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Gardening

Find tips and tricks to make your garden or allotment flourish on our Gardening forum.

Original poster

The Vegetable Patch Mark 2

980 replies

MereDintofPandiculation · 01/09/2022 09:13

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

OP posts:
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94
Original poster
MereDintofPandiculation · 11/04/2023 17:33

Ohm, I see you've already put a photo up! Bottom left is clearly OK, but that's last year's, all the ones in the middle are OK - they've got new, healthy yellow-green leaves looking quite stiff, not at all floppy. Even the one right at the top has a yellow green shoot coming. The only question mark is the one on the left, lurking behind the big pot, with no obvious new growth, but even that one is probably OK.

OP posts:
greenerfingers · 12/04/2023 12:42

I'm late to the party this year. I told myself I won't grow anything as I've just 'grown' a new baby butttt my garden looks sad without anything planted so I might just give it a go and see how things fare on their own a little bit. Is it too late to sow tomatoes and beans? I might just go to the garden centre once I've freshened up my beds.

I've also managed to kill 3 of my potted plants successively (always rhododendrons 🤦🏽‍♀️).

Brieandbeetroot · 12/04/2023 12:57

When can I kick things out into my greenhouse (unheated)? I'm thinking pepper, aubergine and chilli and tomato plants...

BinturongsSmellOfPopcorn · 12/04/2023 13:01

When the night time temps are reliably over 10°C.

Wildernesstips · 12/04/2023 13:04

Oh, my chilli and tomato plants (bought from Lidl) are already in my unheated greenhouse. It’s fairly mild down here in the South West but I made the assumption that if Lidl were selling them outside, then they would be ok.

Brieandbeetroot · 12/04/2023 13:28

Lovely! I'm in greater London so I'll coddle them until the storm passes the next couple of days and then kick them out of the porch!

Brieandbeetroot · 12/04/2023 13:29

Although actually the nighttime temps are still looking solidly single figures. I will have more space after the weekend though as the next lot of second earlies and my maincrop potatoes will be going in the ground.

greenacrylicpaint · 12/04/2023 13:50

Brieandbeetroot · 12/04/2023 12:57

When can I kick things out into my greenhouse (unheated)? I'm thinking pepper, aubergine and chilli and tomato plants...

I put mine out when it's reliably above 5 degrees ag night to harden off during the day.
then plant out a couple of weeks later.
tomatos will survive if they don't get frost but they will only grow well if daytime is above 15.

Brieandbeetroot · 12/04/2023 13:52

I've got quite a lot of everything so I could try a few sacrificial plants and see what happens, if they're ok I can get the rest in there too.

greenacrylicpaint · 12/04/2023 14:06

any tomato growers up to debate?

my dad removes all leaves apart from the top set when he plants out his plants. he only feeds once when planting out. his plants look wuite straggly but give good fruit.

I do it the other way round, keep them mean until the first flower. then I feed once.
I remove bottom leaves if they touch the ground or shade ripening fruit.
lots of leaves, lots of fruit.

who is right Grin

tizwozliz · 12/04/2023 16:20

@greenerfingers - I didn't sow anything last year until the 2nd May so you should have plenty of time.

We're away the last week of April so planning on setting seedlings off before we go and they should be fine for a week. Going to see the allotments available on Sunday so will hopefully have an idea of how many things to start off if I decide to take it :-D

Our rhubarb is late this year, had some harvested pop up on my memories but this year it's still barely our the ground.

PoseyFlump · 12/04/2023 17:42

greenacrylicpaint · 12/04/2023 14:06

any tomato growers up to debate?

my dad removes all leaves apart from the top set when he plants out his plants. he only feeds once when planting out. his plants look wuite straggly but give good fruit.

I do it the other way round, keep them mean until the first flower. then I feed once.
I remove bottom leaves if they touch the ground or shade ripening fruit.
lots of leaves, lots of fruit.

who is right Grin

@greenacrylicpaint I don't know but I wish I did! I often see tomato plants stripped of their leaves but I darent do it myself. Surely they need some leaves?! I remove the bottom leaves or any that look rough. I feed every 10 days once the fruit is set. I've no idea why, probably just making it up 😂

PoseyFlump · 12/04/2023 17:43

I should follow that up by saying I've always got tomatoes coming out of my ears!

ThreeRingCircus · 12/04/2023 18:06

tizwozliz · 12/04/2023 16:20

@greenerfingers - I didn't sow anything last year until the 2nd May so you should have plenty of time.

We're away the last week of April so planning on setting seedlings off before we go and they should be fine for a week. Going to see the allotments available on Sunday so will hopefully have an idea of how many things to start off if I decide to take it :-D

Our rhubarb is late this year, had some harvested pop up on my memories but this year it's still barely our the ground.

My rhubarb is the same, I actually thought I'd somehow managed to kill it as there was no sign of it but up it popped last week. Only just visible out of the soil though!

AlisonDonut · 12/04/2023 19:42

greenacrylicpaint · 12/04/2023 14:06

any tomato growers up to debate?

my dad removes all leaves apart from the top set when he plants out his plants. he only feeds once when planting out. his plants look wuite straggly but give good fruit.

I do it the other way round, keep them mean until the first flower. then I feed once.
I remove bottom leaves if they touch the ground or shade ripening fruit.
lots of leaves, lots of fruit.

who is right Grin

I take off leaves as the plant grows, mainly as I want to increase airflow and keep a check on the suckers/armpits. I plant mine as deep as I can, and remove all leaves under the soil. I don't really feed mine at all, but if I do, it will be just comfrey in the water butt and that gives a slow weak feed every time I water. I'dd do that once I have enough comfrey to cut but when I had a huge comfrey patch, I'd make a comfrey tea bag that sits in the water butt all summer, and I'd chop it up and leave it on the surface of the soil around the tomatoes to crumble and feed them as they decayed.

By the autumn, mine will have 5-6ft of stem, and a tuft of leaves at the top.

PoseyFlump · 12/04/2023 20:50

Talking of tomatoes, some of mine have flowers now. And I've got patty pans the size of little marbles. Hurry up sun!

Original poster
MereDintofPandiculation · 12/04/2023 21:09

Is it too late to sow tomatoes and beans? Getting late for tomatoes and braod beans, perfect for french beans, if anything, early for runners

OP posts:
AlisonDonut · 13/04/2023 19:03

I didn't sow mine early this year due to the kittens using the heat mat all winter. So mine are well off of flowers. I've sown courgettes and cukes now, and the first ones are up. But I do know of people sowing tomatoes now, they can catch up if you have the varieties that fruit early. I'm not going anywhere near French beans or runners for a few more weeks.

I've moved all the tomatoes and peppers in their pots and tray into the polytunnel as I need the space in the potting shed for the cucurbits.

greenacrylicpaint · 13/04/2023 19:43

for tomatos you are better off with plant swaps or garden centres now.
I've sown cucumbers last week. they grow so quickly they will be ready to plant out at the same time as the toms in a couple of weeks (weather permitting).

TheGander · 14/04/2023 09:43

I chit my cucumbers and courgettes. Not started cukes yet. I find them very temperamental, liable to suddenly die if I start them off too early. Might wait a week. Little dwarf beans are coming up, 2 weeks after sowing. Thought they were duds.

PoseyFlump · 15/04/2023 15:39

@TheGander how do you chit and do you only chit those two? I like the idea of chitting but not sure of the best method.

TheGander · 15/04/2023 16:11

I put some kitchen towel down in a Tupperware, spray with water to dampen it, lay the seeds on top ( try and keep them at least an inch apart or the roots tangle). Pop the lid back on within a week you’ll have roots, when they are about an inch long pot them on.

TheGander · 15/04/2023 16:12

I’ve o my ever chitter those two. It enables me to see which seeds are viable and which are duds. I think it also reduces the risk of them rotting in the soil.

PoseyFlump · 15/04/2023 17:36

That's a good idea 👍 I really struggled to get my cucumbers going this year (seeds I bought a couple of years ago) and that method would have helped with the frustration!

TheGander · 15/04/2023 18:19

Yes that’s why I do it, got fed up of the no shows!