Things I've learnt this year!

..... that you can eat fushia fruits.

 

Think like a farmer, concentrate on getting a good crop out and to hell with the weeds.

 

My biggest "learn":

If you're growing indoors with lights - don't leave them on 24 hours a day (even if it is by accident!)

 

Ooh what are you growing? Tried tomatoes a few years ago to see if I could start a crop early but they went very 'leggy'. 24 hours might be ok as a one off but heat can be a problem!

 

Tahsocks - did you have a problem by leaving lights on for 24 hours?

I ask because I have been growing stuff under growlights, but have always used a time switch set to 14 hours of light. I have often wondered what would happen if the plants had 24 hours of sunlight.

MrMorgan - If your plants went leggy, it sounds as if your lights weren't strong enough. I did some research before I build myself a light box and realised that you need a very high light level for active growing. I have a light meter to measure light levels. The meter doesn't lie - but eyes are very poor at judging light level.

 

Some of the stuff I've learnt this year includes:

* Turnip leaves are not just edible, they are delicious, and very nutritious.
* Hanging baskets are very difficult to look after (probably not, just an art in themselves - my first attempt at one did well for a few months, but has died prematurely)
* Mushroom compost is an excellent, low cost soil improver - it turned my exhausted, severely compacted clay soil into good soil that things thrive in.
* try to get things in on time. Missing the window leads to poor results.

Unless its windy. I remember my dad's home made greenhouse when I was a kid, which consisted of a wooden frame covered in polythene sheeting.

My dad, keen to keep me involved and interested, let me go in and out of the greenhouse whenever I wanted. His only rule was to keep the door shut if it was windy. I followed this rule mostly, except for one time when I was in the greenhouse and needed to nip back into the house for something. I was gone maybe a minute or two, but left the door open. As I was heading back to the greenhouse a gust of wind came, rushed into the open door of the plastic greenhouse, inflated it like a balloon and it just ripped instantly to bits. I was in the dog house for a while after that

I thought red mullet was a fish.

I'll add that to the things i've learnt this year

 

Yes I did have a problem when I left the lights on 24 hours.

Growth - whilst VERY fast for the first few days just tapered off to almost nothing. The leaves started showing signs of stress, and they drank a LOT of water (hydroponic system).

I'm growing San Marzano tomatoes under CFl lights, so heat is not so bad (3 plants..).

All 3 plants currently have 2 trusses, with 1 plant with 3 tomatoes set - the other 2 plants are just opening flowers.

But yeah, 24 hours on, 0 hours off does nothing for more mature plants. For seedlings its fine though (for a while). That's what I have learned!

 

Now I am impressed, hydroponics as well!! Again tried once but didn't suit with having to check Ph and monitoring EC, plus seemed to be constantly topping up nutes only to encounter bedraggled growth and don't let the reservoir dry out (I did:(). Plants don't tend to last long after that!!

MrM

 

Yes but I keep checking through it when I'm supposed to be working!! Just reading through how to upload photos!

Loads of great tips, Titchmarsh, Don, Klein get your P45's GC is the new Dog on the Plot!!

 

It is. Which is what intreagued me so much when I found these.



I thought I could grow my own fish

I had the same problem with the green house. Think I built my first one about 10 years old, wind ripped the bejezus out of it:DOH:

 

The main thing I learned this year was to keep your plants happy and growing because the longer they are in the ground the more pest get at them.