The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Growing => Vegetables => Topic started by: SuzyJ on February 17, 2010, 01:52:32 pm
-
I'm interested in finding out what you are all growing this year (or planning to grow) and why?
Are there some things you wouldn't grow again and others that you plan to grow more of?
I'm hoping to get a good assortment of vegetables growing this year but am undecided whether or not to grow potatoes again as the last 2 years haven't been great harvests for the amount of work, but I'll be growing more peas as they were fantastic.
-
Onions.. I can't grow enough of them we use loads. Cauliflower didn't do well but I hear it is difficult to grow. I also plan to grow butternut squash and chard this year.
-
I grew a great butternut squash in a fish box full of 10yr old horse muck and homemade compost of equal parts last year We had 5 squashes from it.Aim to grow 2 this year. :farmer:
-
Does it need anything special other than manure? I just planned to bung some seeds in with the pumpkins in a seperate bed that has well rotted manure in. What do you think?
-
I had a disappointing crop of spuds last year so am giving them a miss this year. I grow on a three year cycle and the spuds have been round the beds twice so think I will give the ground a rest from them for a season at least. They do take up a lot of space on my small plot. Like Helencus I can't grow enough onions so will try a lot more this year. I have always been hopeless with carrots so one more try this year following advice from other TAS'rs on here. I am also going to plant another strawberry bed with an Autumn fruiting variety to prolong the crop. broad beans and beetroot will be my other main crops.
JD
-
Tatties (lovin my roosters!)
garlic (160 cloves planted and all coming through nicely)
chillies - few varieties again - plus i've overwintered a couple of chinese habs that i'm hoping will come good this year
peppers - gonna give them a proper fo in the greenhouse
sweetcorn - again! hopefully it'll stay warm through august this year
carrots
parsnips
some beetroot but not a lot
french beans
peas
sugar snaps
shallots
maybe red onion
I'm expecting good things from my red currants, black currants, blackberries and rasps this year.
Also expecting bumper rhubarb and some gooseberries and fingers crossed my Gojiberry plants come good - this should be their 2nd year, so i want fruit!!
and of course strawberries!
I'm also planting a bit of a herb garden in my various borders.
well, that's the plan!!
-
Tatties - must get some roosters from you, Chris! ;)
garlic - not planted yet, hope I'm not too late
Can't decide whether to use the dumpy bags fro folowers or veg - maybe one of each so.................
carrots
parsnips
loads of beetroot as I adore it pickled and so easy to do.
might try peas again although a disaster last year
definitely red onion - a huge success even though I ignored them
Must sort out my soft fruit bed as well so I get decent rasps, goosegogs, and blackcurrants, don't know what my apple trees will do - they all look healthy but are still youngsters from Lild's and Morrisons
A few bits and bobs for salads too maybe
This is all provided the weather gets a wee bit warmer as I am most definitely a fair weather gardener!
-
Have taters chitting and onions and garlic growing (well, dug in already)
Have leeks, spring onions, chillies and sweetpeas on the go. Will mainly be growing:
peas, beans, sweetcorn, calabrese, cauliflower, salads, toms, cucumbers, aubergines, courgettes. Will plant squashes and pumpkins later in the year. I'm sure I've forgotten lots but so far these are the ones I can think of.
-
Tatties - must get some roosters from you, Chris! ;)
i've still got a bag of my roosters from last year, so i think i'll go route out some smaller ones and start them chitting, i might be able to throw a few your way!!
-
my list for this year so far comprises :
peppers and chillies - both do really well here.
Tomatoes, cucumber, lettuce, radish.
Leeks, onions and garlic.
Sprouts, cabbage and broccoli.
carrots, peas, green beans and broad beans.
lots of squash, pumpkins and courgettes.
sweetcorn and possibly some kohl rabi.
plus herbs of course.
Possibly alfalfa/lucerne for animal feed.
There's probably more but I'll post later when I can remember.
-
I've only got my Lady Crystl and Red Duke of York in my spray cans yet shall sow some leeks in a 9" pot to transplant later.If I am not ouuuuut of breath Saturday ??? :farmer:
-
planted 7 vars of tatties in my buckets... only for next years seed though.
have popped my onion sets into plugs so when i put them out in 2 weeks the bloody pigeon does not whip them out
i am off now to do some shallots 3 vars thought i might show them..
Can anyone tell me if they are successful in a bucket..
not that there is ashortage of space but maybe as a comparison
have just sown cauli, cabbage,broccoli,dill, borage and chervil
need to split the tarragon if it has come through winter :chook:
-
Not tried em in a bucket but they do well in a spay drum so I see no difference really try it an see Dont forget drain holes though they dont like to much water :farmer:
-
dont mind the what list, but WHY blimey i'd be here forever!!
wouldnt get time to grow the veg that i would list!!
im looking forward to reading why other people are growing their choosen veg
and my typing is'nt that fast! good luck ;)
-
Hey Dizzy I was having this problem with the little bit of earth garden that is beside the path to the front door its 6ft wide and about 7 paces I plant shallots for pickle and onion sets for sandwhich with cheese.It turned out to be a bluddi cat now deceased no I DID NOT hit with an Anschutz projectile >:( :farmer:
-
I'm not going to bother with onions, as they are cheaper than cheap to buy in a sack. I'm growing shallots again instead. I find they do everything onions do and then some. I will probably grow something a bit different again. I just stand and look at the rows of seeds in the shop and then decide :) Last year it was scorzonera, I won't do them again they were 18" long and took too long to dig up. I want to get Nine star perennial broccoli but can't find the seeds in France.
-
We just started growing veg this year. My aunt has been banging on about "square foot gardening " for years so we thought we would give it a go.
Spent a fortune on making the raised beds and the netting and compost and everything but hopefully now that it's all set up and I am composting regularly I can just add to the soil bit by bit each year. One thing I can virtually guarantee is that it is squirrel, rabbit and bird proof.
We have been quite strict about only growing stuff that we like to eat. Paul says he only likes peas and mashed potato but I've fed him all sorts in the past. He seemed unaware that I had been feeding him parsnips and cabbage over the winter javascript:void(0);
We put red and white onions, garlic, spring onions and radishes in straight away. We've got broccoli, savoy cabbage, sunflowers for the chickens (taken from the bird mix!), sweet peppers, jalepeno and chilli peppers, Alicante tomatoes and salad mix going on in trays on the windowsill.
DH has done a trench of potatoes, one of carrots and one of peas round the side. I am awaiting hanging baskets of strawberries and cherry tomatoes and we have relocated our fantastic autumn raspberries from the pig-pen area to a little plot at the front of the house.
I am also awaiting some plugs impregnated with mushroom spawn that you "plant" in decaying wood and get shitake and oyster mushrooms cropping on the dead wood for five years..... we shall see - it's probably all load of marketing bo****ks but I couldn't resist giving it a try. In future I am thinking of growing "normal" mushrooms in my "maturing stage" compost bin. Anybody got any experience of this?
Oooh just writing about it is making my mouth water. I do hope it's not too disappointing. I'm not sure that I've got particularly green fingers.
Susanna
-
This year
Onions, potatoes,carrots,parsnips, red and white cabbage,caulies, red and white kohl rabi,pickle onions and salad onions,florence fennel, sweetcorn,beetroot x2 types, rainbow chard, broccolli, french and broad beans,rhubarb, blackcurrants, gooseberries, strawbs,leeks and lettuce, radish, endive and chickory, brussel sprouts, I think thats it for outside.....then inside.....courgettes, plum, beef and salad tomatoes,cucumbers,french beans, sweet peppers,melons and indoor strawbs, indoor salads, courgettes x 2 types and then about 10 types of herbs.
Dont grow turnips or swede, squashes etc.
I am a registered veg business though 8) :farmer: :yum: Hermit
-
@ Suziequeue - hiya, your plans sound great! Interesting reading your post, not sure where you sourced your shitaake mushrooms but not many people do them in the UK so my guess is from a Scottish farm? I met the lady that runs this outfit the other day, she is very knowledgable and passionate and I'm sure you will find it a great product. Good luck 8)
-
What are the essential veg , Am missing out tatties to much to get them going for me at the moment, and am getting (hopefully) seedling from lids/aldi on Thursday.
What else do people think are good to grow as essentials?
-
In total out doors I am growing 2 lots of spuds, peas, French beans, broad beans, runner beans, White onions, and red onions, shallots, cabbage, broccoli, kale, leeks, carrots, beetroot, sweetcorn, courgettes, squash, pumpkins, parsnips and chard. In the greenhouse toms, cucumber, peppers, melon and chillies.
-
:) i tried mushrooms 3 years ago from the plugs...mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. got absolutely nowt
and that was following instructions .. ordinary ones are not a problem though. i just bought a mushroom kit and off they went.
have planted jerusalem artichokes, broad beans ready to go out tomorrow, coriander looking good. mmm curry in couple of weeks.
:chook:
-
I've already planted my 'first early'potatoes - 'swift'. Got some MAris peer and King eds to go in later. Have tomatoes on the go, plus leeks, onion, red cabbage, parsnips, beetroot, peppers (sweet & hot), need to sow runner beans, broad beans, and peas. Have dug a square plot for my sweetcorn. Cucumber, courgettes, chard, plus soft fruits and later on a pumpkin / squash patch.
Most of my seeds were free with magazines! Potatoes were from B&Q!
-
Hello you Lassies I think you know I only garden in boxes these days.I have 6 Red Duke of York 6 White 6 Accord and 4 Lady Crystl Brian gave me there were no Lady Crystl in the Gy garden centers this year The chief in Pennells(The most expensive garden center for miles)told me "Were not getting any" no explanation.I grow them in pressure washed 5 gallon spray drums they are just right I grew some in 1 tonne fertiliser bag necks last season a great success.Main crop potatoes I don't bother with I can have a ride down Boston way and farming friends will give me a bag or two of Esteema or Desiree Main crop ones in October.If you Know how to drive You tube I have put some pictures of the boxes on but don't ask where L O L I grow shallots for pickles a couple of gherkins and lots of toms alsorts of toms to can (in Kilner jars)I also grow herbs to dry sage very important.parsley and thyme basil and coriander.Carrots Parmex and Autumn King. Capsicums.and a Chili peppermainly to dry.As many Scarlet Emperor as I can find room for and a box of broad beans as close together as I dare and feed them with liquid sheep s**t water out of the dolly tub.Don't grow flowers other than Marigolds in the tomato's Then I grow as many leeks as will grow in a 6ft x 4ft box.Its more than half full deep ways of 10 year old horse muck and I collect the rain water that comes out the drain hole and water it down to fertilise the plants.I am going to do an experiment with a 10 gallon drum and some small bore hose plugged into a piece of overflow pipe and see if I can make a drippig feed system to water my Green house Toms they will be Shirley one side and Gardeners Delight the other.Time will tell us if the idea works I can buy a system but £50 comes to mind only to mind though ??? :o :D ;D :farmer:
-
We have been really slow to get going this year, when I look in the notebook at what we had the girls sowing last year (starting in jan in the polytunnel) this year we are a bit of a disgrace, However one thing we will definitley be repeating is potatos grown in old plastic feed sacks. We put holes around the bottom for drainage, wound the top of the sack down to about a third high, in goes the compost and the seed potatos, covering with bit more compost. As the plants started to grow we just uncurled the bag a bit chucking more compost in until the bag was fully opened and full up. Then we forgot about them! As we started to have a end of summer clean up we tipped the sacks of what I thought was forgotton about potatos and therefore no good by that point straight into a wheelbarrow to go and throw straight into a heap, when on looking down it was like finding treasure. pounds and pounds of the little darlings!!!
What a result and a great use for old feed sacks! now I am sure there will be plenty on here who say plastic sacks are no good for growing potatos in but my word they worked for us!! :D :D :D
-
Broccoli - green and purple
Onions (red + white), sweetcorn and runner beans
Potatoes (1st + mains), carrots and beetroot
Garlic, tomato and salads
I've cut down quite a bit this year as I'm fed up growing veg only to be told "... but you've always known I don't like them"! very frustrating ;D
Interested by the mushroom stories though so maybe I'll give them a try
-
Sounds like a darn good use for them to me Julia.. Top tip thanks
-
Hello Helen I'm off to Brockelsby today to get some mole hills.As I told you earlier this box gardening is good but if I use all grow bag and compost it is cost prohibitive,even if I use that Erin rubbish compost.Like I said before I use top and bottom of 1 tonne fertilizer bags but I only get 2 out of a bag of Westland compost.Thats why I go to get some mole hills to mix in with it.The early tatties seem to like the mix judging by the results last year.I was in Range in Scunthorpe on Tuesday and they had some Blueberry Bushes in pots ready to plant out about a good foot tall and nice and bushy Lady Yarborough's Gardener has six in tubs they are prolific croppers Kath is very fond of the fruit and I was tempted to get 2 and Brian bought a 6ft tall Victoria Plum tree for £19:99p its a good sturdy sapling we think but Like a lot more things where do I put them? Some thing would have to go.Its no good I shall have to win the Lotto and have a larger place Then it would be There's to much for us to do we cannot manage it. I shall have to down size never happy is me ;D.
-
mole hills..........I have plenty , we complain like mad about them but obviously we have overlooked a use for the soil, we also have mole runs, almost like a very long hill where the mole has gone across the field pushing the soil up as it goes!
-
Hello J yes I stumbled on it by accident the mole catcher was busy at Boundary Farm and he was spreading the hills with his foot I thought my word ready riddled and soft muck So I asked Carl can I have some "If you can beat im to em yis" So I do every season And some fresh manure to put in the bottom of the cool frame it warms as it rots Put my seed pans on top of the fresh manure. ;D
-
I always grow loads of the stuff that I don't eat too much of so I am trying to grow the things in quantity that I like to eat. Sounds simple doesn't it? Well it isn't! ;D
Have started by planting lots of artichokes (globe - not the jerusalme type - I still haven't got rid of those blighters from about 5 years ago!), and tomatoes and my favourite french type green beans. Yum - already salivating.
-
Hello G I grow things in boxes and pots as many Gardeners Delight toms as I can because they are smashing bottled at Xmas time and later I also grow lots of kidney beans There is pictures of them on youtube but where?Someone told me you register then upload easy so I did as I was told and there they were I don't know how.Tell me how to if you find them ??? ??? ;D ;D ;D :farmer:
-
Hi all, we are at the end of our summer growing time here, but I still plant an autumn and winter crop. I have brocolli, caulliflower, cabbage, brussels sprouts, my tomatoes for summer in the green house and capsicum (peppers)in the greenhouse. I never seem to have success with my potatoes and the chickens ate my pumpkins this year.
-
Hello Annie 22 Now thats a mini fiasco letting the bods eat the pumpkins I haven't room to grow any but the head gardener usually fits me up I find they are such a useful vegetable boiling steaming roasting fill for chutney allsorts of things.I do manage a Green Bush Marrow though but it gets eaten none left for the pickles department.I am sowing my seed at the moment and I have set my potatoes Lady Crystl which there were none in Grimsby Brian got some in Newark.Red and White Duke of York and Home Guard I dont bother with main crop I usually get some from farming friends I have planted two applee trees along side the wash house wall and two red currant bushes out front.So thats where I am at in Grimsby today Easter Monday :D :farmer:
-
As yet we have not been able to turn over the veg plot due to the ground still being far too wet, been like this since last October. I have started planting in pots in the pollytunnel so that seeds are getting a start with the hope that we get some good days to dry everything up. so far, tomatoes, cabbage, sprouts but I have lots more to get started. I am going to have a go at doing the peas in a piece of guttering then plant out when ready. Potatoes will be in a barrel as we lost most due to blight last year so only growing early ones. Onions were a waste of time but I hope to do better with leaks. As I said it all depends on the weather.
-
Not getting much done here in Bulgaria at the moment, the weather has been beautiful and the garden dried out nicely until it rained again. Same happened last week and we've had almost 24 hours of non-stop rain here again so it's back to wearing wellies and having a garden that is unworkable.
I did manage to get some onions in but they may have been washed out! garlic, lettuce and what I thought were red cabbages but are actually purple sprouting brocolli are doing well. Tomato, chilli and pepper seedlings are ready to be planted out as are the leeks but they'll have to wait :-\
-
Never thought to ask Anne Is the kookaburra laughing at you?
-
Everyone laughs at me Wizard. Actually we get the Kookaburras, they sit on the horse fencing eating their worms. Hmm havn't seen them for awhile. Anyway I planted more carrot seeds today as well as turnip seeds.