Grow 2021-24

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Re: Grow 2021/2/3

Post by Up the Junction »

jevs wrote: Tue Feb 21, 2023 9:16 pm Has anyone grown Pak Choi? would love to hear about your experiences
Last year, for the first time Jevs (circled below).

Pretty easy to grow, really, though it may need some protection from the nasties in your allotment (as you can see from my experiment).

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Delicious with courgette, green beans, chicken (plus stock cube), coconut milk and - peanut butter. All served on a bed of pasta.

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Re: Grow 2021/2/3

Post by Alan Pardew's Dad »

Just ordered some tomato seeds to plant for this season. I grew one plant of “sweet million” little cherry tomatoes last year and they were fabulous so going to grow a few more this year. Fingers crossed the weather is decent and tomatoes grow well.
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Re: Grow 2021/2/3

Post by jevs »

Busy couple of weeks

Indoors Under the growlights and on the heat mats, Parsnips, onions (for show) leeks, cauliflower, sprouts, peppers, chillis and tomatoes...all germinated and started to be potted.

On the allotment, digging is slow with it being heavy clay...but i'm getting there.

Our plot committee, which i'm a member, has finally agreed structures on the plot plus the option of fencing our plots off to prevent deer from causing damage. So i now have a polycarb 8x6 greenhouse ready to go up.

All of a sudden, everything is on top of us with March beginning next week.
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Re: Grow 2021/2/3

Post by Tenbury »

I'm later than last year as I've not been well, but that may not be a bad thing. Hot chilli peps to sow tomorrow and Tom's next week. The winter here has been a disaster, although very mild overall, we had a couple of frosts, straight out of the blue, and it went to - 8C. This wrecked the brassica, never seen anything like it. I think usually the cold builds gradually, and maybe it was the sudden shock, either way next winter I'll fleece everything.
I've tons of overwintering onions, but I'll sow some main crop too. Hope my mobility probs get better with the weather.
Hope you all have a good year :newthumb:
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Re: Grow 2021/2/3

Post by prophet:marginal »

Same to you mate.
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Re: Grow 2021/2/3

Post by WHU Independent »

Did an hour in the front garden today, picking up all the dead leaves, trimming back the dead stuff, removing weeds: very satisfying but also very knackering. Wanna do another hour today to finish it off. When my mate comes back, and after the expected cold spell, I'm gonna trim the berry tree back a bit. It's getting out of control. Will also have a go at the crab apple tree, as that needs trimmig. I had a massive production of crab apples last year- my mate has taken them away to to crab apple jam.
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Re: Grow 2021/2/3

Post by rigoberts song »

Tried growing tomatoes plants from seed I put them in little pots in peaty soil on a window covered in a plastic bag .They sprout from seed grow about 2 inches get leggy then Keel over and die .I put tiny drops of water on them every day.
Any advice appreciated thks RS.
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Re: Grow 2021/2/3

Post by Up the Junction »

rigoberts song wrote: Tue Mar 14, 2023 1:02 pmThey sprout from seed grow about 2 inches get leggy then Keel over and die .I put tiny drops of water on them every day.
Are you taking the bags off once they start to show? I'm sure you'll know this, but they'll need plenty of light too (perhaps more than daylight provides presently).

In other news, my first seed of 2023 has germinated. It's a pea!
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Re: Grow 2021/2/3

Post by rigoberts song »

OK utj for the second time today everydays a school day .many thks
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Re: Grow 2021/2/3

Post by jevs »

RS, Tomatoes are a vine. You can bury the stem very deep and it'll root from the stem. Repot and plant up to the bottom leaves if you can or just get them supported with a small cane. You also might not be giving them enough water. Try to check if the soil is dry at the roots if you can and then basically drown them and leave the water to drain
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Re: Grow 2021/2/3

Post by Tenbury »

Yep, RS, that's 'dampening off', let 'em breathe. (as an aside, you might find vermiculite as a useful medium to use /add to your sowing medium, see online, or pm me). Loads of time left to start again any way.

[This year I've scrounged about 40 crap old hanging baskets for free, general plan being to alternate them between tunnel and outside line for growing strawberries at shoulder height. Need some kind of irrigation/liquid feed set up, preferably free!!]
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Re: Grow 2021/2/3

Post by mushy »

https://www.wilko.com/wilko-horticultur ... lsrc=aw.ds


Is this the stuff Tenners?
Looked for it in B and Q the other day but couldn't see it.

And do you use specialist potting soil?
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Re: Grow 2021/2/3

Post by Tenbury »

Yep, that's the stuff( mostly I surface sow onto moist compost, then cover with an appropriate depth of vermiculite.) It's clean, and drains well.
As for sowing/potting compost.... the jury's out for me. All seeds (especially peppers/Tom's ie, small stuff, have what they need to germinate already, so you're just giving them a light surface tio do their thing (sowing comp). Tom's are easy, and bar RS's damping off just use sowing then repot (deep like Jevs) in potting comp, but I like to not disturb Chillies, so potting in 2""with half an inch of sowing then seed then vermiculite, then pot on to final pots later. Cues, just straight potting.
All other stuff,brassica /onion /leek /etc potting then half an inch of sieved potting, then seed, then vermiculite............. and breathe....
Good luck everyone I'm going to be late.
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Re: Grow 2021/2/3

Post by WHU Independent »

Anther day another hour in the garden (back one this time.) I really love the tridying up,dead heading, weeding side of gardening as you can see the results immediately after you have done it. I've decided, weather permitting, to spend one hour a day (at least) gardening as it is good for both my mental and physical health. Gardening certainly uses muscles I never use when training with weights.

I have a bit of an issuse that I'd like some advice on please.

last year my asparagus plants grew from seed to about thigh high. I spilt 1/3 of them into the garden and 2/3's in the green house. I cut them all back and watered them infrequently. The ones outside are covered with a thick layer of straw and as yet there is no growth, as to be expected. BUT the ones in my greenhouse are shooting up they are almost navel high - already! They are fairly thick - technically this is the second year they have been growing - and I have heard that you can't eat them until 3 years have passed.

Question - is this normal behaviour doe Asapagus? Do I just keep watering them and let them grow and wait for them to die off again and cut them back? I'm shocked at how big and thick they are after only two years. They look like they are going to keep on grwoing. TYIA. WHUI.
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Re: Grow 2021/2/3

Post by Up the Junction »

Wish I could help Indy, but all my Asparagus died over winter. Having the temporary plastic greenhouse they were previously sheltering in blown into the neighbours' back garden during a gale last week didn't help either...

Good luck with your blossoming friends and keep us updated. Be good to hear a success story, as right now I'm feeling it's not worth the aggro starting a three-year cycle all over again!
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Re: Grow 2021/2/3

Post by rigoberts song »

Thks all !
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Re: Grow 2021/2/3

Post by Tenbury »

Wrote a gurt long reply this morning, Indy, then pressed the wrong button. I'll try again.

I reckon that stuff in the GH is wasting your GH space. When the tops die down in autumn cut them back and carefully lift and replant the crowns outside with the others. Remember, you've still got another season to go. It'll be worth it. Check out the RHS site for planting details etc, and you won't go wrong. I cheated and bought one Yr crowns (supplemented with some seed grown) but I'm obsessed with Asparagus. (and Broad beans, and globe artichokes :phew:)
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Re: Grow 2021/2/3

Post by prophet:marginal »

Forsythia came out this weekend in our garden. Still light - nearly 1800.

Double bonus
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Re: Grow 2021/2/3

Post by Alan Pardew's Dad »

WHU Independent wrote: Thu Mar 16, 2023 3:44 pm Anther day another hour in the garden (back one this time.) I really love the tridying up,dead heading, weeding side of gardening as you can see the results immediately after you have done it. I've decided, weather permitting, to spend one hour a day (at least) gardening as it is good for both my mental and physical health. Gardening certainly uses muscles I never use when training with weights.

I have a bit of an issuse that I'd like some advice on please.

last year my asparagus plants grew from seed to about thigh high. I spilt 1/3 of them into the garden and 2/3's in the green house. I cut them all back and watered them infrequently. The ones outside are covered with a thick layer of straw and as yet there is no growth, as to be expected. BUT the ones in my greenhouse are shooting up they are almost navel high - already! They are fairly thick - technically this is the second year they have been growing - and I have heard that you can't eat them until 3 years have passed.

Question - is this normal behaviour doe Asapagus? Do I just keep watering them and let them grow and wait for them to die off again and cut them back? I'm shocked at how big and thick they are after only two years. They look like they are going to keep on grwoing. TYIA. WHUI.
When I had my allotment, I had plenty of asparagus in it. It always over-wintered fine.

I’d definitely leave it another year to develop if you only sewed it last year. Just let it do its thing and cut back the dead growth in early spring next year.

Watch out for asparagus beetle. At first, I didn’t know these were a thing, but the little sods can really damage your plants and are a pain to get rid of. Pick them off by hand regularly and the little grubs can be dehydrated with a diluted washing up liquid spray.

I expect UTJ might have a pleasant surprise in a few weeks when it warms up. Cold and wet winters never seemed to bother my asparagus, provided it isn’t sitting in waterlogged soil for any length of time.

The taste of fresh asparagus, straight out of the ground, is incredible. Better than any shop bought stuff by miles.
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Re: Grow 2021/2/3

Post by Up the Junction »

Alan Pardew's Dad wrote: Mon Mar 20, 2023 8:00 pmI expect UTJ might have a pleasant surprise in a few weeks when it warms up.
I do hope you're right APD, but they all look pretty dead right now.
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