures, questions and answers

Ok I may have just ordered one of his books and his calendar! Anyone else's house filled with gardening books, especially, veg/herb/fruit related ones?

I love Charles Dowding. He has a lot on YouTube for free. But don't look at the rats in his compost bin.

I've finally put my Chiltern seeds order in - I went for prosperosa aubergine and a mix of mini aubergines called Jewel. And tromboncino and Costa romanesco courgettes. Plus some pretty lettuce as per Meredint's suggestion.

@deplorabelle

Oo *@styledesperation* what aubergine variety/ies are you planting?

I will be frantically waiting for the ground to thaw because I have a budded piece of Fulton's Strawberry Surprise rhubarb to go in.

Hi. How are you keeping your crown until the soil is ready for it to go in? Please and thank you

Thank you Mere. I've been told that beer traps can attract slugs from miles around. Can I put them on waste ground adjacent to the garden, or am I just attracting more to the area.
Last year I threw them up to 8m away from the veg, hoping they would head towards another bed with more than enough vegetation to keep them happy. But no, as a slug they set off back to the veg beds in a regimental line, totally focused.

@indignatio I just kept it in the box it arrived in - but I was only waiting till lunchtime to make the soil easier to work. I've put it in the ground now. (It is a budded piece rather than a crown so I assume it has been sliced off a rhubarb that's growing in open ground).

Joining in now (I need another gardening thread in my life).

I'm reluctant to give up ground in the garden and I'm a little obsessed with the concept of vertical gardening. I was going to keep it all low key this year as we have our hands full with house projects, but I got impatient and have herbs and microgreens on the window sill now. Now I'm thinking I'll do Pak choi and lettuce.

Could maybe start lettuce now? In Edinburgh, like others, frost won't be done till April/May but I'm thinking some lettuce could just stay indoors.

I'd love to grow cherry tomatoes, can I get away without a greenhouse though? Part of the garden will be quite a suntrap. Maybe a hanging type where you don't need to pinch the side shoots (I've gone wrong there once before, many moons ago).

@indignatio

Thank you Mere. I've been told that beer traps can attract slugs from miles around. Can I put them on waste ground adjacent to the garden, or am I just attracting more to the area. Last year I threw them up to 8m away from the veg, hoping they would head towards another bed with more than enough vegetation to keep them happy. But no, as a slug they set off back to the veg beds in a regimental line, totally focused.

There was a research project on BBC a few years back, a citizens science thing “if yours is the winning idea we’ll help you carry it out”, on how far you had to remove snails so that they wouldn’t return. I think it was 120yds (110m)

Can’t help with your other question, have always discounted beer traps because of the collateral damage to other species. That, and the lack of regular beer drinkers in the house

@Namechangeforthis88 - I'm a bit further south but somewhere where last frost date is mid may and grow tomatoes against a south facing wall. I started off with a plastic greenhouse but after planting too many seeds one year ran out of room so stuck some outside and they were the most successful yet. Last year I didn't bother with a greenhouse at all.

I honestly think the best thing to do for slugs is give up. Monty don shared something a while back suggesting that slugs send signals in their slime trail that tell other slugs what their populations are like. So if you kill slugs they just lay more eggs (probably like if you kill a wasp loads more come flocking to the scene).

My MIL removes 50 slugs from her garden every day. I suspect they are the same 50 over and over again. But regardless, she doesn't suffer any less slug damage than I do - and by not doing slug control I get more gardening time. (I will admit I occasionally relocate snails to the compost bin or try to shut them in the garden waste wheelie but I try to force myself not to bother)

i've encouraged frogs onto my plot by sinking a small plastic box and putting stones at bottom/side - a way for creatures to get out so they dont drown. touch wood i dont seem to have a slug problem.

Thanks @tizwozliz, I'll give it a go. Back of the house is south west facing, it gets loads of sun.

I pruned my gooseberry bush today and harvested some rocket. Desperate to start sowing but need to sit on my hands.

Had a weird thing happen with my rhubarb. Rhubarb was newly planted late 2020 and last year I didn’t harvest any (as I read that you had to leave it). Anyway, leaves died down leaving a papery crown. But today that papery bit has been dug up - literally just that bit.

So, anyone got any idea if I might still get rhubarb? I didn’t really want to disturb the rest of the soil.

rhubarb is super tough wilderness. i've been trying to remove some from my strawberry patch and miss bits which then resprout. not sure what the papery crown is, key thing is that you remove any flower stalks asap during the summer.

Happy Saturday all! It's mild, sunny and very windy here today. We now have the base for the greenhouse, all happened very quickly as our builders had a gap between jobs! Quick question: DH and I are working and have a toddler, however, from the end of Feb I will be self employed and will have the luxury of being able to make more time for gardening during the week. If I can't get any veg sowing done before early march, what will I miss out on (and then I can prioritise those things over the next few weeks!) Thanks.

I don't think I sow anything before March tbh.

It's a pity it's so windy, it would be a lovely day for sorting the garden out otherwise.

@deplorabelle

I love Charles Dowding. He has a lot on YouTube for free. But don't look at the rats in his compost bin.

I've finally put my Chiltern seeds order in - I went for prosperosa aubergine and a mix of mini aubergines called Jewel. And tromboncino and Costa romanesco courgettes. Plus some pretty lettuce as per Meredint's suggestion.

I couldn't help but check it out when you said rats in the compost bin! Something is attacking one of my bins on a regular basis and I haven't worked out what it is. It's most likely a fox but perhaps it is rats. I thought no meat=no rats! But perhaps this isn't true

No gardening today. But had a good clear out of the shed into a 'his' and 'her' side ('he' doesn't garden, but likes to dump in the shed which requires a periodic clean up )

StyleDesperation chillies and aubergines are the biggies as they need a long season. Maybe tomatoes, though I don't really start until March.

Broad beans and peas perhaps, but they'd be fine later too.

And not veg but sweetpeas!

I thought no meat=no rats! But perhaps this isn't true Rats aren’t preferential meat eaters. Their preferred food is grain. They also go for fruit.

likes to dump in the shed I think more explanation is required Or maybe that would be tmi.

Hi everyone

I’ve bought a cherry tree for the allotment as I love cherries! Going to underplant with wildflower mix too.

Wind blew greenhouse over and with it all my toilet roll tube sweet peas so think I’ve lost those now.
Never known wind like it in January , high winds normally in October here. :-(

Hello haven't read all the posts yet but would really like to tag along for the ride.
Taking up veg growing again this year and have ordered seeds ready to go on the new raised beds so I won't have much to post for a while but I'm enjoying everyone's posts

I think I'm going to sow my chillies and aubergines this weekend. They can hang out in the house until the greenhouse arrives!
Could I get your opinion: I am obsessed with fruit trees and we have a big patch of lawn that I'd like to plant a quince and a medlar in. However, everyone (family) is telling me that DD (14 months) should have a big area of lawn to play on. She will have a whole big garden to play in, and lots of access to parks if she decides to play football all the time etc. As a child I would have much preferred an exciting big garden then a square of lawn. Am I being unreasonable and selfish to want to grow more trees?

Thank you for this thread. Was sad to see @bookbook go. I've an allotment in semi-rural North Yorkshire with a greenhouse and raised beds. I have had it for a couple of years but it was really only last year that I was able to give it the attention that it needed.

Broad beans, onions, shallots and garlic went in last November. I've got sweet peas in the greenhouse and I'm still harvesting various types of chard, spinach and rocket.

Next purchase is a Victoria plum tree

@StyleDesperation

I think I'm going to sow my chillies and aubergines this weekend. They can hang out in the house until the greenhouse arrives! Could I get your opinion: I am obsessed with fruit trees and we have a big patch of lawn that I'd like to plant a quince and a medlar in. However, everyone (family) is telling me that DD (14 months) should have a big area of lawn to play on. She will have a whole big garden to play in, and lots of access to parks if she decides to play football all the time etc. As a child I would have much preferred an exciting big garden then a square of lawn. Am I being unreasonable and selfish to want to grow more trees?

Grow trees Protect them from football s etc, but kids grow out of the garden and leave home. Trees can't. Kids also love to come back with their mates and sit in garden catching up... under said trees

Oh I'm interested!

As a child, I loved our garden with its opportunities for dens and tree houses.