Vegetable Growing 2024

If it helps @CanadianLori, I use metal shelving units (Hyllis) with plastic covers from IKEA in my polytunnel. This gives me an extra couple of degrees for trays of seedlings and also protects brassica babies from raids by the hens who go in there when it's too cold and wet for them to fossick outside.

I have 4 of them tucked in the corners up at my working end and they're easy to unzip for checking and watering.

 

I've had all my brassicas, lettuce, peas, coriander, parsley,dill, onions in the unheated greenhouse since start of the month. I'd be fine with them all down to about -5c at night outside, which is probably about -3c in the greenhouse for a few hours this time of year. We've had I think two frosts, maybe one down to -3c outside since I put them in. The onions are in the ground now with fleece over them to protect from any frost and wind

If we had some sort of Arctic blast I'd maybe have brought them back to the house right enough.

 

Well today has been down in the polytunnel (should I put this in that thread?). Harvested the next carrots (sown last year). We have had no success with germination outdoors so for the last 5 years have done so in the polytunnel and harvest from Sept through until well now. More still to harvest. Photo before cleaning!

Then followed on with transplanting different lettuce seedlings, chicory and Japanese lettuce again into the polytunnel.

 

Is this a lettuce or a salad green like Mitzuna that you grow ?

 

@On the Levels those carrots look good. I haven't yet tried them in this garden as we've had drought every year since we arrived in late 2016 but i'm determined to have a go in pots up near the house where they'll be easier to water and safe from any carrot fly.

I'm just going thru my seed collection to sort out chillies and tomatoes and have found some garllic kale to grow as a salad leaf. Forgotten about those.

 

Harvested my best cauliflower, for a few years, today and then planted onion sets and shallots.

 

@infradig Should have written Japanese spinach, but you can still eat the young leaves like salad leaves. It is Komatsuna, more like pak choi I think.

 

Yes I grow Komatsuna sometimes, its best grown quickly and eaten before its more than 5" tall.

 

I grow that over winter in the greenhouse and outside, sown in early september. Its extremely hardy and very productive, mine hasn't bolted yet although I expect it will soon. Produces a lot of leaves quickly

 

Had issues with my peas falling over before they can attach to their pole. At my grans I used bamboolette branches which look more like a dead bush and theyve worked really well. Bamboo proveing itself a mighty ornamental crop!

All my herbs indoors have aphids, and im losing the war. My peppers too. Its warm enough so theyre all going out for now but my basil will suffer. The peppers will be fine provided its above 0 i think.
Ill try a new pesticide "Bugclear ultra 1" brand of systemic (acetamiprid?) for my ornamentals. maybe this will turn the tide against those lil buggos.

 

Take a pair of secateurs to Odiham common and find some hazel twigs. Even if they have now got leaf.


My Gran used to submerge her houseplants in a bucket of cold water overnight. She reckoned they couldn't hold their breath that long !.

 

@Adam I any spray that has Spinosad in it is super at killing aphids. They forget to eat

 

The question I ask myself is do I really want to eat food from plants sprayed with chemicals, I use washing up liquid mixed with water to clear white and black fly. Now as I wash the plates and cutlery with that I figure I am not adding to the amount of poisons I eat.

 

Not a veg but plucked some more rhubarb today. Whilst we don't like the rain it does.

Then sowed some leeks seeds, tomatoes (yes I know so late but circumstances happened), aubergine and globe artichokes (poor germination so doing some more) all indoors.

 

That rhubarb looks cracking @On the Levels. we've had an unusually wet winter and not too cold but our rhubarb is only 4"/10cm high. I put cloche son the plants yesterday to warm them up a bit and get them moving.