General Chat

Along with lots of people I have been trying to grow my own veggies. Last year a neighbour made me some smart raised beds which I filled with compost from my own compost heap and planted lots of seeds.

Yesterday I harvested .....**fanfare**..... a runner bean. Singular.

Hopefully there will be more to come!! It is chopped up and in the freezer in its own little bag.

I have the world's smallest tomato plants languishing in the greenhouse. Everyone else I know has a real glut of tomatoes, it's just not fair!!! I water, I feed, they just don't like me!

Helen...LOL

Grow some mint !!


No need to look after......just sit and watch it grow wild .. :-D

Sounds as though, your soil needs enriching with manure ,new beds need more than just compost and beans and tomatoes are heavy feeders.
Its all trial and error Lass,i have had allotments for thirty years ,and i am still learning ,all will come right for you.Fred :-)

Thank-you, Fred!

But my manure has lots of pony-poo in it, we used to have a pony!

Ok, 30 years, I'll get there in the end!

Marilyn, I even killed the mint, it used to grow in a corner of the garden, now it has vanished!!! I have some in a pot, though, hoping for great things.....

Helen--Wellcome to the world of grow your own

Plant three get one lol

One for the birds ,one for the pests and ONE FOR YOU

Happy digging Stan xx

Lol, Stan!

I am rabbit-proofed, manured, toned from digging, full of fresh air, and yes I know I can buy carrots and potatoes for next-to-nothing from the supermarket!! But as I suspect you already know, it's the challenge!!! I will grow enough for one meal...I will grow enough for one meal..... etc etc.

As an additional note, I grew potatoes last year in one of the raised beds, Pretty goodish, as long as you don't mind digging for your dinner on Sunday morning in the pouring rain/interminable drought. This year potatoes are growing like mad everywhere, even though I didn't plant any. "Sighs."

Keep at it Helen its worth it for the taste ,I walk round my garden eating things its great try runner beans raw ,you get the full taste ,I'm hungry now lol

Thanks, Stan, will do. x Or die with the effort!

I am trying to encourage my son to grow food on his balcony since he is into fresh veg etc There was a good article in the Saga magazine which I read at the doc's surgery so the receptionist let me bring it away to copy and I took it back yesterday and gave son the copy I made.
Sainsbury's have plastic potato sacks reduced at the mo, I think they are down to £1.49 or less.

I always cut the eyes and bits out of spuds before cooking and the bits go in the compost, consequently when I have topped up my tubs etc I always find potatoes growing later on, have had one or two boilings from them when I remember to dig!

Hope your crops will flourish soon Helen, and enjoy that special bean!

Lizx

Reading about the pony manure yesterday ,i wonder .you ain't puttin' FRESH manure in your soil are you?,if you are ,that's what your trouble is.
You need to keep manure for a twelve months ,so that is well rotted,before you add it to your garden.
There is lot's of advice from people who have replied to your thread,you only need to ask.
With bad health and age i had to give the big gardens up ,but now have a tiny ,veggie patch out back which i have had for three years ,going like a goodun ,lol.Keep at it Helen ,and good luck,any questions ,Ask ,please.Fred,and tothers :-D.

That is so funny Helen....you should do what I do,plant spuds, tomatoes,carrots and beans in pots and forget em! They are now like Triffids! :-D XX BC

Raspberry plants question

Do I prune the fruit bearing branch ? and if so, when?

Many thanks

GinaS

Gina, gawd, raspberries always get the better of me. I think you cut back this years growth and next year they grow on the old stuff. Something like that every other year. I have strawberries, too. You never saw anything so tiny and dry.

Liz, lol, I am looking forward to a one-bean casserole!!! Went out to check for another bean just now...nope, zilch.....Got stung by a lot of nettles though.

Fred, we sold the pony last year (although he now lives next door) so maybe the poop is too fresh. Just watered the greenhouse for over an hour. Think the tomato plants are still there under the weeds...might have a go at them tomorrow if the nettle-rash has subsided.

BC, I can't help it!! I seem to live a comedic life! Honest!! I planted carrots and parsnips. Couldn't find them months later then did a bit of weeding. There they were!!! Was industriously weeding then realised I was pulling out swede plants. Dear me. I have a man come to do hedges and such. He looked at the swedelets and said (in a local accent that I can't possibly copy) "I never managed to grow any of them" so I am expecting Swede Bug to arrive any minute.

Seriously, it's cheaper and easier at Tes*os. But oh, the fun.....

l've just pulled some carrotts that l grew in big tubs, they look great....dog loves em too:o))

Good luck with yours:o))

jude

Helen, I bet they taste nicer than T'cos too :-D

I'm a balcony and window sill veg grower. i have courgettes growing in a 13x13" container and have plans for the largest for tonights supper. Last year we harvested just three due to family committments but they were the best we've ever tasted :-D The plants are a LOT lusher than tiddly bedding annuals too.

I have mint in a pot and a chilli plant. In the kitchen I have basil, chives and rocket (in an ice cream tub.) Have to say though, cress is my most productive sowing LOL

We had the ritual eating of the runner bean one year too :-D
I like the foliage and flowers very much too, fast growing and colourful.

Good for you, Island. Well done. You will probably grow more than me!! I think fresh herbs are the best and they improve any meal. My daughter grows chives, she doesn't want to but they are everywhere in her garden!!!

I read somewhere that runner beans were originally grown for their flowers, which are really pretty. I have some with both red and white flowers.

I am trying to grow a pumpkin or two, as well, but so far the (one) pumpkin is a funny shape.

French beans grow really well in tubs, too.

Thanks for your good wishes, Jude. xx

GinaS

Some hints on pruning here.......
http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/basics/techniques/pruning_prunesoftfruit1.shtml

Gwyn

oh i love growing my own and have done for several years,i find it very relaxing after a heavy wk at the hos.but early last year we had our first two grandchildren born into our family,and i hate to say that i let the garden slip.
in my veg garden i have pots,rhubarb,and swedes.in my greenhouse i have cucumbers,toms and chillies.and some courgetts waiting to go in the garden.im afraid they are not getting the tender loving care that they deserve.but maybe i will do better next year with the babys helping me.x :-D :-D

Sounds wonderful, Suzanne xx

What an industrious lot you are!

One year soon after I persuaded o.h. to buy neighbour's unwanted greenhouse, he grew courgettes inside it, they took over like triffids and we only got a few courgettes on them. He couldn't believe it when I sent him in to the flowers with a cotton bud and told him he had to pretend to be a bee, lol Have you ever looked at a courgette's 'bits'? They really are like male and female bits lol

This year the greenhouse is just being used for plants we overwintered in there and some haven't been brought out.

Lizx