Grow 2021-24

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prophet:marginal
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Grow 2021-24

Post by prophet:marginal »

I had a bit of a hit and miss time in 2020, with some things (rocket and pea shoots) growing like weeds, some doing well (we had a great crop of toms that seemed to last from Aug-Oct) and some never really working at all. Radishes are lovely in both the leaf and the root.

Any tips, though, please for the beetroot (which grew an obvious root, but never changed into the more spherical version you'd buy in a shop) and carrot? Both of these, for me, seemed to start ok, but never grow any bigger as to be worth pulling out, washing and eating.

One other thing to mention. Nasturtium seems to grow easily, has nice flowers, but also peppery and tasty (salad) leaves. Well worth the price for the pack of seeds (in a supermarket).

oh yeah and I am planning to grow mustard greens this time around too, after a visit to Kew last summer. Apparently, if you grow for a month or two, before then deliberately sacrificing it, the best thing to do is to just dig it, roots, leaves etc into your soil before planting your final round of seedlings - its fantastic, organic, nutrient replacement therapy for your patch, as I understand it.

Happy growing!
Last edited by prophet:marginal on Sun Feb 27, 2022 8:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Up the Junction
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Re: Grow 2021

Post by Up the Junction »

Finally have some space to play with. Looking forward to nabbing some tips from this thread.
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Re: Grow 2021

Post by southbrishammer »

I've started three growing projects in the last week. In order of likelihood of success:
1) We got a kit for growing carnivorous plants - venus fly traps, sundews and pitcher plants - with a plastic dome. Half the seeds are planted and the rest are in the fridge for 6 weeks.
2) I have a fern in the garden, and have got some spores from underneath one of the leaves which I have sown. In theory they should grow into tiny ferns, but who knows?
3) I have a small paperbark maple (Acer griseum) in a pot in the garden. It's quite decorative - the bark peels off in thin layers, hence its name, and the leaves turn bright red in autumn like its better known cousin Acer palmatum. However it has never flourished, always looking like it is clinging to life.
It does manage to produce a good number of seed pods each year, so I collected some in the autumn to try to grow them. Internet research has suggested that germination is virtually impossible so I'm not holding my breath, but I'll be impressed if I do get anything. They are currently in the airing cupboard for 17 weeks before going in the fridge for another 17 weeks, which is another reason I'm not holding my breath.
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Shabu
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Re: Grow 2021

Post by Shabu »

I've planted an olive tree, named Socrates, and now I'm thinking of learning Greek so I can speak to it.
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Tenbury
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Re: Grow 2021

Post by Tenbury »

prophet:marginal wrote: Mon Dec 28, 2020 5:31 pm I had a bit of a hit and miss time in 2020, with some things (rocket and pea shoots) growing like weeds, some doing well (we had a great crop of toms that seemed to last from Aug-Oct) and some never really working at all. Radishes are lovely in both the leaf and the root.

Any tips, though, please for the beetroot (which grew an obvious root, but never changed into the more spherical version you'd buy in a shop) and carrot? Both of these, for me, seemed to start ok, but never grow any bigger as to be worth pulling out, washing and eating.



Happy growing!
Couple of thoughts Proph. Nasturtiums are a pretty good bell weather, like many annuals, the poorer the soil, the better they flower, fertile soil = lots of leaves.
Beetroot shouldn't really be a prob, about as easy as radish... couple of ideas:
It really helps to have half decent growing medium(stuff from the recycling centre in bags is cheap as, , sieve it a bit if youre using it as a top dressing). Wait till there's warmth in your soil, (May ish?) or get an early start by warming the soil (cloche, black plastic, old rugs etc.) and sow thinly, remember.... little and often.
Carrots:as above, but grow an early Nantes type (Amsterdam Forcing etc, etc,) as these grow and mature quickly. A big prob can be can be CarrotFly these are most rampant in May, so early and late sowings might avoid them, otherwise(as they rarely fly over 2 feet high) a container off the ground, or a 'windbreaker' of plastic will do as good a job as the enviromesh posh gardeners use to cover their carrots.

[My complete Veg garden revamp staggers on, I just scored a load of gravel boards for more deep beds today. I'm miles behind, need a new GHouse by the end of Jan, but I'll get there.]
Happy Gardening, everyone.
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Re: Grow 2021

Post by pablo jaye »

For the first time, I had a go at some winter growing crops and planted a few cabbage and broccoli in the garden back in October ... they are coming on nicely at the moment.
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Arnold Layne
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Re: Grow 2021

Post by Arnold Layne »

I’m growing an avocado tree,should be ready in 5 years or so.
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old fart
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Re: Grow 2021

Post by old fart »

I have a small, raised bed about 2m x 1m a small green house 6x8
and I have many metres of herbaceous borders happy find the space to grow veg in them

What should I be doing in January to prepare for 2021?

I have some rhubarb, horseradish, and wild garlic in the borders plus a herb bed with sage,rosemary thyme ,marjoram, chives,Bay & oregano. I grow pots of parsley basil & coriander in the summer

But never really grown veg, grew some cucumbers chilli's & tomatoes in the greenhouse last year
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pablo jaye
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Re: Grow 2021

Post by pablo jaye »

OF - sounds a bit like my garden, aside from a small 2 x 1m raised bed, I tend to find spaces in the borders to grow veg and it’s not that bad really.

As mentioned above, I’m growing cabbages and broccoli in the bed over winter for the first time and there is some garlic and horseradish too. Will get some lettuce and toms on in the spring.

There’s a small area to do potatoes which don’t really need to go in until March/April. Got some rhubarb too and herbs - sage, thyme, rosemary work well in restricted spaces.

Growing things vertically also helps if you are pushed for space - I’ve got a couple of espalier apple trees up against a fence and grape vines too. These also make the fences look a bit more attractive.

None of the above take much effort apart from the initial establishment.
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old fart
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Re: Grow 2021

Post by old fart »

That's something I fancy growing, grapes but I dont think my garden gets enough sun
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Re: Grow 2021

Post by AnthraxDave »

Looking to do something like this next year. During he first Lockdown, we did a massive clearup of the garden and I have myself a nice 8ft*3ft area with a trellis that I intend to grow some stuff for myself. We used the Carrots grown this year with our Xmas lunch, and the mild Autumn and Winter so far definitely helped them grow into giants :thup:

I will probably have to put up some see-through "growing tents" (?) to protect stuff from the weather and Birds, etc, whilst still being able to get sunlight.

I love Strawberries, so will do myself a load of them on an upper layer, with maybe some Runner Beans or Radishes on a lower layer.

Must be getting old, but Lockdown made me want to become a bit more self-sufficient where possible. Plus, with all the lovely Spring/Summer weather we had made me begin to love being in my garden and around nature. Rather than people.
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Re: Grow 2021

Post by LeonRivers »

prophet:marginal wrote: Mon Dec 28, 2020 5:31 pm
oh yeah and I am planning to grow mustard greens this time around too, after a visit to Kew last summer. Apparently, if you grow for a month or two, before then deliberately sacrificing it, the best thing to do is to just dig it, roots, leaves etc into your soil before planting your final round of seedlings - its fantastic, organic, nutrient replacement therapy for your patch, as I understand it.
A big criticism of modern gardening/farming is that this kind of thing is not done enough. I’ve always known it as “Green manure”. :thup:
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pablo jaye
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Re: Grow 2021

Post by pablo jaye »

old fart wrote: Wed Dec 30, 2020 6:23 pm That's something I fancy growing, grapes but I dont think my garden gets enough sun
The more successful of my two grapevines is partially shaded, and it was only by trail and error that I discovered that it didn’t need full sun. The grapes aren’t massive but quite sweet and nice to much on if the birds don’t get them first.

To be honest most of the stuff I do/don’t grow in the garden has been through trial and error - my small patch of potatoes is in a more shaded part of the garden, quite close to a mature yew tree and I didn’t think that would work but the yields are pretty good. I also tried a few old potatoes last year rather than seed potatoes and they worked, similarly garlic has worked too.

However, I have yet to master other root crops such as carrots, beetroot and radishes, which always resemble weedy, stumpy specimens. So top tips on these are welcome.
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Re: Grow 2021

Post by jevs »

Morning all and a happy new year to you all.

Unfortunately the allotment is currently under water so there's not much to do. I'm still digging lovely parsnips and the sprouts have been magnificent. Autumn planted onions, garlic and shallots are doing well in the raised beds and i've got one or two swedes still to dig.

I've just launched my "Jev's allotment diaries" Facebook page. Now i'm not the most technically gifted person in the world but hopefully you will be able to join, comment. leave photos, tops, suggestions and ask questions. If you can't, please let me know.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/203102441371437
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Re: Grow 2021

Post by Up the Junction »

I'm in Jevs and will be hitting you for plenty of advice!
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Re: Grow 2021

Post by jevs »

Up the Junction wrote: Fri Jan 01, 2021 2:07 pm I'm in Jevs and will be hitting you for plenty of advice!
Good to have you aboard boss. Please fire away. You’ve picked a good time to start your venture.
Maybe let us know the size of your growing area and what you’d like to grow.
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Up the Junction
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Re: Grow 2021

Post by Up the Junction »

jevs wrote: Fri Jan 01, 2021 2:30 pm Good to have you aboard boss. Please fire away.
Thanks Jevs. We have a blank canvas to work with! (Pic to follow.)
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Re: Grow 2021

Post by rigoberts song »

I'm in the same boat as the boss Jevs.
20 metre by 20 metre lawn.
Need to create a veggie patch
Experience so far of tomato grow bags ditto lettuce peppers chillis .
New potatoes and spinach were good in raised beds.
Got to start from scratch here nice and light plot and being Exmoor lots of rain !
Any pointers pls on what I can do to prepare ground or best things to plant Appreciate your help. RS
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Re: Grow 2021

Post by pablo jaye »

I’m in!!
As for what to plant - start with stuff you’d enjoy to eat. If it works, then fine - if not try something else. It does take some trial and error but is good fun and satisfying when something does near fruit!!
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Re: Grow 2021

Post by jevs »

pablo jaye wrote: Sun Jan 03, 2021 12:20 am I’m in!!
As for what to plant - start with stuff you’d enjoy to eat. If it works, then fine - if not try something else. It does take some trial and error but is good fun and satisfying when something does near fruit!!
Totally agree PJ. This year, i'm only growing a small amount of runner beans as I gave away or wasted most of mine last year.

Another thing is to only sow small amounts at a time but sow more every two weeks. By doing that, you wont have a huge glut but enough to last you a few weeks before the next lot are ready.
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