Veg plans for 2020

The Master. · 10-05-2020 11:34pm

Haven't posted for a while but everything is flying. Haven't really had any failures to launch apart from I couldn't germinate spring onion or red onion seeds in seed trays, in cotton pads or in the ground. Any ideas? The weather has been unreal and I'm sure that's helped.
Think I found an Australian flatworm when I was digging. They were in the news for being an invasive species.

Seve OB · 11-05-2020 12:48am

CelticRambler wrote: »

Every type of seed has a "best before" date which can be very short (a year) or quite long (5-6 years or more) and all of those you've listed would be among the longer ones. A lot depends on how and where they're stored, though, so if they were traumatised during storage (too cold, too hot, too damp - even for a short period) that would affect their viability.

well the beetroot has started to stick its head above ground over the last couple of days. just one mind you, so hopefully we will see a bit of movement in some more of them over the next week or so.

i've had spuds in pots which are going great guns over the last few weeks and some others in a bed with no signs of life till this week, they are next to the beetroot, so hopefully that patch will all come along nicely now together.

still nothing from the sunflowers and french beans though

kylith · 11-05-2020 8:49am

Onions and carrots are doing well. Only got a 40% germination on the tomatoes, but those are doing well. 50% of asparagus is up (can it keep going with the tip nipped, does anyone know? Baby was ‘helping’) dwarf beans went down yesterday. Corn and broccoli will be planted later this week.

11-05-2020 9:08am

The Master. wrote: »

Haven't posted for a while but everything is flying. Haven't really had any failures to launch apart from I couldn't germinate spring onion or red onion seeds in seed trays, in cotton pads or in the ground. Any ideas? The weather has been unreal and I'm sure that's helped.
Think I found an Australian flatworm when I was digging. They were in the news for being an invasive species.

Looking good !

SouthWesterly · 11-05-2020 9:22am

The garden yesterday evening

pconn062 · 11-05-2020 9:31am

Seve OB wrote: »

well the beetroot has started to stick its head above ground over the last couple of days. just one mind you, so hopefully we will see a bit of movement in some more of them over the next week or so.

i've had spuds in pots which are going great guns over the last few weeks and some others in a bed with no signs of life till this week, they are next to the beetroot, so hopefully that patch will all come along nicely now together.

still nothing from the sunflowers and french beans though

Did you direct sow the beans and sunflowers into the ground? It's still very cold and too cold I would say for them to germinate unless they are covered in plastic. I propagate every thing indoors apart from carrots and parsnips. All salads, spring onions, beetroot, peas, peppers, beans, cucumbers and even all the brassicas are started indoors in module trays. It's a great way to get a headstart on the season.

I must take some photos when I'm over in the garden later. Took my first small harvest of new potatoes yesterday alongside some spinach and small turnips.

SouthWesterly · 11-05-2020 10:20am

pconn062 wrote: »

Did you direct sow the beans and sunflowers into the ground? It's still very cold and too cold I would say for them to germinate unless they are covered in plastic. I propagate every thing indoors apart from carrots and parsnips. All salads, spring onions, beetroot, peas, peppers, beans, cucumbers and even all the brassicas are started indoors in module trays. It's a great way to get a headstart on the season.

I must take some photos when I'm over in the garden later. Took my first small harvest of new potatoes yesterday alongside some spinach and small turnips.

I direct sow everything. except for Artichoke, Oca and Mashua

Sowed peas at the begining of april in the same drills as the spuds which are all coming up.

Living Off The Splash · 11-05-2020 12:13pm

Seve OB wrote: »

still nothing from the sunflowers and french beans though

My wife planted sunflower seeds in a pot and they are all about 2" high. The slugs really like these.
Finally my French Beans are sticking their heads above ground. It's interesting. I have two raised beds with French Beans planted, one is in a slightly shaded position to the other. The one getting about 10% more sun has produced shoots quicker than the other by about 4 days. Next year these are going in full sun.

Living Off The Splash · 11-05-2020 12:20pm

I will start building a frame for my fruit bushes this week. Just some trampoline posts stuck in the ground and the safety netting used to wrap around the bottom half of the poles, to stop the birds coming in underneath. Then I put some fleece over the top of this, held to the trampoline netting using clothes pegs. Looks like I will have a good crop of Gooseberries and Blackcurrants this year.

Lots of ants in our garden. These are already feasting on our sweet rhubarb plants and they usually have a go at the blackcurrants also. I remember picking my blackcurrants from my bushes a few years back and the ants were running all over my hands and up my arms.

Just bought some ant baits off Amazon this week. I don't really mind ants but they are everywhere this year. All over our lawn as well.

Seve OB · 11-05-2020 12:42pm

pconn062 wrote: »

Did you direct sow the beans and sunflowers into the ground? It's still very cold and too cold I would say for them to germinate unless they are covered in plastic. I propagate every thing indoors apart from carrots and parsnips. All salads, spring onions, beetroot, peas, peppers, beans, cucumbers and even all the brassicas are started indoors in module trays. It's a great way to get a headstart on the season.

I must take some photos when I'm over in the garden later. Took my first small harvest of new potatoes yesterday alongside some spinach and small turnips.

in small pots which are outside, so yea that could be an issue alright. just don't have room to have them indoors. still holding out hope they might come up at some stage.

if they do come up, how long should i wait before sticking them into the ground?

Living Off The Splash · 11-05-2020 12:54pm

We cover our sunflower seedlings at night but leave them in full sun throughout the day. We will wait until they have grown another 2" before planting out. About 4" tall.
We grow these every year, they are beautiful. Also our giant red poppies are opening a couple every day. Have about 9 of them open at the moment. About another 20 to go.
Spotted some unusual red poppies when out and about recently growing wild. Larger heads than the Welsh yellow poppy and more flat when they open. We will collect as many of these seeds when we can. Can't have enough of poppies.

tom1ie · 11-05-2020 2:49pm

Has anyone tried square foot gardening in raised beds?

Vicarious Function · 11-05-2020 5:13pm

tom1ie wrote: »

Has anyone tried square foot gardening in raised beds?

Yes me! Very good idea, if your space is limited like mine is.

Living Off The Splash · 12-05-2020 10:18am

Some years ago I purchased the ready to assemble 4 x 4 wooden raised beds from Aldi. They are about 5 years old now. Probably another few years left in them. I have been able to patch a few of them where they became damaged.

I have about 18" between them when placed in a row plus a 3' pathway down the middle from rows on the other side.

The surface is all gravel around beds. Ten raised beds in total. Works very well. I rotate from bed to bed each year.

MacDanger · 12-05-2020 4:13pm

How do I know when my spuds are ready for earthing up? I planted in late March and they're up ~2-8inches depending on the plant?

And how often should I earth up?

Thanks in advance

Harry Palmr · 12-05-2020 5:43pm

Earth up when you've got about 6-8 inches of stalks above ground. Usually you do it once piled up as there isn't enough earth to do it twice! But you can do it again.

Speaking of earthing up needed

Harry Palmr · 20-05-2020 11:50am

and a week later

I could compost up again but at this stage I'd need about 100 litres to make a real impression.

CelticRambler · 20-05-2020 12:14pm

You sure they're not sunflowers? :pac:

Seve OB · 20-05-2020 1:06pm

I’ve a few beetroot starting to show now and the spuds are doing ok but probably will leave it a few more days before earthing up.
Still no sign of the sunflowers or beans, but still holding out hope

Think I’ll pop out today and look for some strawberry plants,

Harry Palmr · 20-05-2020 1:28pm

CelticRambler wrote: »

You sure they're not sunflowers? :pac:

Sunspuds is surely what the world has been waiting for! A bright pollinator friendly flower which finishes up as a mature tuber in mid summer.

CelticRambler · 20-05-2020 5:26pm

Harry Palmr wrote: »

Sunspuds is surely what the world has been waiting for! A bright pollinator friendly flower which finishes up as a mature tuber in mid summer.

And free oil to fry the spuds in! I'll take 500 as soon as you have them available!

In the meantime, I've planted a load of sunflowers this year alongside my peas, to act as a natural support. Planted the peas directly in the soil (first ones already in flower when I last saw them 10 days ago) and started the sunflowers off in pots. Am itching to get home to see how they're getting on ... and also a little bit worried, seeing as the temps here have shot up to the high twenties since yesterday. :mad:

Seve OB · 20-05-2020 6:25pm

Seve OB wrote: »

Think I’ll pop out today and look for some strawberry plants,

no strawberries in the local shop so had a spin past woodies but big queue so didn't bother. i'll be chancing B&Q in the morning on way to work as have to try for some stuff that local shops all seem to be out of so will see what they have in regards strawberries or similar.

i heard Padraig Horkan on the radio this morning saying that Strawberries are good to plant amongst regular flowers etc what are you opinions about that. im limited to space really so was thinking of sticking a couple in beside the azalea i got recently

pconn062 · 22-05-2020 1:50pm

A lot of my veg taking an awful hammering in the wind today. At risk of losing about 25% unless it eases off. Potatoes are very established and are taking a beaten but should survive but my runner beans are wrote off and I've lost about 1/3 of my brassicas already.

Wish I had some windbreaker fabric but I don't.

Harry Palmr · 22-05-2020 2:03pm

It's been worse than I expected.

My spuds are also being blown this way and that, I slung some old washing up bowls over the spicy greens which I transplanted outside only two days ago. Everything else seems to be okay and as I type the overall wind activity seems to have died down a bit.

Just been out and staked them as best I can, a few broken stems but nothing terminal.

MacDanger · 22-05-2020 2:07pm

Dunno how my spuds are doing but I'm hoping that earthing them up last weekend should save them partially. It's still very stormy here in north Mayo

pconn062 · 22-05-2020 2:40pm

Harry Palmr wrote: »

It's been worse than I expected.

My spuds are also being blown this way and that, I slung some old washing up bowls over the spicy greens which I transplanted outside only two days ago. Everything else seems to be okay and as I type the overall wind activity seems to have died down a bit.

I agree, much worse than I was expecting. Very strong gusts are doing the damage. Seems to be getting stronger here on the east coast.

Living Off The Splash · 22-05-2020 2:40pm

The netting covering our fruit bushes ended up on the other side of the garden. Fixed it. Now it's back on the other side of the garden again. Let's hope the birds don't notice.

scarepanda · 22-05-2020 3:16pm

The wind has been bad here as well. But it's given me food for thought as it's the first bit of wind we've had since we moved in. What kind of permanent wind breaks do people use in their veg garden? At the moment the area that the veg garden will be in is getting the brunt of the wind, so if I could build a proper windbreak fence it would be handy as a base to work from. I'd prefer to stay away from the green wind break you can get as the veg garden will be in full view of the main garden rather than being stuck down the back out of view, so I want it to be easy on the eye if that makes sense.

Harry Palmr · 22-05-2020 3:38pm

I just put up a wind break which is a repurposed chicken wire/fleece/beanstalks combo used to protect the salads when they were young, hopefully it'll last the day

scarepanda · 22-05-2020 4:00pm

Hopefully it will!

I was planning on putting in a 3.5ft ish high picket fence type, 4*1 timber with a 3 or 4 inch gap between each timber. It's what I used in the rented house and did the job of keeping the dogs out. I don't know if it would provide enough shelter to wind though, I might increase the height to 4ft. I'll have a flower bed on the garden side as well eventually with some climbers running along it which will help. But that won't happen for a few years.

s1ippy · 22-05-2020 4:22pm

Summer garden is in full swing now. Got a great haul of beetroot this year. Blanched the chard I didn't use and pickled about half the beet, six small containers.

Tomatoes are flying at the moment so long as the wind doesn't rip the greenhouse out of the ground and them with it. We should have a steady supply from a fortnight's time onwards as I planted in succession.

Loads of leaves, baby gem, kale and perpetual spinach being the most prominent. We use them as we go because we've a pet rabbit who loves to nibble them as soon as they're ready so we can never have enough, continuously planting them. I like to use wild plants like dandelion and herb robert that grow abundantly in the garden in most salads. If you can't beat em, eat em.

A tonne of leeks, onions, chives coming up right now as well as pak choi that I'm growing from ends of nice organic plants we ate.

Potatoes just grow all over the place here so there's always some to be had.

Courgette plants are starting to bear very nice flowers now and there are a few small courgettes developing. Never grown them before but they're gorgeous and look delicious, it's going to take some discipline to wait.

Carrots just set the other day, forgot about them. That was a lot of work! I hope they're good because the last ones I managed were ravaged by carrot fly, but that was in a different garden.

8 strawberry plants, 3 flowering and the rest with a bit of catching up to do. Can't wait for them to be ready, lovely jam and daquiri abound with fresh mint from the herb garden

We've dill, coriander and basil inside and parsley, thyme and marjoram outside. Also lemon balm and lavender for their scent and they go great in tea.

Jostaberries are ripening at the moment, though the cat isn't outside to chase away the birds this year so we're going to have to be fast off the mark to get them. Although because the neighbours all but killed the hedge, there aren't as many nests in the hedges this year unfortunately.

I'm really looking forward to the blackberries and raspberries as well, especially when the trees are absolutely teeming with buds just waiting to grow into lovely sweet apples.

Peas and beans galore the whole time as well, although I've been out with the torch the last few nights to murder the slimy bastards that eat them. Growing up sunflowers with reasonable success, but a few grew too quickly and I've had to scaffold them. Put down a load of Borage too.

Inside we have aloe plants which are great to make creams with and a calamondin trees absolutely teeming with citrus fruits, to name only the practical plants. I think I have an addiction to growing stuff.

I just love this time of the year. I'm organising the autumn work at the moment so that we'll be stocked for the rest of the year. I'd love to hear what people are doing to prepare for next season as I've only gotten things properly set up here this year.

scarepanda · 22-05-2020 5:26pm

Impressive!

beggars_bush · 22-05-2020 6:37pm

Very strong winds here seem to have destroyed some pumpkin plants just snapping them along the stem and the broccoli might be shot too

SouthWesterly · 22-05-2020 6:38pm

I've not looked in the garden. Tomorrow will do

beggars_bush · 22-05-2020 6:38pm

s1ippy wrote: »

Summer garden is in full swing now. Got a great haul of beetroot this year. Blanched the chard I didn't use and pickled about half the beet, six small containers.

Tomatoes are flying at the moment so long as the wind doesn't rip the greenhouse out of the ground and them with it. We should have a steady supply from a fortnight's time onwards as I planted in succession.

Loads of leaves, baby gem, kale and perpetual spinach being the most prominent. We use them as we go because we've a pet rabbit who loves to nibble them as soon as they're ready so we can never have enough, continuously planting them. I like to use wild plants like dandelion and herb robert that grow abundantly in the garden in most salads. If you can't beat em, eat em.

A tonne of leeks, onions, chives coming up right now as well as pak choi that I'm growing from ends of nice organic plants we ate.

Potatoes just grow all over the place here so there's always some to be had.

Courgette plants are starting to bear very nice flowers now and there are a few small courgettes developing. Never grown them before but they're gorgeous and look delicious, it's going to take some discipline to wait.

Carrots just set the other day, forgot about them. That was a lot of work! I hope they're good because the last ones I managed were ravaged by carrot fly, but that was in a different garden.

8 strawberry plants, 3 flowering and the rest with a bit of catching up to do. Can't wait for them to be ready, lovely jam and daquiri abound with fresh mint from the herb garden

We've dill, coriander and basil inside and parsley, thyme and marjoram outside. Also lemon balm and lavender for their scent and they go great in tea.

Jostaberries are ripening at the moment, though the cat isn't outside to chase away the birds this year so we're going to have to be fast off the mark to get them. Although because the neighbours all but killed the hedge, there aren't as many nests in the hedges this year unfortunately.

I'm really looking forward to the blackberries and raspberries as well, especially when the trees are absolutely teeming with buds just waiting to grow into lovely sweet apples.

Peas and beans galore the whole time as well, although I've been out with the torch the last few nights to murder the slimy bastards that eat them. Growing up sunflowers with reasonable success, but a few grew too quickly and I've had to scaffold them. Put down a load of Borage too.

Inside we have aloe plants which are great to make creams with and a calamondin trees absolutely teeming with citrus fruits, to name only the practical plants. I think I have an addiction to growing stuff.

I just love this time of the year. I'm organising the autumn work at the moment so that we'll be stocked for the rest of the year. I'd love to hear what people are doing to prepare for next season as I've only gotten things properly set up here this year.

Very impressive. Have you a heated glasshouse?
Don't touch the carrots if you can
Carrot fly love the smell of foliage being thinned out

pconn062 · 22-05-2020 9:18pm

Just visited the scene of the crime, about 25% lost. Runners beans destroyed, about 30% of potatoes destroyed, a lovely cloche I made smashed which in turn ruined half my brassicas. Several tears in the polytunnel, leeks transplanted the other day ruined too. Very frustrating, worst storm we've had in years.

SnowyMuckish · 22-05-2020 9:24pm

pconn062 wrote: »

Just visited the scene of the crime, about 25% lost. Runners beans destroyed, about 30% of potatoes destroyed, a lovely cloche I made smashed which in turn ruined half my brassicas. Several tears in the polytunnel, leeks transplanted the other day ruined too. Very frustrating, worst storm we've had in years.

Sounds awful! I lost my favorite cherry tree, split in half in the garden this afternoon but hopefully there’s no more damage. We seem to always get a bad doing here in the NW of Donegal!

kylith · 22-05-2020 10:47pm

Carrots and onions seem to be ok. The peas took a bit of a battering but are mostly ok. The mini greenhouse, however, is a write-off. Luckily the few tomatoes that managed to germinate seem to have survived, surviving the baby and the storm - they must be immortal. The corn hasn't quite broken through the soil so they seem to have been ok too. No idea what I'll do with them now I have no greenhouse, but I'll have to come up with something.

SnowyMuckish · 22-05-2020 11:00pm

Checked my spuds before it got dark. Some stems are damaged, can you just prune them off and let them regrow?does it damage that crop?

beggars_bush · 23-05-2020 8:36am

SnowyMuckish wrote: »

Checked my spuds before it got dark. Some stems are damaged, can you just prune them off and let them regrow?does it damage that crop?

Spuds are very resilient. They'll just send up new stems.
Earlies or main crop?
My next door neighbour had just finished putting a roof on a new fancy timber glasshouse he was building.
It's now down our field.

Harry Palmr · 23-05-2020 9:48am

Excuse the terrible framing! I rushed out with a bunch of poles and other sticks and put them in best I could and got a bed cover on it's side poles hammed into the ground. Seems to have worked, it looks bedraggled but only a few stems broken. Was I noticed was that the proximity to the fence created extra buffeting. Anyway, note to self make up a three/four metre roll up barrier for later in year.

scarepanda · 23-05-2020 10:02am

My glass house is taped together with duct tape today.

I went out last night and there was a pane of glass cracked and the handle for the window was outside. There was a pane of glass/perspex missing at the front when we moved in. I have perspex to install but haven't gotten around to cutting it to fit yet, so it's been shoved up against the glasshouse. It kept blowing down yesterday and i reckon a gust of wind knocked it down and lifted the window from the inside (the twisty bit wouldn't twist to allow the window to be locked) and it slammed down and did the damage. Fun!

I also spent the day picking up my fruit bushes. They are all currently in buckets.

Zapperzy · 23-05-2020 1:37pm

Lost 2 out of 4 sunflowers which were a good 2ft tall and strong. Potatoes and strawberries in tatters and loads of small bedding plants gone. Trellis went flying ripping up all the climbers attached and rose Bush is bald and shook looking. Not to mention a bbq cover nowhere to be seen. Still another few hours at least of this left to go. Pretty devastated as everything was shaping up pretty good

krissovo · 23-05-2020 1:48pm

I have lost most of my beetroot to the wind the leaves have curled up and gone very pale similar story which pumpkin. My veg trug herbs took a beating last night which has ripped off the cover and frame so had to duck tape it altogether this morning. Basil is so wilted it has all but disappeared, thyme does not look healthy either.

My peas are ok though which is always the main event in our garden once they start to ripen

Harry Palmr · 23-05-2020 1:55pm

You'd be surprised at how much will recover with a few weeks of benign weather - which happily we look like getting plus you can go again for some stuff in May.

https://www.wetterzentrale.de/en/topkarten.php?map=1&model=ecm&var=1&time=288&run=0&lid=OP&h=0&tr=24&mv=0

beggars_bush · 23-05-2020 3:35pm

Harry Palmr wrote: »

You'd be surprised at how much will recover with a few weeks of benign weather - which happily we look like getting plus you can go again for some stuff in May.

https://www.wetterzentrale.de/en/topkarten.php?map=1&model=ecm&var=1&time=288&run=0&lid=OP&h=0&tr=24&mv=0

We have had no benign weather this spring/summer though
Sun with severe dry east breeze all through March and April.
Freezing temps at night in April & May
Now storm force wind in late May

Harry Palmr · 23-05-2020 4:10pm

I suppose it's pot luck as to location and the nature of the site, I've been flying but maybe I've been lucky to a degree - pretty sheltered (until yesterday!), no frosts

CelticRambler · 24-05-2020 7:32am

Having been through something similar back at the start of the year, I feel for ye all ...

The worst my veg have suffered after two weeks of neglect is a lack of growth.

Oh, and my apple trees are absolutely covered in caterpillars - worst I've ever seen in 15 years. :mad: Where are all the natural predators? They ought to know by now that my garden offers them the best supply of organic beasties they'll find in this part of the world.

Finding 2kg of strawberries ready for harvest helped soften that blow.

stiofan85 · 24-05-2020 9:06am

My first year trying more than a few radish and lettuce seeds, with 3 big raised beds and spuds in containers. Everything was going so well! Spuds are in bits now. Managed to put up a wind break we use on the beach to protect one of the beds. It worked quite well so thinking I might figure out a way to put it up quickly as we live near the coast and it's always windy tbh.

Had a little cold frame with module trays that was tossed across the garden. Salvaged about 1/3 of the plugs but most of the next sewings are goosed sadly.

Live and learn. Hopefully some will recover

Harry Palmr · 26-05-2020 4:51pm

Sowed four Moneymaker tomato seeds a week ago (I had the packet since March but completely forgot about them) coming through now so I'll cultivate the four until end of June then pick the best two of them and put them in the big pots and hope for a long summer with a mild autumn! Must get some kale seeds for the main bed and start sowing.

Also transplanted three Honesty wildflowers to the top of garden 'semi wild' zone they tend to spread by themselves quite readily so I'll leave them to it for further propagation.

Veg plans for 2020

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