The Vegetable Patch Mark 2

[MereDintofPandiculation]

A continuation of the thread for those of us growing edibles, to share triumphs and failures, swap expertise and solve problems

Sugar snaps and mange tout are very easy to grow (if you can keep them safe from mice, slugs and pigeons while they are small). I recommend growing yellow or purple, rather than green - they are much easier to pick if they aren't the same colour as the leaves.

Yes, that's right, two or three pots each with 4 beans in. In the same 1ft square sized pot I can get 4 beetroot or 4 swiss chard, but only one purple sprouting or any of the larger cabbage type plants. I grow cucumbers in one of those rectangular boxes some Councils use for recycling, and can get up to 4 in there. Tomatoes in a greenhouse are fine in 9inch square pots, and lettuces I grow one to a 6 or 8 inch pot. Courgettes are greedy and need a bigger tub.

I've just sown my broad beans, I can't remember when I harvest them. It's not beyond end July I'm pretty sure.

Two cucumber plants will give a decent crop. I usually grow 6-8 tomatoes but 3 is still worthwhile.

Easy way to pick green pods is to shake the vine gently - being heavier, the swing of the pods is different from the swing of the leaves and they're easy to spot.

I feel you...space is why we moved to France

Such good advice and tips from wise, experienced mumsnetters- thanks all ☺️

Do any of you struggle to cull little seedlings? So I sow 4 tomato seeds of a variety wanting 2 but all 4 pop up. Multiple by all the varieties I'm growing and now I've got double I want. Last year I grew them all on and gave them away to friends but they didn't look after them so I felt I wasted my time and compost raising them. I know the sensible thing to do is just pick the strongest looking 2 seedlings but I'm too soft to kill the others 😂

I pot most of them on.
and then swap or give away those I don't use.

<seedlings keepers anonymous>

The two I want go in the two big pots. The other two make shift as best they can in leftover pots much too small for them. Probably kinder to give them a quick clean death really.

what's even worse is if you give away the runts and they do better than the ones you kept for yourself.

I struggle to bin anything that's growing. Last week I potted up some clumps of dandelion for my neighbours tortoise 😆

😂

This year I've been ruthless, first potting on I've kept a spare of most varieties in case I've accidentally killed any moving them but have only kept extras to give away to specific people who have asked and will care for them. The cost of compost alone is enough that I can't give away loads and loads.

Keeping a sensible number to look after properly will hopefully give me better results than trying to keep too many limping along.

I found it hard though! And it has done nothing to stop me buying way too many varieties of everything because I can't choose!

I have a proper spreadsheet this year where I can note down successes/flavour/yield etc and use it to inform future varieties to grow.

I've found out there are two plots available so I'll arrange to go see them and go from there. Not sure if they're with water or without. As long as they're not a complete state I think I'll give it a go and just chuck loads of potatoes and squash in this year

I just hoiked out a broad bean that was well on its way as I knew there were too many for the space so they’d all suffer and my god the guilt

Looks like I can safely say I'm not the only member of Seedlings Keepers Anonymous 😂😂

I do this a fair bit. Then marvel at a plant's determination to survive!

@Brieandbeetroot I love a good spreadsheet. I jot down all sorts of notes (and tips from this thread) and it's so easy to do a search and find the info again instead of wading through a notebook.

I've not really done a proper taste comparison before. Probably because everything homegrown tastes great compared to the supermarket! (And the reason why each year my tomato list is growing - see Seedling Keepers Anonymous)

Right I've shown my mange tout today, a month later than last year but hopefully it will be ok?!

I've just had my strawberry plants arrive but I think I've bought the wrong thing? I ordered bare root plants and they are just in this massive clump and don't even look like strawberry plants tbh! Anyone know what I'm meant to do with them they are all tangled. I've put them in water as the instructions said to do so. I should have just bought some ready potted ones from the garden centre!

Really, of course, you're grossly misusing a spreadsheet. What you should be using is a database (But of course databases are pigs to set up, whereas anyone can design a spreadsheet, so everyone uses spreadsheets)

I think most tomatoes taste good if allowed to ripen on the plant. Which is a big reason why home grown tomatoes taste good.

I have only just sowed by first batch of sugar snap, and will be sowing at least two succession batches, so yours will be fine.

Strawberries sound exactly like the bare root plants I've just had delivered. Once they've soaked, you gently tease them out into separate plants. Pull very gently and shake, then use fingers to untangle roots, and repeat until you have at least as many separate plants as you ordered.Don't expect it to take less than 15 minutes. Be very patient and gentle.

When you've finished, pot up or plant out, and keep them well watered, as they'll need time for teir roots to recover.

@MereDintofPandiculation I feel like you've thrown down a gauntlet... or should that be gardening glove? 😂

Somewhere back in the mists of time I think I was taught to set up databases. Possibly called Access or something?!

Now I'm imaging a delightful database full of my tomato data. 🤔 And as we've recently learnt about potato leaves I definitely need a 'leaf type' field!

@PoseyFlump Yes, Access, bit old hat now but still serviceable and available for Windows machines.

I planted my broadbeans out on my plot today. I am now worrying about them 🤣, it’s the first thing I have planted up there that I have grown from seed. I hope nothing eats them over night. Mangetout will be going up there next followed by the peas.

@AlisonDonut could you run me through your succession sugarsnap pea planting? Do you use the same bed? And do you just save save space for the next batch and already have supports in place? How long would you say it is from sowing until harvest?

Also has anyone had any success with scare tape to deter pigeons?