wow this is a really exciting time for me,everything is bursting into life. about eight weeks and food on the plate!!!! anyone else got veg on the go,and what`s your favourite?

This year, I am focusing all my energy into growing Garlic, Onions, Tomatoes and Coriander this year.

All planted except for the tomatoes, which I am raising now in the house (vine, gardners delight and alicante - all destined for outdoor growing, no greenhouse this year)

Yeh I got strawberrys (Wild ones and Alpine ones I think they are called), got raspberrys, coriander, basil, chillis, salad leaves, also got goji berrys, blueberries and blackberry but they wont fruit this year. Lots of mine have started popping over the last few days, got loads outside and ever more inside uner clingfilm in chinese takeaway type trays. Then of course I got me herbs

Same 2 I'm growing fella... good to know I made a decent choice

Got some shallots, peas and carrots just emerging, along with a few spuds.Was a relief to see them cos I thought I'd killed everything before I started

Bought a blueberry bush at the weekend and have last night planted some salad leaves too. Really quite excited about the whole growing food thing, and I dunno if I ever would have if it hadn't been for growing cannabis and uk420.... in fact there you go, cannabis is a gateway drug, its a gateway to growing your own fruit and veg

Aye, same for me. I always had a vision of growing stuff but I also have visions of decorating and putting shelves up etc. (They never materialise) But since I been on here I have planted about 40 different things in my garden and house and I really enjoy looking at them everyday looking for little green shoots, I go from room to room checking them as I got them all over the place and when I am in the garden smoking I am stood there over my plants like proud father willing them to grow more . I doubt I would have done so much had it not been for these threads on UK420. I am now addicted to buying packets of cheap seeds etc from the £1 shops. Happy times

spuds have popped through the soil,shallots are showing
everything else (root veg) is sown and waiting to be planted out
cucumbers are coming on along with the toms
rhubarbs a growing
broccoli is sprouting well
runner beans are waiting to go in
still plenty to do yet though

I'm running out of space,

So far we got Basil, Chillis, Purple sprouting broccoli, Spuds first early and main crop, 2 varieties of broad bean, 2 varieties of tom, bush cherry and alicante, 2 types of peas, main and sugar snap, leeks and onions from seed, climbing french beans, lettuce.

Not even started the more tender plants yet.

I'm trying hard this year to sow and plant out at intervals so we don't end up with a glut of produce as we tend to give loads away then.

Also got some night scented stocks my fav. and some african marigolds as they are very good companion plants and as I'm typing this my hop plant has just arrived.

Just hope we get a better summer and keep the blight at bay, lost about 30 tomatoes and half our spuds last year.

JOM

Got my tomatoes potted up now Gardeners Delight ,Sweet 100 and Tumbler that we grew in baskets last year and were very happy with the crop great coz u dont need to tie in or nip out the side shoots . Will sow 2 rows o cut n come again lettuce every 2 weeks that keeps us going in salad leaves . courgettes are good but u only need 1 or 2 or u end up with bucket loads .Got some fruit trees a few years back from lidl so hoping for some fruit this year ,already got apples and pears and they taste soo much nicer than whats in the shops

Brocolli, Lettuce, Cabbage, Onion, Leek, Radish all doing well ere at the mo. Plenty of stuff yet to go in....

i turn over another 1/4 of my garden this year,well manured apart from where the carrots are going,they didn`t like that last year.i got potatos,broad beans,peas,parsley,spinach,onions,spring onions,sprouts,cauliflower,peppers/indoors!,french beans just sprouting as we speak,corrots,runners went out yesterday,toms gardeners delight and sun gold went out yesterday hope it wasn`t to early!,leeks abuot the size of matchstick and cucumbers to go out next month. this is the largest ammount i`ve ever done so am hoping i can keep up!

Hope this is not too much off topic for us Veg people,

Please move it if it is.

I investing in some of the West + compost after reading good reports on here so I thought I would do a little trial, these Chilli's and Tomato's were pricked out at the same time roughly 10 days ago, kept out of bright sun for a few days, they are now having a nice day out when the weather is fine, they have been kept in the same propagator when not outside.



Click to view attachment

It's not blindingly obvious but the plants in my cheap and cheerful (4X 75L for 12 quid) and perlite mix seem to be doing better than the Westlands (front of picture)

I have alway bought cheap'ish peat based compost, as I get through a lot of bags over a year, just wondered if the posh stuff will come out best in the long run ? anyone know.

JOM

Marginally i`d say,and there`s a reason most people avoid peat,hense the value,peat digging is removing land that is hundreds of years old,thats how long it takes to make peat,once it`s gone it`s gone,good bye to the nature thats living there too!

Got Blue cheese , 2 trainwreck , double gum, Uknown (from bud ages ago) o0h and some basil pic bit old , trains have popped

was talking veg mate,but what the hell,who am i to judge?! welcome and good luck

From what I know and have learned recently, peat bogs can be maintained and indeed improved with more enlightened and modern land culture.

This involves more awareness of how grazing animals and water/river/brooks can contribute I might be wrong but, I think recent findings are now helping natural peat, please don't think I'm having a go, but I as long as it's for sale I'll be buying it.

JOM

And what More enlightened and Modern Land Culture do you have in mind? peat takes a very long time to produce,that`s why people used it as fuel once,peat bricks. don`t think you can reproduce it very quickly at all. to have enough energy to burn means it`s been in the ground for fuck of a long time. remember the peat bog man? he was thousands of years old.

I should also add this is a trial,

I'll continue untill all the plants are mature, we can then make our conclusions. I'll keep you all informed if your interested.

JOM

ok fuck the environment.

OK Ratdog,

Mate?,

I do understand that peat takes many years to produce and over many years we have been stripping a natural resource, but recent findings have found that modern grazing techniques over heath land has also added to the lack of the next generation of peat being made, all I'm saying is it's not just the use, but also the miss management of land for many years (with the best of intentions) that hasn't helped.

JOM

Your last post is out of order mate,

JOM



And I apollogise for taking this thread so off topic, I just hope we can get back to the Veg we are all growing and try to help each other out.

JOM

ill bring it back on track ..currently growing two types of french bean (dwarf ,1 yellow ,1 green),runner beans have popped ,the potatoes that i mentioned in another thread have taken off with some explosive growth ,strawberries(100+yr old variety swiped from belmarsh house)are roaring away ,raspberries,blueberries all growing well ..even the repotted grape vine is showing leaves ,lettuces are exceptional this year for us ,carrots are all popping the soil ...its gonna be a good year for veg

Vince,

Have you moved your vine or does it live in a big pot?

I got one trained on wires over our decking it's about 7 years old now, it gets a prune just after christmas and this time of year the " pruned ends" of it actually drip sap onto the floor. No leaves yet but some big fat buds waiting to burst.

Just hope we get more fruit than the last couple of years.

JOM

sorry jom just feel strongly about it . anyway all looking good at planet datdog,apart from i think i`ve put my toms out too early,frost damage,been out four nights so much so that i`ve planted some more to be sure

No problem Ratdog mate,

Shall we agree to dissagree.

Cut the bottom off a few big pop bottles and put them over your Toms, also stops slugs and snails they also might be a bit shocked if you aint hardened them off for a few days before you put them out.

Cheers,

JOM

cheers,but their over 2 ft tall,planted late jan,i always get exicted and plant too early,no greenhouse just bay window,still not enough room!!

Here`s some pic`s of my garden,heres my Sharpes Express potatosClick to view attachment and my Can Can Lettuce.Click to view attachment

More pic`s my runner beansClick to view attachment and my broad beans,Bunyards Exhibition.Click to view attachment

Some nice work there ratdog

And finally..my raised bed with parsley,sprouts,peas and carrots!Click to view attachment and here are my frost damaged toms..any ideas on these? are they worth keeping? Click to view attachment cheers Ratdog.

Thank Dude

Great effort Ratdog,

I can see you got the growing bug.

The Toms look a bit shagged (you weren't joking about planting them out in Jan!) if I were you I'd get some more on the go, with the better weather and light you will catch up, and invest in some horticultural fleece it will protect against frost and keep pests at bay, dead cheap and lasts a few years.

"And finally..my raised bed with parsley,sprouts,peas and carrots! " that lot would make a blinding soup

JOM

Cheers JOM,actually the toms were raised indoors until about 5 days ago. still too cold apparently! planted some more and just seeing a touch of green ,as for the soup...I think you`re on too a winner.

Nice little patch you got there ratdog. You either got started sooner than me or have some better weather are those broad bean planted this year???
if not how did you keep the frosts off?

Only just started my toms last weekend, had a shit crop last year due to blight ;-( ;-( wasn't gona bother but Im a sucker for sad story

Very individual selection of strains you have in that bed mate ;-) like Jom said nice soup



Bert...

Hi Bert,sorry for the delay! i brought them on indoors first,i always start seed early as poss.
Here`s some more pic`s.Click to view attachment

Broad BeansClick to view attachment

SpudsClick to view attachment

LettuceClick to view attachment

Red onionsClick to view attachment

RunnersClick to view attachment

Young CauliesClick to view attachment

More spuds!Click to view attachment

Fantastic mate!

Well done on these! You reap what you sow and your gonna reap!

awesome stuff ratdog...good work

Cheers Snake and Blueskies, now i just gotta keep watering it all!

Hiya Ratdog,

What varieties of spuds have you got there? looking very well as is everything else, keep your eyes on the broad beans and as soon as they attract Black fly pinch the top of the plants out, won't harm the crop BTW.

It looks like you soft Southern poofs have had the best of the weather so far this year.

Keep it up mate.

JOM

BTW what happened to the Toms?

Hi JOM,
I got a cross with Pink Fur Apple,couldn`t get PFA,i forget the name,Sharpe`s Express and Juliet, put the toms out to early(frost) but never fear i have 6 more nearly read to go out. Cheers Ratdog.

agreed, its a terrible gateway drug. i too have succumbed to growing food cos lettuce,rocket,carrots,cabbage and some herbs, i enjoy it. had some of the lettuce tonight and it tastes ok, think im hooked now

Well said m8! I grew before but now I feel more confident about what I'm doing and I understand plant nutrition a lot better, and deficiencies..... Found myself discussing the pro's and con's of different compost brands with a competition Crysanth growing neighbour the other day, he must think I'm daft as he's seen my garden and it's just veg.... saying that my composted rootballs produce some great compost

started all our veg early in a heated greenhouse , there taking over our garden now ! thing is , alot of the veg and fruit look just as good as plants you cant eat . got all kinds of beans , peas , asparagus , potatoes ect...ect...
been eating lettuice since last week , also raddish , not to mention the oranges and lemons
tomatoes are in full flower , and peppers are taking off a treat with flowers also
goto love this growing larky
eta...been telling the mrs off for overwatering /underwatering ....agreed ive also been looking at deficiencies leaf colour checking roots ect , growing canna has defo helped me also understand a plants way of life better

wow!

Nice topic ratdog.

I've just started my first veg gardening experience ever. Saved a tree planted by the city in the sidewalk out front (please pardon me for the lack of pictures ) and planted some lovely ground cover with it. In the back I have a planter box with sweet peas, rosemary, lemongrass, tomatoes, chamomile, lemon grass, a small rose bush, two small begonias, and a couple of recovering runners with small violet flowers. I've got more room and want small peppers, garlic.
I'm loving it!