winter 2006 - summer 2007

well all my things have been dug up and eaten, except m y cucumbers which are still growing.. and they were all in abundance thanks to you guys. this year i grew peas, carrots, potatoes n cucumber as an experiment to see how far i would get for my first time.. any suggestions for next year?

thanks alot =)

 

This is my first year of veg growing also, I found salad crops really easy and useful - especially the cut and come again types - I have a permanent supply of lettuce, rocket, radishes and spring onions just outside the back door

Beans were fun to grow as well. I'm not a fan of runners so I grew a climbing french bean 'hunter' instead. They were great. 2 plants was not enough though, I should have grown 6 I reckon.

 

I tried green and yellow courgettes (squash?) for the first time this year. The slugs got the first ones planted in the ground so we planted the next 2 in giant pots and had, and are still having, very good results. We will definitely plant them again next year. We found the yellow ones to be tastier. We are thinking of putting the pots out in front of the unused side of the garage next year to add a bit more colour there and give the plants plenty of space.

 

I just thought - if you have the space why not try a pumpkin plant? We did this year too, put it in a box of good compost and then sunk this into our largest compost heap - and did it ever take off! We went by various advice given on this subject and cut the long shoots off so that the strength went into the 2 pumpkins we left on. These are doing extremely well and are slated for Halloween, one to be hollowed out to put a candle in and the scooped out flesh and the other one are to be used to make Pumpkin Bread. The raw flesh and also the made bread both freeze well.

 

Try any dwark green bean, there is a purple one which is interesting, although it does go a funny shade of green when cooked.

I start mine off in egg cartons filled with compost inside (in the conservatory as I don't have a greenhouse) in April ish but you can do it earlier or later. The point being they need it a bit warm to germinate. Then when they are growing nicely and the frosts have gone you can either put them in grow bags or in the garden. A packet of seeds will give you lots of beans and you can freeze any if you get a glut.

 

The previous reply should have said Dwarf (not dwark) Green Beans. Bet you thought I had found a completely new variety.

B

 

why not try beetroot? pretty easy to grow

spinach is low maintenance, as is lettuce, rocket, mixed salad etc - you just water and pick off leaves, and it gives you fresh greens for weeks if not months. I pop out and pick some green leaves for dinner pretty much every night

worth trying brassicas - I didn't succeed this year (my first time) but will one day, through trial and error

turnips are pretty easy and look after themselves - their leaves are quite pretty too

courgettes are also very easy and give you lots to eat

anything really - it's all easier than you think, and it's fascinating to see how it all grows

 

i'll keep that in mind. just making a list now, thankya all

 

How about a Chilli or two?......
You could try some Chard - that is SOOOOOOO easy to grow - I grew some multi coloured ones a couple of years ago. You can pick it as baby leaves and have in salad, or let it grow a little larger and steam mmmmmm yum!!!....... and the kiddies loved the yellows and red and greens and orange.....

 

oh - and don't forgaet the GIANT pumpkin!!!!

 

I too am harvesting regularly, but I am thinking about this winter - I have just planted orange and purple carrots and some parsnips and potatoes went in a couple of weeks ago..

The carrots will hopefully be ready for christmas dinner, but I imagine the parsnips won't be ready until feb/mar with some tlc.

Good look with whatever you choose.

(By the way Dobbies seeds are half price at mo!)