Advice for a hopeless gardener

Food, Nutrition and Agriculture
GillyBee
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Re: Advice for a hopeless gardener

Post by GillyBee »

There are quite a few things you can start now. Oriental greens, Rocket and Swiss Chard are easy and are often better sown now for autumn or winter use. Real Seeds have a guide here which may help.
https://www.realseeds.co.uk/Monthlysowing.html
jansman
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Re: Advice for a hopeless gardener

Post by jansman »

GillyBee wrote: Fri Jul 16, 2021 8:28 pm There are quite a few things you can start now. Oriental greens, Rocket and Swiss Chard are easy and are often better sown now for autumn or winter use. Real Seeds have a guide here which may help.
https://www.realseeds.co.uk/Monthlysowing.html
I’ll second that. You will just about get a crop of baby beetroot if you get them in * now*. I shall be sowing just what GillyBee says,plus oriental radish ,turnips,Amsterdam Forcing carrots,a catch crop of baby spuds,land cress,lamb lettuce,spring cabbage,more kale,chicory,and Japanese onions a little later.
In three words I can sum up everything I have learned about life: It goes on.

Robert Frost.

Covid 19: After that level of weirdness ,any situation is certainly possible.

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Le Mouse
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Re: Advice for a hopeless gardener

Post by Le Mouse »

I'm deeply impressed by which seeds I planted have come up. I used up all my old seeds because I was convinced the germination test I did was a fluke! :lol: So now I have lots of seedlings that I'm thinning and getting a crop of micro greens at the same time!

If I can get that, anyone can! :lol:
jennyjj01
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Re: Advice for a hopeless gardener

Post by jennyjj01 »

GillyBee wrote: Fri Jul 16, 2021 8:28 pm There are quite a few things you can start now. Oriental greens, Rocket and Swiss Chard are easy and are often better sown now for autumn or winter use. Real Seeds have a guide here which may help.
https://www.realseeds.co.uk/Monthlysowing.html
Thanks,
With the best will in the world, I've messed up by leaving it too late :( Oh hum, we live and learn.
I'm going to get my soil delivered mid week and lob in some lettuce and other winter greens. Got to show willing.
I might try adapting one as a cloche to give it a better chance.

Actually, it's a pity they are outside. They'd make great tinned food hidey holes. :lol:

On a happier note, the jungle section of my 'rockery' has some wild blackberries growing :)
Graceful Degradation! Prepping's objective summed up in two words. Turning Disaster into Mild Inconvenience by the power of fore-thought

Not Feeling Optimistic. Let me be wrong
jansman
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Re: Advice for a hopeless gardener

Post by jansman »

jennyjj01 wrote: Sat Jul 17, 2021 5:09 pm
GillyBee wrote: Fri Jul 16, 2021 8:28 pm There are quite a few things you can start now. Oriental greens, Rocket and Swiss Chard are easy and are often better sown now for autumn or winter use. Real Seeds have a guide here which may help.
https://www.realseeds.co.uk/Monthlysowing.html
Thanks,
With the best will in the world, I've messed up by leaving it too late :( Oh hum, we live and learn.
I'm going to get my soil delivered mid week and lob in some lettuce and other winter greens. Got to show willing.
I might try adapting one as a cloche to give it a better chance.

Actually, it's a pity they are outside. They'd make great tinned food hidey holes. :lol:

On a happier note, the jungle section of my 'rockery' has some wild blackberries growing :)
Sow your lettuce somewhere cool. It will not germinate above 12 c.
In three words I can sum up everything I have learned about life: It goes on.

Robert Frost.

Covid 19: After that level of weirdness ,any situation is certainly possible.

Me.
jennyjj01
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Joined: Sun Jun 04, 2017 11:09 pm

Re: Advice for a hopeless gardener

Post by jennyjj01 »

jansman wrote: Sat Jul 17, 2021 5:54 pm Sow your lettuce somewhere cool. It will not germinate above 12 c.
That's all we need... A blistering heatwave today.

I read, that it needs to be on the surface so it can get sun too. And I face it all maturing and harvested at the same time. I really didn't think this through. Still, they're looking nice and I can temporarily conceal some bits and bobs in them to make the garden look tidier.

This project is looking like an expensive life lesson. Over £100 on wood and maybe half as much again for soil. Plus all the work that's going into it. Needs to be some marvelous crops to pay that back..
Graceful Degradation! Prepping's objective summed up in two words. Turning Disaster into Mild Inconvenience by the power of fore-thought

Not Feeling Optimistic. Let me be wrong
jansman
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Re: Advice for a hopeless gardener

Post by jansman »

jennyjj01 wrote: Sat Jul 17, 2021 6:07 pm
jansman wrote: Sat Jul 17, 2021 5:54 pm Sow your lettuce somewhere cool. It will not germinate above 12 c.
That's all we need... A blistering heatwave today.

I read, that it needs to be on the surface so it can get sun too. And I face it all maturing and harvested at the same time. I really didn't think this through. Still, they're looking nice and I can temporarily conceal some bits and bobs in them to make the garden look tidier.

This project is looking like an expensive life lesson. Over £100 on wood and maybe half as much again for soil. Plus all the work that's going into it. Needs to be some marvelous crops to pay that back..
You will be ready for next year though.
In three words I can sum up everything I have learned about life: It goes on.

Robert Frost.

Covid 19: After that level of weirdness ,any situation is certainly possible.

Me.
jennyjj01
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Re: Advice for a hopeless gardener

Post by jennyjj01 »

jansman wrote: Sat Jul 17, 2021 6:31 pm
You will be ready for next year though.
Yes indeed. I've just spent a while reading about different soils, hoping to save money. Wide variety even of soil at prices that are over the place. It IS rocket science to me. And a money pit!!!

I definitely need to research this much much more.

As you said earlier "start small, and do it well." If that means I hit the ground running next year, then so be it. For now, a small first try at salad foods and I suppose baby beetroots, but I don't expect much.
That reminds me. Must water my tomatoes.
Graceful Degradation! Prepping's objective summed up in two words. Turning Disaster into Mild Inconvenience by the power of fore-thought

Not Feeling Optimistic. Let me be wrong
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Medusa
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Re: Advice for a hopeless gardener

Post by Medusa »

3 or 4 years into my veg growing adventure. I have worked out what I can grow well and what I just cant no matter how I try and I dont care if some of my veg is wonky especially the carrots. Getting things to grow which I can eat fills my soul with joy. Not only that but I have been able to teach my grandchildren about nature, different kinds of bees, when fruit is ready and male and female flowers on the cucumbers, courgettes and squash and they absolutely adore picking the fruit, harvesting carrots to take home for their tea and watering the plants. Yesterday I realised that the leeks are actually onions which were obviously packaged wrong as seeds but they are absolute beauties and the first time we have grown onions from seed rather than sets and will do this again next year as they are huge! We are container and raised bed veg growers, but knowing that nothing has had pesticides sprayed on it has been so wonderful. I have also learned that vine weevils are a pain in the behind and that I have to spend money on nematodes twice a year to stop them.
Growing old disgracefully!
GillyBee
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Re: Advice for a hopeless gardener

Post by GillyBee »

Jenny I justify my spend on the not always successful garden items is that it is a lot cheaper than paying for a training course and for things like gardening you only really learn by doing. I do try to keep a log of what went well and what went badly each year. (Even if it is just an automn review rather than a "proper" gardening diary.)
As a result I am now trying more of the self pollinating runner beans and courgette varieties and have realised that one of the patches I wanted to grow veg in has something wrong with the soil. I need to test but it is either far too alkaline or has some sort of contamination there.
Either way, putting veg in there is a waste of time and I may need to either turn it into a raised bed with fresh soil or sacrifice it as the fireworks and incinerator space.