sjp Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 re-sowed 9 pots of tomatoes plus sweetcorn after only 2 out off 36 germinated worst season I've had for germination in 35 years of gardening also had a pot of cauliflower.cabbage, sprouts and linseed fail to germinate the toms that have germinated are struggling the leeks are the same and I sowed both of them a Month earlier than normal sown the heritage french beans plus the Churchfield black runner beans and the squashes pumpkins and cucumbers just need a bit of warm dry weather so I can get the onions and first brasiccas planted out and get the rest of the heritage spuds potted up I've gone from been a good 2 or 3 weeks a head to over a month Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daphne Posted May 16, 2012 Share Posted May 16, 2012 I'm feeling a bit demotivated - I've probably got 50 sweet peas all germinated and growing away, but I left 30 of them hardening off for 3 weeks as I felt it was too wet to get them into the ground. When I came to plant them out at the weekend I realised the slugs have been at them (never known that to happen), and I have precisely 3 cosmos seedlings left out of the 20 I've planted for the same reason. I still have dahlia tubers to get into the ground, but as the young growth is a magnet for the pests at the best of times, I'm a bit uncertain. I've tried them in pots and that didn't deter the slugs, and I've tried organic pellets which were completely useless. I think I'm going to get some nematodes and try that instead. On the plus side my 2nd early spuds are thriving and the blackcurrants are going mad - I think it might be a bumper year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicken Licken Posted May 19, 2012 Share Posted May 19, 2012 Finally got out onto the allotment today and planted carrots and parsnips. Potted on some petunias, geraniums and begonias inthe greenhouse. Cleared the weeds from my raised beds and now have to work out what is going to go where!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparkysmum Posted May 27, 2012 Share Posted May 27, 2012 This warm weather has been amazing and this weekend I have planted up my hanging baskets, planted out my courgettes and broad beans and sown different varieties of lettuce and radish. Could get used to this weather. Alli x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparkysmum Posted May 27, 2012 Share Posted May 27, 2012 oh and got over 100 sweat peas to plant & no where yet to put them................ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnamon Posted May 28, 2012 Share Posted May 28, 2012 Ditto the Sweetpeas - I have heaps but nowhere for them to go I almost lost my Cucumbers over the hot weekend - they just collapsed,but after a long drink they seem to have perked up a bit thank goodness. My Greenhouse is still full of chicken stuff after the chicken shed fell down,so I have only 3 of my 9 Growbags up & running so far,& lots of tomatoes still in pots,poor things! My courgettes are out & doing well & I have lots of Squash plants ready to go too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickencam Posted May 28, 2012 Author Share Posted May 28, 2012 This lovely weather had really brought things on, we planted some French bean seeds about 3 weeks ago and there was no sign og them and now we have at least 24 plants, also my courgettes and patty pan squash weren't showing and sudenly over the weekend they have been popping up, I now have about 11 plants, which is way too many, glut times here we come. The tomatoes and aubergines have grown masses in the past week, virtually doubling in size, and I spent yesterday afternoon pricking out loads of brassica seedlings into pots. Planted up my window box with summer bedding too, I love the tiny trailing petunias, they come in a lovely range of colours and aren't as blousey as the large ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the Lurker Posted June 3, 2012 Share Posted June 3, 2012 As a newby gardener I decided to try my luck with some radish seeds, as they're supposedly fairly fool-proof! I sowed them just over a week ago now in some fairly tight rows in a window box (living in a 3rd floor flat doesn't lend itself well to gardening!) and the first sprouts were up in a day and a half (talk about instant gratification ) Every seed sprouted, which I was very pleased with and now their true leaves are starting to come out nicely. The other day I realised that there was nowhere near enough room for them to all grow as they were and that I should really thin them out, but it seemed such a shame to waste the little fellas so I decided I'd try spacing them out into whatever containers I had available (small pots, milk cartons, empty jars). Having just finished doing this this afternoon I went online to read up about what was said about growing radishes and everyone says they don't like being transplanted!!! On further inspection I did find people who said they always sprouted radishes in seed trays then transplanted them, sooooo i'm just going to keep an eye on them for the next few days and hope it all goes well Any suggestions or similar experiences? Other than the radishes I've just got a rather sweet, little Lobelia erinus that I got at the same time I planted the radishes, it's doing very nicely and has lots of new stalks and flower buds growing. Any tips on keeping the growth and flower production good? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickencam Posted June 3, 2012 Author Share Posted June 3, 2012 Most root crops don't like being transplanted, you tend to end up with mishapened roots, you might get away with it with radished because they are very quick growing, but I do find that they grow better in open ground where the roots form quickly with less leaf growth. The heavy rain has totally destroyed my swede seedlings today which we do grow to sturdy plants in 3 inch pots because they grow better on our sandy soil when grown this way. The water came pouring over the gutters on our house and washed all of the compost out of the pots and mashed the plants. I did sow more seed on Wednesday so hopefully they will grow on quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the Lurker Posted June 3, 2012 Share Posted June 3, 2012 Ah ok, well I'll keep my fingers crossed and let you know how they turn out If nothing else, it's a learning experience. Next time I'll just plant them spaced out enough that I don't need to thin or move them! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjp Posted June 4, 2012 Share Posted June 4, 2012 radish grows that fast that you don't really need to thin it out. I tend to sow it in very small amounts in very short rows not to thinnly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space Chick Posted June 4, 2012 Share Posted June 4, 2012 We are currently snowed under with broad beans we picked 3 bags full today I also grabbed an onion and some parsley from the allotment... Made a fab broad bean pate for lunch, and have spent much of the afternoon shelling, blanching and freezing broad beans. The allotment is looking fantastic at the moment I reckon we will have strawberries in a week or two, the super early tomatoes have a number of green tomatoes on them, so they should be red soon. There are courgettes starting to come. What's coming up behind... We have other squash, the aubergine and pepper plants have grown significantly.... The peas and French beans are starting, we have currants coming. I love this time of year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickencam Posted June 4, 2012 Author Share Posted June 4, 2012 we picked 2 nibbled strawberries today Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lillybettybabs Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 Something is eating my peas , They are in a sherry barrel and started to grow very well but this morning their leaves are looking like lace wings. I can't see any bugs on them so i have no idea what is munching on the poor things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjp Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 it's pea and bean beetle they live in the soil but only tend to eat the bottom 3 or 4 leaves.there's no legal way to control them as all the pestisides that used to do the job no longer exist Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lillybettybabs Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 Yep it's the first four leaves on each plant . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickencam Posted June 10, 2012 Author Share Posted June 10, 2012 Planted out my sprouts, caulis and some cabbages today and the potatoes are starting to flower. I also finally hung out my Tumbler tomato baskets, the greenhouse is a lot less crowded now It has been an ok weekend weatherwise actually didn't expect to get out much Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duncan08 Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 Not very exciting, planted a new bay tree and some tubs with some flowering annuals for outside the french windows. Moved around the herbs to fit around the Chick run, Just hope the dog doesn't like them as a new pee station Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lillybettybabs Posted June 13, 2012 Share Posted June 13, 2012 Not very exciting, planted a new bay tree and some tubs with some flowering annuals for outside the french windows.Moved around the herbs to fit around the Chick run, Just hope the dog doesn't like them as a new pee station i feel your pain on the pee station bit! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickencam Posted June 13, 2012 Author Share Posted June 13, 2012 Planted out the rest of my brassica plants and the French beans, sowed some more cabbage seeds for an autumn crop, a follow on crop of beans and some more lettuces and herbs. I also potted on some more pots of basil seedlings. I have an impressive basil pot on the kitchen womdow sill that came from a 69p supermarker pot, it sat there for a while got used to stumps and I repotted it into a large pot and it has grown and grown and is still being used, so I have been doing this with small homegrown pots, that i have always pricked out to single plants in the past. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alis girls Posted June 23, 2012 Share Posted June 23, 2012 Picked strawberries enough for Eton mess and broad beans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickencam Posted June 24, 2012 Author Share Posted June 24, 2012 We have now had 2 pickings of broad beans and new potatoes and a few strawberries and raspberries Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alis girls Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 Gosh early raspberries - mine are small and green Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickencam Posted June 26, 2012 Author Share Posted June 26, 2012 We have only had an odd few early ripening ones, but the rest won't be long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnamon Posted June 28, 2012 Share Posted June 28, 2012 Picked my first courgette today & he is a beauty. Remind me of this in a months time when I am swamped with the darn things! I also picked radishes & a good handful of ripe Blackcurrants. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
