Beginner gardening questions

[littlegingerone]

Hiya,

As the title suggests I'm a complete beginner at gardening, having bought a little plastic greenhouse last year and grown some bits and bobs for the first time. Last year I just chucked a lot of seeds in and followed the instructions on the packets and had mixed success.

Tomatoes - seemed to grow well though were late to fruit (well to ripen) presume because I'm in the north so not very warm? I will definitely grow them again. I had a bit of an issue with some of the leaves going mouldy, I was just nipping them off as soon as i saw it and that seemed to keep on top of it but should I have been doing something else?

Carrots - I grew some lovely tasting carrots in a huge tub oustide, but they were very odd shaped and someone told me they need worse quality soil (I had them in new compost straight out the bag) how do I make the soil I've got a bit worse for them??

Courgettes - I planted some yellow ones which I then kept in the greenhouse in a grwo bag, they started ok but the courgette would turn to mush / mouldy before it grew very big, I've bought some different seeds this year which says resistant to blight should this do it? should I have moved them outside?

I only have pots outside but hoping to build a couple of raised beds, our garden gets sun from about 9am to 4/5pm in the summer

I'd love to grow strawberries too but the plants I have bought ready started from the garden centre didn't really do anything much, just the odd strawberry.

I've started off a propogater inside the house with some carrots, courgettes, tomatoes, peas, bellis and stocks.

I grew some lovely lupins last year but they got to a certain height and became all droopy do I need some stakes to attach them to to keep them upright?

Does anyone have any beginner tips or can answer the above questions? Also any suggestions of other good beginners stuff to grow is very much appreciated too!

Courgettes need a big pot - they grow huge. The turning to mush sounds like a watering issue - see blossom end rot. They are hard to water unless in a big container - like bigger than a bucket. they are better outside.

Most things grow better in the ground if you can. Apart from tomatoes.

I grew a lot of stuff in post - what worked well was lettuce, strawberries, raspberries (for a couple of years then outgrew the big pot they were in).

Calendula is a lovely flower to grow from seed and easy. Lupins - always done well for me - but I grow them in the ground - they do get really big.

Did you ventilate the greenhouse last year? It sounds like you had some fungal problems, which are more likely in an unventilated greenhouse.

However courgettes were terrible for me as well outside last year. It was not a good year for them.

I do want to say you sound to have done amazingly and you'll go from strength to strength. All gardeners have failures they don't really deserve (and lucky successes too, praise be 🙂)

I don't grow lupins but it sounds like support would have been a good idea. You could try growing them through one of those circular plant supports this year which will probably look nicer than staking.

Strawberries hmm sometimes they need a bit of time to get going. Perhaps they needed a bigger pot or more water. Could be random. Move them to somewhere sunny and see how they do with plenty of tlc. If they don't respond, replace them

@JustJam4Tea

Courgettes need a big pot - they grow huge. The turning to mush sounds like a watering issue - see blossom end rot. They are hard to water unless in a big container - like bigger than a bucket. they are better outside.

Most things grow better in the ground if you can. Apart from tomatoes.

I grew a lot of stuff in post - what worked well was lettuce, strawberries, raspberries (for a couple of years then outgrew the big pot they were in).

Calendula is a lovely flower to grow from seed and easy. Lupins - always done well for me - but I grow them in the ground - they do get really big.

Thank you for replying that's great advice - i googled the blossom end rot it definitely looked like that so I will try outside, one plant per huge pot, and well watered and see how I go

Definitely going to buy some calendula seeds they will look lovely in a rectangle green planter I've got :)

I grew some lettuce last year but it was shooting up into a really tall plant, maybe I wasn't using it up fast enough? I wasn't sure whether to be pulling the whole lettuce out (like when you buy one?) I was just snipping a few leaves here and there to eat!

@deplorabelle

Did you ventilate the greenhouse last year? It sounds like you had some fungal problems, which are more likely in an unventilated greenhouse.

However courgettes were terrible for me as well outside last year. It was not a good year for them.

I do want to say you sound to have done amazingly and you'll go from strength to strength. All gardeners have failures they don't really deserve (and lucky successes too, praise be 🙂)

I don't grow lupins but it sounds like support would have been a good idea. You could try growing them through one of those circular plant supports this year which will probably look nicer than staking.

Strawberries hmm sometimes they need a bit of time to get going. Perhaps they needed a bigger pot or more water. Could be random. Move them to somewhere sunny and see how they do with plenty of tlc. If they don't respond, replace them

I don't think I will have ventilated it enough really now you mention it no, I would open the door for the day over the weekend if it was really hot and I was home but, I maybe should have been leaving it open when I went to work in the morning on any hot days? It is a little plastic one that zips up and I do remember it was quite 'sweaty' in there sometimes. I think I was trying to keep the heat in too much perhaps, conscious that it probably isn't the best greenhouse and that I live so far north so not the best weather either!

I'll have another go at strawberries in a bigger pot, more sun and see how they go. The occasional one I got was delicious but they were quite sparse!

I don't suppose you know about the carrot soil? A friend told me they will have grown all nobbly because the soil was too nutrient rich. I'm not sure how to make it less nutrient rich, maybe I just reuse last years and don't fertilise??

Thanks so much for your reply really appreciate the help :)

I've read that some people grow carrots in last years potato bag soil. But enjoy experimenting and finding out what works for you and your garden. Keep notes too of when you sow, how long they took to germinate etc and then you can sow earlier or later the next year. Last year the weather turned cold and wet just as the tomatoes needed to ripen and even the old timers around here were complaining they weren't ripening! Definitely leave greenhouse door open more. Maybe get a thermometer that tells you the coldest and hottest temperature throughout the day. You don't want it going above 30c too often.

Watering too much can also be an issue. You want the roots to search out water to make the plant strong so it's okay to let them dry up a little. For example last year I only watered my tomatoes once a week unless we had lots of hot days. But eventually you'll be able to look at them and know if they need water. It's better for them to have less than too much!

Strawberries: the plants don't produce much fruit in their first year. In fact, you're supposed to remove the flowers & prevent fruiting to build up strength for the next 2-3yrs than get rid. Ideally you have a bed of 3 sections: new plants (from runners of older plants), one year old plants and two year old plants which you get rid of after the current year (or save just to get the runners for next year's new plants). The second and third year plants provide the most of the crop.

It can be even more complicated if you also want to extend the fruiting period as there are early season fruiters, mid-season and late season ones. These traditional planting regimes are becoming a bit blurred now as new plant varieties are being developed that should be able to produce fruit in the first year and/or have a long fruiting period.

Regarding the lettuce I think you are describing the lettuce bolting. When lettuce gets hot and dry it wants to flower so it starts to send up a really tall stalk in the middle and it tastes bitter.

Once a salad has bolted they are no good so best to take out. You can prevent it to some extent by watering and putting pots in the shade but eventually lettuce comes to an end which is why it's good to sow a few every couple of weeks to keep the crop going

@HauntedDishcloth

Strawberries: the plants don't produce much fruit in their first year. In fact, you're supposed to remove the flowers & prevent fruiting to build up strength for the next 2-3yrs than get rid. Ideally you have a bed of 3 sections: new plants (from runners of older plants), one year old plants and two year old plants which you get rid of after the current year (or save just to get the runners for next year's new plants). The second and third year plants provide the most of the crop.

It can be even more complicated if you also want to extend the fruiting period as there are early season fruiters, mid-season and late season ones. These traditional planting regimes are becoming a bit blurred now as new plant varieties are being developed that should be able to produce fruit in the first year and/or have a long fruiting period.

Aaah I see, that explains a lot thanks so much!

@deplorabelle

Regarding the lettuce I think you are describing the lettuce bolting. When lettuce gets hot and dry it wants to flower so it starts to send up a really tall stalk in the middle and it tastes bitter.

Once a salad has bolted they are no good so best to take out. You can prevent it to some extent by watering and putting pots in the shade but eventually lettuce comes to an end which is why it's good to sow a few every couple of weeks to keep the crop going

Yes that sounds right, it didn't taste good. It sounds like I should be just keeping using them and putting new seeds in I will definitely do that for the summer thank you

@PoseyFlump

I've read that some people grow carrots in last years potato bag soil. But enjoy experimenting and finding out what works for you and your garden. Keep notes too of when you sow, how long they took to germinate etc and then you can sow earlier or later the next year. Last year the weather turned cold and wet just as the tomatoes needed to ripen and even the old timers around here were complaining they weren't ripening! Definitely leave greenhouse door open more. Maybe get a thermometer that tells you the coldest and hottest temperature throughout the day. You don't want it going above 30c too often.

Watering too much can also be an issue. You want the roots to search out water to make the plant strong so it's okay to let them dry up a little. For example last year I only watered my tomatoes once a week unless we had lots of hot days. But eventually you'll be able to look at them and know if they need water. It's better for them to have less than too much!

Thanks for the reply, that's a great idea - having a gardening note book I'm going to do that.

Yes my tomatoes grew plenty of fruit but it was all staying green until maybe July kind of time, and then it went crazy for the next few months and they were still going into September October. They were my biggest success - eventually - but they probably would have been doing even better if I hadn't let them get that fungus so will definitely keep in mind about the ventilation etc.

Thanks so much for the help!

The strawberry advice is good!

If you get unripe tomatoes again you can either slowly ripen them indoors (put in a paper bag with a banana or leave on a sunny windowsill and wait). Or you can use them green. Make green tomato chutney or slice and fry in egg and breadcrumbs.

I tend to think red tomatoes can be bought all year round I'm a shop but green tomatoes are a rare delicacy only available to the home grower

I think I was trying to keep the heat in too much perhaps, conscious that it probably isn't the best greenhouse and that I live so far north so not the best weather either! A greenhouse is more for protection from the cold than for increasing the heat on warm days. Remember Mediterranean flowers die down in the summer, it’s the hot season which is the “no growth” season. I leave my door open permanently from about late May to end September.

At least in the NW you’ll have warmer winters than the NE.

It sounds like you are doing really well, and some great advice above. Just a note on growing carrots. Sow them where they will grow, as starting them off then transplanting will give funny shaped roots. should be fine to sow outdoors in pots now. They like a loose, well draining soil, so I have mixed some horticultural sand in to help with that.

@Redfloweryellowflower

It sounds like you are doing really well, and some great advice above. Just a note on growing carrots. Sow them where they will grow, as starting them off then transplanting will give funny shaped roots. should be fine to sow outdoors in pots now. They like a loose, well draining soil, so I have mixed some horticultural sand in to help with that.

Ah I see that's very helpful about the carrots, I will look for the horticultural sand thanks very much ☺️ I mean they tasted delicious anyway which is the main thing, but they were going off in all directions!