The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Growing => Vegetables => Topic started by: egbert on September 21, 2010, 06:46:44 pm
-
Well, as my first year trying to grow veg I have learnt loads. And still have loads more questions.
I have learnt that my potatoes grow better in the bed on the north west side than under the fir tree in full sun but less rain! 8)
I now know that I really like one brand of tomatoes that grew really well and taste great but dont like the cherry toms I planted even though I normally like sweeter things. :P
I know cucumbers grow well but the plant leaves are horrible. And that melons are all right for a laugh but for the size of plant the fruit are quite pointless in a coldframe. Courgettes grow huge when you forget about them, but brassicas are a lot harder than I thought. ;)
And I learnt that thinning out is more important that I realised and carrots do need space. :farmer:
So - what have you learnt this year - first-timers and experts alike! :&>
-
I have learnt - and I learnt it last year too ;D and I'm sure in several previous years as well - that I have to plant my tomatoes and cucumbers out on time or I don't get a crop. Maybe I really will have learnt it properly by next year ::).
Something else is that I can have a year without potato and tomato blight - yippee !
This year I used black weed-suppressing fabric to make long beds for some crops, for the first time. It was rubbish for peas but excellent for onions, shallots and garlic, broad beans and strawbs.
-
My first year too.
I learnt that even though my plot is completely covered by a netted cage I still need to put really small holed netting over the brassicas as they were eaten to within an inch of their lives by caterpillars.
I too learnt that in one week courgettes turn into huge marrows and that thinning is very important when growing lettuces. And also to stagger the growing of lettuces more so I don't end up with so many I can't cope with.
I learnt that weeding regularly is so important and less time consuming than waiting until they grow bigger.
But mainly I think I learnt that I surprised myself as to how well most things grew in my first year. I know I was also lucky with the weather too as we had such a sunny May and June to help things grow well.
-
I have learnt (or not) the same as the last 15 years - that I can't do it all on my own and if I keep on top of things in one area it will all go downhill somewhere else, thistles and dock galore :o. And that I should not go away in July ::) :&>
-
I have learnt this year as it's been really dry here You can't water everything! but I did try.
-
My first year too. I have realised that you can't start to get interested in August. You must start to grow stuff MUCH earlier. :D :D
Ian
-
and that, pretty as butterflies are... you never get every last egg off the brassicas... and caterpillars are a BL**DY pain!!
(although the chooks appreciate an extra tasty wriggly treat!)
oh, and that escaped pigs and fruiting strawberries dont make a good mix!!
-
I have learned that I should have stroked my corn or planted it closer (!) that caterpillars are a pain in the bum. That chickens can make great companions on the veg patch (eating caterpillars)
and that a battery operated device by these people http://www.deteracat.co.uk/ultrasonic_cat_deterrent_system.htm
can work wonders at stopping cats 'fertilising' my veg. only problem is the kids love pushing the button!
-
Hmm, well so far my lessons are as follows:
1. I don't know how to grow sweetcorn yet but at least I got recognisable cobs which is better than last year - just not developed enough to be edible but maybe next time if I work out what I did wrong..
2. Brassicas, however much I adore broccoli and curly kale, are bl**dy hard to grow or else I'm a numpty - I am however supporting masses of caterpillars to become lovely butterflies for next year so I guess it's an eco-friendly gesture if I believe it that way ::)
3. Plums, apples, green beans, borlotti beans, rhubarb etc are totally reliable year on year, probably because I don't have to do much and can't wreck them easily, but I am out of interesting things to do with them and as for broad beans, I don't actually like them very much any more ::)
4. Never plant potatoes in a bed you can't completely destroy and get the tinsiest remnant out of - I'm still finding rogue plants 5 years on and would far rather buy a sack from a local farmer than ever grow them again except in a CONTAINER ::)
5. I am learning a lot about berries and finally got a decent crop of blueberries off my young bushes.
6. Everything else works one year but not the next despite rotation, manuring, whether I tend the same or not, and I just can't explain why I got no beetroots of a decent size despite watering, when I got a great crop last year and got really addicted to them (and I no longer worry about having red pee when I've eaten a load baked in the oven ;) )
7-10 I am still a newbie and probably always will be, but I love it, love it, love it :)
Already planning how to get thinner mesh over the brassicas next year and thinking what to try next, but only things I actually want to eat in large quantities..
4.
-
I've learnt that I should eat loads more beetroot cos I really want to see what red pee looks like!
;D
-
well... red?!! :)
-
I've learned that things don't happen overnight & it's bloody hard work and will still be bloody hard work next year. I love it though and look forward to it. I also learned no matter how you do things there is always an easier way
-
I've learnt that I should eat loads more beetroot cos I really want to see what red pee looks like!
;D
LOL - me too ;D ;D
That made me chuckle and earn a grunt from the OH :D ;D
-
I have sent my grandchildren home today with a big load of beetroot just so they can also see red pee ;D
-
i learned not start so late, and that i really should make more effort to thin out properly.....
i learned not start so late, and that i really should make more effort to thin out properly.....
i learned not start so late, and that i really should make more effort to thin out properly.....
i learned not start so late, and that i really should make more effort to thin out properly.....
i learned not start so late, and that i really should make more effort to thin out properly.....
how many lines have i to write did you say? ;D
-
i've learnt that I should thin out better and not spend so much time on seedlings that arn't doing well.
I've also learnt that i don't need to plant 100's of each things want to grow cos i don't have the space......(esp when i spend so much time on the weaker ones!!!!) :dunce:
who am I kidding ::)
I bet next year will be the same as every other...... thinning is like trying to choose between my children. I just can't kill them!!!! :brocolli: :corn: :peas: :cucumber: :apple: :spud: :carrot:
-
I have learnt.............
1) That the mice somehow know when you're planning to harvest your beetroot, and will get to them ALL the night before! >:(
2) That hens *LOVE* perpetual spinach, and that you can grow loads and loads of it in a really small space.
3) That Ginny B's rhubarb champagne (http://www.accidentalsmallholder.net/forum/index.php/topic,3066.0.html) is superb, and even mellows with age if you let it!
(http://anoutdoorlife.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/5.jpg?w=500&h=355)
4) That you should look beyond your garden for some of the best wild main courses
(http://anoutdoorlife.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/fish.jpg?w=500&h=355)
5) and desserts
(http://anoutdoorlife.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/p9110034.jpg?w=500&h=455)
6) That brassicas are a great way to say "I love you"
(http://anoutdoorlife.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/p9110041.jpg?w=480&h=712)
7) But that you should always check them thoroughly first to avoid unwelcome surprises!
(http://anoutdoorlife.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/p9110050.jpg?w=500&h=355)
8. That although it sounds corny, another year begins in January, and if we're lucky we get to do it all over again!!
-
Aww! That was lovely :) :) :) Like the cabbage. And the fish. Wish I had so many blackberries - mine are poor this year.
I think I've just learnt that I'm not the only one to plant too many then try to grow them all (it helps to put the extras on the compost heap because you can kid yourself that they have some chance to grow there). Or to plant out too late for things to crop. Or to promise myself to do better next year but somehow when it comes to it I seem to have forgotten........
-
What a happy chappy you look - not at all like a Womble!
:D
-
...... thinning is like trying to choose between my children. I just can't kill them!!!! :brocolli: :corn: :peas: :cucumber: :apple: :spud: :carrot:
Oh Manian, that is so true!! :D
-
Ooooh - who's that lovely looking boy???
I learnt that I've GOT to thin out tomato seedlings sooner rather then later, plant fewer a bit further apart and don't do surface watering in a poly-tunnel.
Keep a close eye on what salad veg I am planting. Limit it to one or two. In the end we didn't know what was a weed and what we had planted!!
Carrots - start again. Do it differently..... completely differently!!!
Beans - got to have a very strong frame. Bamboo and netting doesn't do it.
Start in the winter - get a head start. Not just getting into it in April (somebody else has mentioned this!!!)