The vegetable garden

[Justanotherobserver]

What are you growing this year?

For us, it'll be the usual suspects - beans of all types, peas, sweet corn, squash, greens, carrots, onion, garlic, a bit of salad stuff. Going to try some ginger in the greenhouse again as it does well in there.

Hoping for a better fruit season after last year's cold spring spoiled it all. Snow in mid-April did for a lot of stuff.

EveningOverRooftops A few years ago I discovered frozen chopped onions and the little frozen blocks of crushed garlic, so there is little point growing either of those. We use both daily, so would never grow nearly enough any way, and my frozen finds are a big time saver. As for brassicas, no matter how well we net, they are always munched to death by little green furry wiggly bastards. We grow in our garden and space is at a premium, so we stopped bothering with brassicas years ago and swapped for things that are less trouble. The only veg we grow that I wish he'd leave longer are the chard, beetroot, tomatoes, and perpetual spinach (on the years we have it). It drives me nuts when he clears all the remaining beetroot and presents it to me like a surprise. We eat ours in things like risotto, so I want it fresh. I don't want to have to suddenly pickle a load! (Not least as I won't have planned for it that week so have no vinegar etc in!).
He likes to add manure in November then cover the lot over Winter with thick black plastic to kill off any weeds. TBH I already do all the fruit, herbs, and flower beds and can't take on the veg too with my other share of household jobs, so I just inwardly roll my eyes now and let him get on with it.

@Justanotherobserver

That sounds like a great move, I hope it goes really well for you.

You took the polytunnel with you, that's the sort of thing I'd do

I bought it at the start of lockdown knowing we were thinking of moving. But had two stonking seasons with it.

Plant your spinach and beetroot in the flower beds as interesting foliage plants.

I need to get the compost out from under the stairs and plant tomatoes on the windowsill. They did well last year.

I hope to try veggies in the church garden too. ( As a community resource) got to reclear the brambles though.

We bought a compost bin for the yard. Only half of it is on some sort of soil where we have prised up half a slab at the edge of the tiniest strip of soil that the landlord couldn't flatten and pave because it is growing ash trees.

We already have the spinach in. And pots of chives, supermarket mint and parsley which I divided and potted up.

Planned pots:
Courgette X1 the flowers were pretty at least.
Runner beansx2
Perpetual spinachx1
Peas x1

And something else not yet decided.

We are using compost from the composting bag we have been filling for a year and a half. With commercial compost on top.

I may try and find some more big pots to fill.

We tip the old spent compost into the compost bin, especially the one that grew beans in. It helps to put a layer at the bottom of the bin if on concrete, which it mostly is. Given the yard is concreted, we found masses of earthworms which have turned the ash leaves into leaf mould underneath the ash branches that were piled up. Picked up the earthworms, leaf mould and dried leaves to put in the new bin. Stacked the logs/branches at the bottom of the garden. Twigs were cut up and put in the compost. We compost Amazon boxes between layers of kitchen vegetable peelings etc.

Added blueberry and sage to our collection at the weekend. I needed a pot rather than direct in the ground to block toddler from going somewhere so ideal for blueberries in acidic soil. It’s a petite version due to space

Accidentally bought two raspberries and a blueberry plant from Morrisons. The raspberries are planted up. Got to get more compost for the blueberry. They may or may not grow but it'll be fun trying.

That's a couple fewer pots to grow in. I may buy a couple of buckets from b and q to use as pots. I have three left for 2 runner beans and one courgette.

And a blueberry. Oops.

The 2022 seed frenzy has begun

There are trays of compost and packets of seeds everywhere!

Just got the last of the spuds in the big tubs outside. That’s 10 pots of 7 varieties.

I need sow the beans on the tray now it’s free. Got my loo roll tubes ready to pack.

Ditto courgettes and squashes.

I started my butternut squash about 3 weeks ago as they all seemed to flower a bit late last year and we didnt get a great harvest. They are in the back bedroom and obviously loving it because they are about 3" tall already. At this rate they will be growing out of the room and down the stairs before I get them planted outside.

I have just got rhe overwintered peas in the ground. More on the go now in modules outside. Have berry plants, asparagus and rhubarb in the ground. Peppers, chilli, aubergine and Cape gooseberries on the windowsill, as they need a long growing time. Will start showing the other less hardy things in April. Potatoes will be going in at the weekend hopefully.

Get your fleece or whatever you use out, everyone. In for a chilly spell.

We put another 32 [half charlotte, half desiree] in yesterday.

So we have:
55 Bjinte
94 Desiree
34 Charlotte
about 26 Agata [in pots]

And I've got about another 30 to go into a final bed.

Of those, 55 Bintje, 34 Desiree and 34 Charlotte are in soil, planted with bulb planters with soil, and grass clippings over the top.

The Agata are all in containers in compost and soil mix

All the rest are on grass, with cardboard under them, and a soil/grass/compost mix over the top.

All of them get more soil/compost/grass on their leaves as they start to show. We will use all the grass mowings all spring and summer to go over them as I am using them to create new beds and by putting card down and growing on top, it kills the grass and weeds.

I'll be weighing each harvest from each bed so that I can see what the yields are.

@EveningOverRooftops what tubs do you use please?

I need a cheap way to get something to grow plants in.

Mainly courgettes and squash, chillies, tomatoes, and salads.

[quote BlackeyedSusan]@EveningOverRooftops what tubs do you use please?

I need a cheap way to get something to grow plants in.[/quote]
www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B07BZ1DSZS?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title&tag=mumsnetforu03-21

I use these. They’re huge and good for spuds. The 30litre ones I’ve got for spuds too but going to have courgettes in them.

[quote BlackeyedSusan]@EveningOverRooftops what tubs do you use please?

I need a cheap way to get something to grow plants in.[/quote]
Not as big but I use £1/1.50 black builders buckets (think they are 12L) as plant pots -drill holes in bottom

For blueberries, raspberries etc
I would use same for some veg (carrots, beans etc) but I’m not a big veg grower

I use cheap plastic troughs (window box style) from B&M etc for strawberries/spinach/other greens where don’t need deep roots - ASDA is cheapest at £1.75. That seems to work out cheaper than pots, & also more space efficient.

Grow your own can end up a bit pricey I find!

I was thinking of using black buckets for some. (or orange) I have three buckets and really do not need that many. One was aquired on holiday as there was nowhere to wash a wetsuit.

Wilko have big pots for £6 if anyone needs more.

Wow I'm so impressed. I've literally just started thinking about growing stuff again, in the past I've done tomatoes, cucumber, courgettes, strawberries, runner beans.
I've got a lovely rhubarb plant I ignore completely and every year it comes back with a lovely crop. Also raspberries which come back, and my strawberry plants from previous years have spread all over the place but hopefully will fruit again. Im more of a hands off gardener.... Lol.
But want to get some tomatoes and runners going again. Has anyone managed to grow butternut squash? I tried a few times but never got one worth eating ...

Iv

savehannah, here the squash get plenty of light, space, food and water and they do well for that. We get two or three good sized Crown Prince from each plant.

I'm in west Oxfordshire and the garden is sheltered, if that helps.

What growing conditions are you working with?

I'm so jealous of seedlings sprouting everywhere!

I had to give up my allotment years ago (too far away when I had very little time between small DD, FT job and DH travelling constantly in his FT job). And I even had to give up my single bed in the small back garden last year when we got DPup...who has discovered digging as a game...

So I am confined to 1 window box of strawberries, 1 window box of salad leaves, a half window box of spring onions and radishes, and 1 hanging basket with tumbling cherry tomatoes. Although I might get away with using a large pot I have for climbing beans...if I can get them through the baby stage without DPup noticing them.

Coriander is going great guns in the conservatory already. I'm determined not to let it bolt, so current sterilising some bottles to make coriander oil.

Also just about to order these as they are half price this weekend. I've used potato sacks and the like before, but at least these are actually bonny. Give the garden a bit much needed colour!

I have also just bought an Ooni Pizza oven with 20% off Lakeland voucher. I have covered one for 3 years. DD saw me browsing this morning and said "This is every spring, Mum. Goodness sake, just order it and don't sit looking at it till it goes out of stock again" I consider it an investment and tool in my prepping arsenal. I'm also now planning what I'm growing around 'pizza toppings!'

Trays of seeds are germinating on the windowsills

I forgot to attach the 'these' I was talking about..