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

Planted out some garlic today - my first time growing them. Am probably also going to put some early peas in, in the week.

Saw Tesco were doing apple trees 2 for £12 (clubcard price) and nearly bought them but I need to plan a space first.

I grow courgettes in containers. Harder to keep the watering consistent but easier to keep the fruits off the soil so swings and roundabouts.

I believe the gardener's adage for courgette is "plant two, hope one dies," 😁. I usually grow roughly two yellow and two green, but last year I grew pumpkin which took up most of the space and only had one plant. It grew very poorly but I still got just about enough to eat (no massive glut like most years)

How big a container?

Smallest I have tried is around 20cm diameter terracotta pot. Bigger gets you better yields - 30cm or bigger will get you nice courgettes.

Planted the remainder of my garlic and have sown some broad beans, early peas and rocket direct in the ground. I also have some rocket in the greenhouse.

Has anyone any experience with sproutings?

I've sown broad beans too. I have some stupidly early tomato seedlings, more aubergine than I know what to do with (and even more sown that hasn't come up yet). I also have a profusion of lettuce seedlings (mint crisp) and I've sown physalis as a complete wildcard (it's not come up yet).

The only sprouting I've done is xress and pea sprouts (but I don't actually like pea sprouts so didn't do that again). I keep meaning to try other things but never get organized.

Thank goodness you started this @MereDintofPandiculation. I've been working away at my small veg plot and have felt a bit lonely getting everything ready. I did hope you'd start another one as I'd always seen you as another @bookbook

I've just removed all my tomatoes from last year , and cleared away my chillies and other plants. (Surprisingly the tomatoes and chillies lasted way into the autumn, and some fruit even survived winter).

I've cleared the ground, and have got my seeds ready to sow. I'm thinking of buying a propagator this year to help my aubergine and bell peppers get a head start.

I grew so much last year from a tiny space but sadly I couldn't eat it all nor did I want to. This year I'm trying to grow more of things I enjoy eating rather than seeing what I can fit in my space (8ft by 3ft).

I've seen a video on training pumpkins up a large trellis so I may attempt that along with squash on one side of the garden against my fence.

Like you @mere I had so many caterpillars last summer, this time I'm ready with some netting, and will try to protect my purple sprouting broccoli, the inner leaves are beginning to turn purple so I'm hoping that's a sign of the heads getting ready to form this year.

Only one courgette plant this year instead of 4 and hopefully lots of root veg as my boy loves those. No peas or broad beans (far far too many aphids last year no matter what I tried).

Is there anything I can plant out now for a crop by may? Before I transplant my other plants out? Seems a bit of a waste not utilising the space. I'm thinking of some carrots and radish under a poly tunnel..

@Littl3lim3 I grew 4 courgette plants each within a 1.5ft square (2.25 ft sq). It was less than what's usually recommended but I got lots of courgettes and the plants all did really well. Pollination was an issue as the leaves of the plants were all shading each other's flowers so I would self pollinate. Other than that they grew fine without too much space

Have installed 1 no dig bed and a Waterbutt over the weekend at allotment.
I’d started two trays of seedlings in the zippy greenhouse but these winds of late keep knocking the greenhouse over and the seeds got upended one too many times I’ve never known such winds in February really.
I’m going to sow some more at the end of these week, fingers crossed they will be fine.
Lots of snowdrops and daffodil bulbs through, gives me pleasure to know spring is on the way.

You’ve got two more storms to come…

Great swathe of snowdrops here, and the first daffodils out. Before we know where we are it’ll be frogspawn ad spring will really be here

I’m in the south so hoping they pass up by, although wind and rain here today !

I’ve got my first early potatoes chitting in an egg box. Anyone else really noticed the change in light?

We’re galloping towards the equinox when the daylength will be changing at its maximum rate. Day length changes much more slowly near the equinoxes. So at the moment you can really see the difference from one week to the next.

@MereDintofPandiculation

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.

Just went to put some brown bits in the bin and it's definitely a rat . Large f*cker too. Worried it has set up camp in there .

Ha ha ha not that kind of dumping . Just chucking stuff in there and closing the door and walking away!

Rats don’t like disturbance. You could put on some wellies and thick trousers and up-end the bin. Make sure the rat has an easy escape route.

Or you could start forking out stuff from the top until eventually he decides to leave.

I've whacked the bin a few times with a broom and removed the lid. Hopefully it'll be wet enough over the next few days to hope he'll move somewhere else sharpish!

Morning all. Sorry about the rat @lulalalala. We had mice in our garage over winter, entirely our fault as we had a box of straw in there from some plants that had been delivered. We evicted them and removed the box but at least they were quite cute.

Have got my potatoes chitting away in the porch. Has proved to be a perfect environment over the past few years for all manner of gardening stuff!

Have just impulse bought 15 summer raspberry canes. Have always grown autumn ones as I was nervous about the pruning of summer ones, but I realised I've learned a lot since I started and decided it was time to give it a go (I love raspberries!) Problem is I can't find anywhere to buy the posts to bang in for a post and wire system. Might end up getting from amazon as everywhere else has insane delivery charges for two posts! My cellar is currently full of toilet rolls for planting my beans and peas and I've kept some plastic takeaway tubs to use for seed sowing, will poke holes in the bottom and then use the lids to put them on stop the water draining out onto things.

@StyleDesperation I made the posts for my raspberries out of wood posts and wire from Wickes. They need concreting into the the ground as they do tend to fall over a bit (propped up with bricks at the mo).

@lulalalala did you use square posts? They have the right size round ones but are out of stock. I guess if you're screwing in vine eyes it doesn't matter what shape! What height did you use can you remember? I've seen some place suggest 1.8 m and others 2.4 m!

Yes I used square post that were 2.4m I think and then cut them in half. I have used vine eyes and wire between them.

Evening everyone, loving the talk of raspberries.my summer canes came to nothing last year, literally dead wood, bought 3 canes for my trough to go in with strawberries and there’s lovely green leaves already.Good tip on the posts and vine eyes too

How did everyone get on with the storm yesterday? I'm just building up courage to go and see how my shed and greenhouse fared. I am on quite an exposed site in semi-rural North Yorkshire. Bit worried about what I will find when I get there!

Lost my allotment shed door partially, will need a new bracket etc.
Ground cover came up too :-(
Real mess over there though, lots of green houses lost glass/plastic.