Veg plans for 2021

macraignil

DeadSkin wrote: »

My spuds have succumbed to the frost too :-(

It was mentioned on BBC Gardener's World last week that once it is just the leaves that get a bit frost damaged the spuds should recover. Earth them up a bit more if there is more frost forecast for your area. I've got good crops eventually in the past from spuds that got a bit of frost damage to the leaves from late frosts.

The Master.

CelticRambler wrote: »

They'll be grand. It'll only be the top growth that's been traumatised; you'll see new green shoots in a week or so.

Thanks. I had the covered with fleece so its mostly just the tips of the leaves that are dead. Many have yet to break the ground yet.
Surely that must be the end of the frost by now! Feels like it could get cold tonight.

SouthWesterly

The Master. wrote: »

Thanks. I had the covered with fleece so its mostly just the tips of the leaves that are dead. Many have yet to break the ground yet.
Surely that must be the end of the frost by now! Feels like it could get cold tonight.

To be cold tonight and possibly another night or 2 later in the month.

MacDanger

MacDanger wrote: »

1. 2 x Tumbler and 1 x Moneymaker
2. Just bought them at the weekend, ~10-15cm tall I'd say
3. The window is medium size, maybe 0.8m * 1.2m
4. Faces W-SW
5. Not really

These tomato plants are coming along reasonably well, little flower buds starting to show on them (see pics) - how often should I be feeding & watering them at this stage?

Thanks

Harry Palmr

Thank goodness for the rain. It's light but steady for about 10 hours. The soil is partched down here.

MacDanger

MacDanger wrote: »

These tomato plants are coming along reasonably well, little flower buds starting to show on them (see pics) - how often should I be feeding & watering them at this stage?

Thanks

Anyone?

Living Off The Splash

Living Off The Splash wrote: »

I planted out my Broadbeans, Peas and Mange Touts. Concerned about the temperatures now. I am holding off in planting out my Spinach and French Beans plus salad leaves.

Update. The peas and mange touts are all showing their heads above the soil now, just about 3 weeks after planting direct in to the soil.

The broad beans not as good, a few sticking their heads up.

Tomato plants on the window sill about 6 inches tall. I will need to transplant these on in to larger pots this week.

I am going ahead with planting out my French Bean and Spinach seeds direct in to the ground this week as temperatures due to be about 15 degrees. I will put a fleece over them as night temperatures will be as low as 3 degrees.

hirondelle

MacDanger wrote: »

Anyone?

I'm growing some on at the moment- the obvious answer is "as often as they need to be"- meaning, if the compost is drying out or if the leaves start to droop. So, regularly basically- it is also getting to the point where the nutrients in the compost are used up- I noticed lower leaves turning yellow, so I added some Baby Bio to the water and that has perked them right up.


it really is a case of nursing them along until they go out or into the greenhouse etc.

PMBC

What depth of soil is needed for growing lettuces, radishes in boxes? My BH is on a campaign growing some from seeds.

macraignil

PMBC wrote: »

What depth of soil is needed for growing lettuces, radishes in boxes? My BH is on a campaign growing some from seeds.

Probably get some crop with 100mm depth but the deeper you go the more you will avoid them drying out and this can lead to plants bolting to make seed sooner than you would normally expect. Best to plant the lettuce and radish a few every couple weeks so they all don't mature at the same time.



Got lettuce little gem started in a windowbox of less than 100mm but going to plant them out here in the next couple of weeks. Going to use some to mark out a row of scorzonera which I have never grown before.


Happy gardening!

Living Off The Splash

Planted out my Runner bean and French bean seeds yesterday. Covered them with a fleece.

I could do with another fleece type covering that I can water through. I think I got my last one from Amazon many years ago.

Anyone know where I might get one locally at a reasonable price.

okedoke

I've got sweetcorn, pumpkin and courgette growing in pots atm. They were in the house - now they're outside during the day and in the shed at night (I might bring them into the house later this week - cold snap expected. How soon could i (reasonably) safely plant them outside?

I know courgette and pumpkin are very tender but I've read conflicting advice about how tender sweetcorn is.

I'm in Cork city btw

cuculainn

okedoke wrote: »

I've got sweetcorn, pumpkin and courgette growing in pots atm. They were in the house - now they're outside during the day and in the shed at night (I might bring them into the house later this week - cold snap expected. How soon could i (reasonably) safely plant them outside?

I know courgette and pumpkin are very tender but I've read conflicting advice about how tender sweetcorn is.

I'm in Cork city btw

I'm in same situation, running out of indoor space and pots......need to move them out but it is still very cold!!

beggars_bush

okedoke wrote: »

I've got sweetcorn, pumpkin and courgette growing in pots atm. They were in the house - now they're outside during the day and in the shed at night (I might bring them into the house later this week - cold snap expected. How soon could i (reasonably) safely plant them outside?

I know courgette and pumpkin are very tender but I've read conflicting advice about how tender sweetcorn is.

I'm in Cork city btw

way too early to plant out sweetcorn

SouthWesterly

Bought some perennial cabbage this evening.
I actually think its a kale but time will tell.

CelticRambler

:mad: Think I'll give up on veg planning for this year. Had no end of trouble getting things to germinate in Jan-Feb, and was going to post saying I'd had trouble getting things to germinate in April, but anything sown in March was doing really well.

I've just done my daily check on the March seedlings (tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, pumpkin, melon, gerkhins, basil, parsely, ginger ... ) and the whole lot are incinerated. :mad: Since yesterday. :mad: :mad:

I have a couple of back-up trays of tomatoes that were hammered by the frost a couple of weeks ago, but about a quarter seem to have survived. Not sure I have the enthusiasm for planting what seed I have left.

The weird thing is: it's only the veg that's being destroyed - the flowers are doing great (except sweet peas - again, very poor germination this year).

Living Off The Splash

I was just adding up the amount of hours that I have spent in the garden this year between the early tidy up, preparing raised beds, collecting my compost, creating frames for beans, peas etc, organising seeds, planting out, watering, covering/pampering. Watching the weather. It all adds up.

A visit to Tesco and I can buy a kilo of frozen this...... or a head of fresh that....... for less than €1.

Am I enjoying my gardening? Yes I am? Would I be better off being somewhere else, doing something else......possibly.

I still look at the long term property rentals in Spain though, but wonder how I would fill my day......I could walk the promenade in the sun, maybe go on a day trip somewhere.....

Maybe next year...

youllbemine

Living Off The Splash wrote: »

I was just adding up the amount of hours that I have spent in the garden this year between the early tidy up, preparing raised beds, collecting my compost, creating frames for beans, peas etc, organising seeds, planting out, watering, covering/pampering. Watching the weather. It all adds up.

A visit to Tesco and I can buy a kilo of frozen this...... or a head of fresh that....... for less than €1.

Am I enjoying my gardening? Yes I am? Would I be better off being somewhere else, doing something else......possibly.

I still look at the long term property rentals in Spain though, but wonder how I would fill my day......I could walk the promenade in the sun, maybe go on a day trip somewhere.....

Maybe next year...

The way I look at it is this. If you could be spending your time doing something else that you enjoy more or that is going to make you money then possibly look into spending your time at that. If you enjoy the gardening more than those other things then sure what else would you be at.

I'm 29 and big into growing veg. I've friends and acquaintances who think it's a bit odd that I spend so much time out there working away. They also find it odd that I've such a passion/obsession with it. If I had another source of income outside my 9-5 I'd spend my time on that but I don't. So it's a hobby of mine (one of possibly too many). It's not like these people are making bags of money outside of their spare time or learning an amazing skill. They're watching tv/on their phones/drinking/playing sport (I do all of these things too, especially sport, but split my time differently).

Plus I worked out that I grew around €3,000 worth of food in the garden last year. I've expanded this year and reckon it'll be at least €5-6,000 saved on veg groceries. Sitting in front of the tv definitely doesn't save you that coin! Unless you're on Gogglebox!

2011abc

Living Off The Splash wrote: »

I was just adding up the amount of hours that I have spent in the garden this year between the early tidy up, preparing raised beds, collecting my compost, creating frames for beans, peas etc, organising seeds, planting out, watering, covering/pampering. Watching the weather. It all adds up.

A visit to Tesco and I can buy a kilo of frozen this...... or a head of fresh that....... for less than €1.

Am I enjoying my gardening? Yes I am? Would I be better off being somewhere else, doing something else......possibly.

I still look at the long term property rentals in Spain though, but wonder how I would fill my day......I could walk the promenade in the sun, maybe go on a day trip somewhere.....

Maybe next year...

The physical exercise is a big part of it for me .It cant ever make sense purely financially for many but as a lifestyle hobby its grand .If bored or even if not, completely quitting November to March is wise .

LurkerNo1

Living Off The Splash wrote: »

I was just adding up the amount of hours that I have spent in the garden this year between the early tidy up, preparing raised beds, collecting my compost, creating frames for beans, peas etc, organising seeds, planting out, watering, covering/pampering. Watching the weather. It all adds up.

A visit to Tesco and I can buy a kilo of frozen this...... or a head of fresh that....... for less than €1.

Am I enjoying my gardening? Yes I am? Would I be better off being somewhere else, doing something else......possibly.

I still look at the long term property rentals in Spain though, but wonder how I would fill my day......I could walk the promenade in the sun, maybe go on a day trip somewhere.....

Maybe next year...

Im in a similar situation. Been growing alot of veg for the past 10 years and this year im just growing some greens and herbs in a small area. Turning the rest over to perennial flowers and grasses. Ive enjoyed the veg growing but less and less the past few years. I agree with all the time and effort put in i dont find the rewards enough and i find myself sacrificing my own peace of mind because there is always another job to do or something to look after and i cant just up and leave whenever i like during the growing season. It just feels like im tied to it and i dont want that anymore. I love gardening but i also love my freedom.
The perennial flower beds have been amazing and i get so much more joy out of them as do the wildlife and the passers by. The input is minimal, a little bit of weeding and thats it, come June most of the ground is covered so little room for weeds to germinate. If i want to do work thats an option but if i choose not to thats ok too. I can leave for a break or holiday and not have to organise someone to look after a crop and watering.

If you move to Spain you can walk to the farmers market, amazing produce for next to nothing.

CelticRambler

youllbemine wrote: »

If you could be spending your time doing something ... that is going to make you money then possibly look into spending your time at that.

Waaaay back in the mists of time, I had someone come to do a "performance review" of my business. On the day in question, my receptionist had taken a half-day's leave, so I stood in for her myself - nothing like doing the work of your staff to understand what challenges they face. Anyway, yer man's summary was that not only should I be employing someone on minimum wage to do the receptionist's work, but based on our (my) profit margins, I'd be better off employing a new graduate to do my work, and subcontracting my more experienced self to another organisation for more money.

That was day I decided that I'd had enough of living a capitalist-consumerist lifestyle. Soon afterwards, we sold up (in England) and moved to France.

Living Off The Splash wrote: »

I still look at the long term property rentals in Spain though, but wonder how I would fill my day......

Can't speak for Spain, but here in the next country up, I can tell you I'm not short of ways to fill my days!

Yesterday was depressing, after I found so many carefully nurtured seedlings had been frazzled in the space of a few hours; but today started as a wet Wednesday and (somewhat paradoxically) that cheered me up - the ground is wet - that makes it three days so far this year!

The cost is largely irrelevant - it's hope and challenge and stimulation and satisfaction that makes it worth while.

Harry Palmr

Growing a tray of seedlings in late April early May should be easy enough, but I'm moving mine in/out every day! :mad: Just can't risk them at night even inside a greenhouse.

Igotadose

Harry Palmr wrote: »

Growing a tray of seedlings in late April early May should be easy enough, but I'm moving mine in/out every day! :mad: Just can't risk them at night even inside a greenhouse.

Same. Too damn cold at night still, and going to stay that way for a bit.

Per one older neighbor in West Kerry: "Sometimes we get a week of nice weather in April, and that's the summer." Hopefully not this year. Go, global warming, go!

CelticRambler

Ye can keep yer global warming over there in West Kerry, or anywhere on the island. Here, the first water restrictions of the year went into effect today. Fortunately not yet for my area ... but I don't doubt we'll be joining the others soon.

SouthWesterly

Very dry here all month according to my weather station

Saw rain 3km from me today but never came near. I was less than impressed.

beggars_bush

Killer frost for seedlings last night
Our kitchen floor resembles a mini forest

Living Off The Splash

Planted out all our hardened off tomato plants yesterday. Used as much fleeces and other coverings that I could find. I am hoping that they survived last night.

Still looking for a recommendation to get some fine mesh to cover my plants. The prices seem to be all over the place.

SouthWesterly

Living Off The Splash wrote: »

Planted out all our hardened off tomato plants yesterday. Used as much fleeces and other coverings that I could find. I am hoping that they survived last night.

Still looking for a recommendation to get some fine mesh to cover my plants. The prices seem to be all over the place.

Scaffold netting.

madhgtaloney

Absolute nightmare so far this year, planted seeds (carrotts, onions, parsnips) about three weeks ago directly into the ground, not a single seedling so far and I don't think there will be any either given the freezing cold. Pea seedlings came up strong but we're destroyed by the blackbirds and robins nesting in the trees and ivy above. Had a look at the forecast last weekend and thought temperatures were picking up so two days ago I tried reseeding what I'd done and adding beetroot but the frost last night might've gotten them too. I have spinach, brocolli, cabbage and swedes in starter trays on top of the boiler outside (don't laugh) but the heat from the boiler actually keeps the soil nice and warm but means I don't have to harden them off really, but still far too cold to put them in the ground. Forgot to bring tomato plants back in the other day and they've shrivelled up despite being put in the hot press under grow lamp. All round disaster so far this year and don't see any improvement coming soon and it's getting late.

CelticRambler

madhgtaloney wrote: »

Absolute nightmare so far this year ...

Glad it's not just me.

That said, ever since I reluctantly agreed to do a short contract in May, we've had a bit of soft rain, which has at least stabilised the situation a little for me. My beetroot was self-seeded last year, so didn't need any hardening off. I lost about half of the seedlings I transplanted due to severe drying wind, but those that survived are looking great. I've a load of red lettuce coming on nicely too, and between the two, a line of coriander sown about a month ago has decided to germinate.

Carrots are hit and miss. Mostly miss. But everything oniony is doing well.
The early spuds are well above ground now (will earth them up next week). Happiest of all, this week, are two spinach plants that escaped the slugs during the winter, and three red cabbages.