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Gardening Tips anyone ?


RichardB

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Dug up the back garden and some of the front, limited space but well prepared (manure and compost, trellis and netting etc, plus grow bags for taters/veg) - no idea what I'm doing; Tiny Wife said if you get it all prepared ... now, its all prepared and we are not sure where/what/when/how

Its kept me busy but ... any advice please ?

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Guest 30_degrees

Dug up the back garden and some of the front, limited space but well prepared (manure and compost, trellis and netting etc, plus grow bags for taters/veg) - no idea what I'm doing; Tiny Wife said if you get it all prepared ... now, its all prepared and we are not sure where/what/when/how

Its kept me busy but ... any advice please ?

Blimey, masterclass in gardening for the uninitiated! Ok, off the top of my head...

I'ts a bit early to plant seeds straight into the ground but you could start some in seed compost on a windowsill. Check out your local garden centre for seed packs of veg you like, the growing instructions will be on the back of the pack. Runner beans and similar can be labour intensive as thay need lots of water on a regular basis as do tomatoes. Brassicas eg. cabbage, sprouts caulis etc like to be well heeled in (pressed firmly with the heel) and are lime loving and also need regular water to avoid going to seed, not a bad thing to save seed for the following year but you don't want the whole lot to bolt.

Don't plant root crops (especially carrots) in freshly manured ground as the roots will probably produce more than one root, be deformed and a s*d to peel and prepare.

Onion sets (very small onions) should have been in compost in late December but it's never too late, plant them at the side of carrots to put off carrot root fly.

Spuds can be sprouted before planting in a warmish dark place, cupboard under the stairs is ok in a shallow box but BUY SEED POTATOES don't plant spuds from Morrison's. Local garden centre again for these, when the eyes start to sprout, they can be planted and large spuds can be divided but must have an eye in each portion. Got an old bin, large bucket? Put holes in the bottom, fill with compost and plant a couple of seed spuds, when the tops die back, tip the container out, it will be full of lovely spuds that took no space in the garden allowing you to grow something else.

If you like Rocket you can't go wrong with it in the garden, don't plant too much unless you really like it! Not exactly a triffid but it can be a bit prolific.

Salad stuff like lettuce are best planted a few at a time otherwise you could finish up with tons of the stuff for a week and nothing for the rest of the year. Salad mustard and cress can be grown on the windowsill in clear plastic pots with drainage holes in the bottom.

Long stuff like leeks, long carrots, parsnips and the like can be grown in lengths of drain pipe themselves planted in the ground and filled with compost to allow full lengh to be achieved. We used to do this with very stony ground where nothing else would grow. 3 seeds in the top of the compost, when the seedlings emerge, take out the weakest and leave one to grow to maturity.

Now I've said all that, if you check out your local area for gardening clubs and allotments and go and have a chat with the local experts, you will be nicely surprised by the friendly bunch who will give you lots more information and chances are you will come home with seeds, seedlings or plants ready to go in the ground.

There is masses of info on the net too. My advice for what it is worth would be to start with stuff you know you will like to eat and don't go daft with quantities, better to start small and learn from your first growing season, take notes about what worked and what didn't, take advice from green fingered mates you meet, learn about fertilisers and the best ways to control pests and diseases, PH levels etc. but most of all enjoy yourselves and your own food. You'll love it. :)

One last word on equipment, if you are certain you are going to keep growing your own food, invest in decent gear, I don't mean £60 stainless spades but plastic handled stuff wont last five minutes. Spade, fork, rake, dutch hoe, hose pipe and decent nozzle, 2x watering can, 1x green one and a red one for weed killer, so you don't feed your plants with dregs of weedol, they won't thank you! hand trowel and fork, a riddle for preparing seed beds. portions of greenhouse glass to cover pots containing seeds are great for creating the right environment or clear pop bottles with the bottom cut off big enough to cover a pot .

One more last word. lol, more plants die from overwatering than from drought, allowing compost/soil to dry out a bit is better than keepking the growing medium wet all the time. once plants reach permanent wilting point, they are only fit for compost. If water squeezes out of a hand full of soil, it is wet enough. If it clumps together and breaks with light pressure between finger and thumb then add water. Another way to check, is just stick a finger in the soil, if soil sticks to your skin it's wet enough, if your finger is clean add water.

Hope this helps

Chris

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Loads of good advice! One thought though, since Richard lives in the Arctic, don't believe the sowing dates on the seed packets, they're based on times for the deep south!

What do you reckon Chris, add a month or so?

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Guest 30_degrees

Loads of good advice! One thought though, since Richard lives in the Arctic, don't believe the sowing dates on the seed packets, they're based on times for the deep south!

What do you reckon Chris, add a month or so?

Good point Bayleaf, as with our house' orientation, plants cook at the back of the house and die of exposure in the front. Domestic plots with hedges or fences can offer some protection but privet can cause problems for other plants.

Making wrong decisions relating to sowing and planting without prior knowledge could leave you without a crop, this is where local knowledge comes in so I would definitely recommend speaking to other local gardeners.

I remember some years ago staying in a cottage on the Duke of Northumberland's Estate, man it were perishing, we got through a bunker of coal and all the wood dropped off from the Dukes saw mill. Another time at Otterburn range on a demolitions weekend with RE TAVR, we only started to thaw out as we got back to Sheffield.

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Dug up the back garden and some of the front, limited space but well prepared (manure and compost, trellis and netting etc, plus grow bags for taters/veg) - no idea what I'm doing; Tiny Wife said if you get it all prepared ... now, its all prepared and we are not sure where/what/when/how

Its kept me busy but ... any advice please ?

Would have asked the wife, who has her own allotment and works in a garden centre, for you Richard.

But it looks like 30 degrees has got it all covered for you in a single consise no nonesense post.

Excellent advice from Chris, excellent posting ;-)

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Guest 30_degrees

Would have asked the wife, who has her own allotment and works in a garden centre, for you Richard.

But it looks like 30 degrees has got it all covered for you in a single consise no nonesense post.

Excellent advice from Chris, excellent posting ;-)

Thanks Richard and Dave you are too kind. My sadly departed dad would be proud that all the years of training he had at Norton Nurseries, some of which he passed on to me as a kid has helped. Thanks dad :)

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Tiny Wife's (Pat) reply :

Thank you for your informative reply.

I have a greenhouse with heater (parafin), which can cause moisture which can cause problems ?

We have imported manure (local farm), dug in; chicken pellets.

We have netting and trellis for peas and beans almost right round the garden.

What do you think about compost bins ? Worthwhile ?

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Thanks Richard and Dave you are too kind. My sadly departed dad would be proud that all the years of training he had at Norton Nurseries, some of which he passed on to me as a kid has helped. Thanks dad :)

You didn't mention that gardening HURTS ! lol or is that just me being a Northern-softie ?

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Guest 30_degrees

Tiny Wife's (Pat) reply :

Thank you for your informative reply.

I have a greenhouse with heater (parafin), which can cause moisture which can cause problems ?

We have imported manure (local farm), dug in; chicken pellets.

We have netting and trellis for peas and beans almost right round the garden.

What do you think about compost bins ? Worthwhile ?

Hello Pat,

Paraffin heaters in a greenhouse are ok but the vents need to be open a crack to feed oxygen to the flame which will help disipate the moisture in the air too. Keep the wicks trimmed and set as per user manual for best results. If you don't have a thermometer, invest in a maximum and minimum one, not cheap but you will be able to see what the lowest and highest temps are so that you can adjust heating and ventilation. Want more heat than your heater can provide? Get two 10" clay pots, set a houshold candle in the bottom of one and place on the floor of the greenhouse away from flamable material, light the candle and invert the second pot on top of the first. Warning!!! dont stick your finger in the hole of the 2nd pot to install it unless you like crispy fingernails. Leave the pots to cool before moving or use gloves, you'll be suprised how hot the pots get. This heating method is sufficient to keep frost off in an 8x10 greenhouse.

Well rotted FYM (Farm Yard Manure) is the best organic treatment for soil to grow veg. especially if the soil hasn't been nourished for some time or if inorganic fertilizers have been used. The pelleted chicken poo is good too for the same reason. Check out Nutrients If you are offered fresh chicken poo, compost it before use, which brings us to compost bins.

Yes great for making your own compost. A low maintenance enclosed plastic one should keep the neighbours happy and you can put egg shells, tea bags, coffee grounds, hair off the dog etc in it too. General rule for this type of composting is Raw = compost, cooked = dustbin. Lots of people do not compost potato peelings as they can sprout and grow and lots of others compost them and rarely have a problem. Add waste carboard to add carbon and a bit of chicken poo (pelleted or fresh) as an activator, keep it moist too.

Growing peas and beans (Legumes) are good for you and the garden. Choose varietes that grow short of the top of your fence or within your reach. It might be too late this time but growing beans plants at an angle allows the beans to hang straight down or they stay hidden among the foliage, Water the plants when flowering with a fine mist spray to help set the flowers. Lots will fall off but lots more will stay on and produce fruit. Late frosts can knock flowers off too. Beans etc drink gallons of water so be prepared to spend a lot of time watering them. Water all plants avoiding high sun shine times, early morning and in the evening is best. Warm evening, dying sun, trickling water, black birds chirping, garden chair, good company and a glass of something, you can't beat it ;-) peas pretty much the same, look for mildew resistant strains, dig up and burn affected plants or use chemicals to treat. I know which method I would choose.

When the plants are finished fruiting, cut the plants off at ground level and leave the roots in the ground, this allows the nitrogen nodules on the roots to break down and feed the soil ready for next years plants to use.

If you have room for a cold frame you can harden off your young plants whilst you keep the greenhouse warm at night. Watch out for slugs though or the plants will never see the garden, let alone feed you :(

Just had a thought... plants in a heated greenhouse can be a shocked when watered from a source outside the heated environment. Fill a couple of watering cans and keep them in the greenhouse, empty one and refill it straight away (rainwater preferred) and return it to the greenhouse to warm up before use. using two or more cans always means you have 'conditioned' water ready to use.

More thoughts on watering and feeding. As with red watering cans for weedkiller, green for normal watering, use another colour say orange for water with feed in it, write on a plant label the type of feed and what strength and attach to the handle so that when it has been used by you, Richard or someone looking after your plants if you are away you know where you are. Always make sure compost is damp before feeding with liquid fertilizer. The very small hair like fillaments on roots will be burned and the plants will be set back until the roots have recovered. Pelleted feed should be avoided in pots because if the compost does dry out the plants will be fed and roots damaged when you water next.

Dil-dol?... Take a carrot bag, a large plastic container or water butt, enough FYM to fill the carrot bag 1/2 to 3rd full, hang the bag from the rim of the container and cover with water. After say half an hour, lift the carrot bag a couple of times to stir it up a bit and you have the perfect 'liquinure' for established plants.

There is a lot to learn and I could rattle on forever but I'm not. I'm sure there are lots of other gardeners who can chuck in their two penneth so I'll shut mi gob now ;-) , but feel free to ask if you feel the need.

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Guest 30_degrees

You didn't mention that gardening HURTS ! lol or is that just me being a Northern-softie ?

Just ignore the pain, you wont notice it at all after about 5 years he hehe hehe he and see other post... that is what the glass of something is for... Anesthetic lol

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Just ignore the pain, you wont notice it at all after about 5 years he hehe hehe he and see other post... that is what the glass of something is for... Anesthetic lol

My gardening thus far has involved spades, shovels, saws and axes - nothing too subtle, oh, and I managed to twist the end off a garden-claw professional, the wife said it was under guarantee, I replied I don't think you are meant to try to take up a tree with it.

All effort, no skill.

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The Real Meaning Of Plant Catalogue Terminology:

A favorite of birds means to avoid planting near cars, sidewalks, or clotheslines.

Grows more beautiful each year means Looks like roadkill for the foreseeable future.

Zone 5 with protection is a variation on the phrase Russian roulette.

May require support means your daughter's engineering degree will finally pay off.

Moisture-loving plants are ideal for landscaping all your bogs and swamps.

Carefree refers more to the plant's attitude than to your workload.

Vigorous is code for has a Napoleonic compulsion to take over the world.

Grandma's Favorite -- until she discovered free-flowering, disease-resistant hybrids.

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The Real Meaning Of Plant Catalogue Terminology:

A favorite of birds means to avoid planting near cars, sidewalks, or clotheslines.

I must remember that one ;-)

Not come across it before, very funny he he

..but very, very true :angry:

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Tiny Wife's (Pat) reply :

Thank you for your informative reply.

I have a greenhouse with heater (parafin), which can cause moisture which can cause problems ?

What do you think about compost bins ? Worthwhile ?

We use paraffin for heating the greenhouse.

Works a treat, easy to use and no problems.

Biggest problem is locating a reliable supplier who will let you have paraffin at a sensible price.

Fortunately the wifes job in a garden centre selling paraffin at a low price + her staff discount helps a lot ;-)

We have 2 compost bins in the garden. They do work and produce "compostable material" of variable quality depending on the stuff you put in to compost. Biggest problem is the length of time it takes to compost down and the summertime problem of smell / insects / pests around it. We can fill the bins up faster than we can take compost out to use.

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