The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Growing => Vegetables => Topic started by: waterbuffalofarmer on July 15, 2015, 10:29:39 am
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I was reading a gardening book and they said only grow stuff which grows easily in the area where you live and look at what other people grow with little effort. I have been struggling to grow French beans for years now and it really made me think. I grow runner beans, courgettes and tomatoes very well so why not ditch the French beans all together and try and grow something else. I do well with dwarf beans too so I might replace them with those. Rocket grows very well and certain types of squash, however the cucumbers are always terrible. ???
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The point with your book's advice to look around and see what's growing well, is to help you choose what grows well in your area, so you start off with everday veg, nothing fancy and have some encouraging success. Then you try out other things, one or two a year, and see how they do for you, in your area and on your plot, which will have its own microclimate, soil etc. Your way of growing your veg, such as where you start them off, that is in a propagator, in pots or modules in the house, in an unheated greenhouse, or directly into the soil, will all have a bearing on your success.
When you say you can't grow French beans but you can grow dwarf beans, what exactly do you mean? The two climbing beans are runners and French, dwarf beans are also French.
It's difficult to know what might be the cause of your problems without also knowing the details of all the variables mentioned above.
Here, I can't grow outside things such as sweetcorn, climbing or dwarf French beans, or runner beans, and in most years lettuce and squashes don't do well outside either. French beans in particular are very subject to cold soils, which rot off the seeds. The funny way to test soil temp is to sit on the soil with a bare bum, but you can test it, a couple of inches down, with the inside of your wrist - if it's comfortable, then your soil is ok for beans. Climbing beans and sweetcorn are very susceptible to cold wind, which is what has done for ours in the past (I start them off in pots under cover, so soil temp is fine). So I grow these crops in the polytunnel. 300' down the hill, other people can grow these crops outside.
Cucumbers are quite complicated to grow, especially starting them off. They are very temp susceptible, they hate having soggy roots, and any set-back when they are small will affect their productivity and survival later.
First you have to be growing the right variety ie for indoor growing in a heated greenhouse, in an unheated polytunnel, or outdoors. All female varieties are more convenient to grow as you don't have to pick off the male flowers. They like a slightly moist, draught free air quality, but not humid. I tend to make a surround for my cucumbers of horticultural fleece, to keep off the draughts in my polytunnel. They grow very well most years.
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Based on that advise I should grow thistles and nettles with the occasional (large) patch of comfrey
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I sow all my plants indoors, pot on and then plant out late may- early June. When I say I can't grow French beans its because they're very delicate and I sometimes get strong winds which destroy them, also they always get targeted by the slugs. The cucumber variety I buy is an outdoor cucumber and I usually grow them against a warm sunny wall but I never do that well. Squash is sometimes ok it depend on what variety I grow.
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My definition of easy to grow is that they need minimal faff and time, germinate reliably , rarely need much protection or support. Top of my list in this regard are broad beans followed by rocket, onions and beetroot. In the mid range,requiring a bit of time and effort but usually reliable are peas, parnip, swedes,carrots, leeks, climbing beans, and sweet corn. The most faff are toms, cucs, brassicas (cabbage white). I don't bother with spuds anymore as clay soil means they rot or just get eaten. It is as others have said often down to location .
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Late May / early June plant out would be early here ..... South Wales at 700ft... 2nd week in June at least. This year nothing grew till July .... but is catching up rapidly now. Maybe you are a bit early with your putting out WBF?
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I now shelter the vegetable garden with metre-high agricultural screening on the western side through the growing season and find it's made a huge difference to the overall success of crops. We're on heavy clay and if Spring is late I should really take time to cover the soil in fleece, but it coincides with lambing so always falls off the end of the list.
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Late May / early June plant out would be early here ..... South Wales at 700ft... 2nd week in June at least. This year nothing grew till July .... but is catching up rapidly now. Maybe you are a bit early with your putting out WBF?
Quite possibly, its usually OK to plant out in early June though