The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Growing => Gardens => Topic started by: sabrina on May 11, 2017, 08:35:48 am
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As a lot of the country enjoy better weather we are still only getting upt to 9 or 10. Some morning just 4 so things are slow or dead stop in my garden and veg plot. My seedlings in the pollytunnel died so had to start again. My apple trees just coming into leaf but no sign of blossom . Its a worry. No grass in the paddocks so having to feed hay. My ground is rock hard, I was trying to weed and ended up on my hands and knees digging them out as best as I could. I went out and bought new tomato plants after losing my seedlings, only just planted out some leeks yesterday and that is it so far. I feel like giving up. Its hard work and the last couple of years has been such a poor result. winter is now at least 7 months long. What to do !!!!
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Where are you?
Similar probs here .... we just don't bother with seeds any more .... buy plugs/plants .... absolutely nothing in garden yet! Maybe this week as rain is at last forcast!
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The joys of gardening!
I lost my first trays of beans after making the mistake of starting to harden them off and not watching out for a night frost.
This year it's been less a matter of the cold weather and more the dry spell that holds me up. It's not practical for me to water the veggie patch daily and soil temps are so low that even the weeds have only just shown signs of germinating.
I start most seeds off indoors in modules then they go into the cold greenhouse. Leeks aren't a problem.. once started off they're fine outside. The same holds true for brassicas. the only things inthe veggie patch so far are the potatoes that got frosted and are slowly recovering, the onion sets and few brassicas and broad beans. yesterday was the first day I felt it safe enough to sow any seeds directly.. carrots, parsnips and peas and those I'll just have to bite the nettle and drag cans of water to for the next few days until the dry spell breaks but I can't face trying to water in leek seedlings if i put those out.. they need lots the first days.. so another week or two for them.
I wouldn't buy plug plants for veggies.. the cost makes it rather pointless compared to buying finished veg when on factors in workload. I will admit that this year I bought a few plug bedding 'cos I was running out of germinating space indoors and i only bother with a half dozen tubs.
the silliness about gardening is that we all rush to get the stuff out early but if planted later it usually catches up anyway.
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<<<the silliness about gardening is that we all rush to get the stuff out early but if planted later it usually catches up anyway. >>>
Spot on pgkevet! Every season is different, and every year we learn more. Over the years I've established 'safe' sowing and planting out dates for here, but I still get caught out, by late frost, drought, torrential rain, howling wind.
We now grow just about everything in the tunnel, except potatoes, broad beans, peas, some onions and carrots and summer brassicas. That has problems in itself though as, for example, I never get such a good crop of climbing beans inside as many do outdoors; here though, I get no crop outdoors :o
For many of us, growing, especially our food, is a fundamental part of our make-up. For my first 2 years at uni, way back when, I had no access to growing and felt like I'd lost a leg.
I really feel for you Sabrina, being so disappointed and down, as this is usually a time of such fun with growing stuff, summer promise on its way.
I can only suggest you resow your seedlings, accept some things might be ready a bit later than usual, and wait for the promised rain at the weekend to soften the ground, and get the grass growing.
Incidentally, our apple blossom isn't out yet either, but it will come, when it's not too cold for the bees to pollinate a crop.