Vegetables 2019 - GIY "how-to"

rolion · 26-01-2019 6:52pm #1

Hello,

Beginning to prepare for the new season...
Greenhouse large doors opened today and got a shock of how much work is to do...just to clean the spiders web.

Any one thinks same, any plans for the new season / new year ?

Hoping to be better than previous one, wish you great fun... and lots of green and flowers around you.

Harry Palmr · 26-01-2019 7:09pm

I gave a modest glasshouse a clean out last week, no spiders or snails, the odd sleepy wasp and plenty of pots, bags, moss, moss, moss, lichen lichen lichen! By the time the glass itself had been cleaned the difference was pretty astonishing - you can see inside and indeed right through now

My modest plan for this year is to build a mini protected structure for tomatoes, cucumber. It'll be built off a solid fence which will form the north side - basically a frame with 50/50 wood and transparent sides and a plastic front cover which will roll down from top of frame to the ground. I suppose it's a lean-to after a fashion.

Roen · 26-01-2019 7:33pm

Mine lay idle this year due to a steel shed replacing the wooden one that the greenhouse was physically attached to.

So now I have a three walled greenhouse, with a gap of about three inches to the new steel shed.

In two minds whether to replace it altogether or cobble up a DIY fourth wall.
Have an eye on the raised beds though and have been barrowing compost in to them over winter.

rolion · 28-01-2019 10:30am

Anyone using organic manure to enhance / improve soil conditions !?

Not lastly,just got an email reminder to buy my nemaslugs.
It worked so well last year,sorry for poor hungry beasts...
More H E R E

rolion · 15-02-2019 12:24pm

And work started...lots of things to do.
Clean-up the walls,paint the timber,clean the plastic foil.

Over the winter,the timber moved and settled so few places had water pooring down inside,so it needed screws re-adjusted.

Bought some organic manure and mixed with existing soil.
Same,some seafood fertilisers,just to top up the soil that rested silent over the few months in winter.

Next week, get the seeds, plant inside home in biodegradable pots and wait for the miracle.
Same,i had planned to get many strawberries from the greenhouse outside, but changed my mind as i want to get lots and lots of wild flowers for the little bees arranged outside,around the house.

Have fun !

uck51js9zml2yt · 15-02-2019 12:27pm

What's the pipes for?

scarepanda · 15-02-2019 12:55pm

I have great plans this weekend to get the last bit of tidying up in the veg garden done. And if I can get my husband on board, hopefully I'll get started on the greenhouse as well.

I know it's weather dependent, but generally how early is too early to start sowing? Off the top of my head, sweetcorn and tomatoes are the only thing im starting off in the greenhouse. Everything else will be direct sow (onion sets, leeks, late garlic, carrot's, parsnips, peas and potatoes). I'm due a baby in April, so trying to get as much done in advance and while I still can as I'll be out of action for a few weeks after and my husband has little to no interest in the garden. Last year was my first proper year of having a functioning garden, so I don't have much experience.

rolion · 18-02-2019 4:35pm

And,i moved on to strawberries.
I took the decision to restrict the plants so that i can allow planeint soem seeds for polinators later one in the spring.

Soem of the previous year survived nicely.
Other not.
I had them planted in the big pots along with a tree.
Depsite looking small and nice on the top,they had bigger roots,to my surprise.

In the back,where i have the piping build DIY,some of them didnt made it either.
I took some older plants and cleaned-up the roots.
Older dead brown took away and left only clean fresh greeney parts,hoping to get maybe another year of juicy berries.

Enjoy your work and plants...

rolion · 18-02-2019 4:50pm

scarepanda wrote: »

I have great plans this weekend to get the last bit of tidying up in the veg garden done. And if I can get my husband on board, hopefully I'll get started on the greenhouse as well.

I know it's weather dependent, but generally how early is too early to start sowing? Off the top of my head, sweetcorn and tomatoes are the only thing im starting off in the greenhouse. Everything else will be direct sow (onion sets, leeks, late garlic, carrot's, parsnips, peas and potatoes). I'm due a baby in April, so trying to get as much done in advance and while I still can as I'll be out of action for a few weeks after and my husband has little to no interest in the garden. Last year was my first proper year of having a functioning garden, so I don't have much experience.

Nice one,be very careful with the effort at this time ... and get help.
Not too much work that can be done at this time,just refreshing the soil after a well deserved rest over the winter.
Unless you have the proper warm and light conditions,most of the seeds will be trans_planted outdoor at end of March,i guess.

Elyse Curved Bellboy wrote: »

What's the pipes for?

I have a long post here somewhere about my DIY greenhouse.
Pipes used for under and geo thermal control of soil and for temperature in summer.
A compressed panaroma attempt as how it looks today,with lots of work in progress.

scarepanda · 18-02-2019 6:20pm

I will! I hate asking for help for stuff that I would ordinarily be well able to do, but my back won't hold up to much at the moment as i found out on Saturday.

We have a grow light in the house, but it's to early to use that just yet because tomatoes and sweetcorn are the only things id be starting off. Maybe Leeks. I got a few bags of compost of last year's stock in the local hardware store at the weekend. Going to top up the beds next weekend hopefully. Depends on the weather.

Over the weekend my husband cut the back lawn for me and I got some of the veg garden tidied up, only the fruit beds to weed now. I didn't get near the greenhouse though. My husband put up a post on a fence/gate combo that was all warped from wind and everything that could go wrong did, so it took ages!

rolion · 19-02-2019 10:00am

@panda

In the greenhouse,try using organic manure for topping / refrshing the soil.
My way is getting a bag per 1-2sqm.Spread it evenely over the soil and overturned maybe a 20-30cm deep.
At the same time,i use some seeaweeds organic mixture.
Just before trans_planting the seeds,i use another round of organic chicken pellets spread discolved in water, over the soil.

The manure allows the small good bacteria to work their magic and the seeweds improving the NPK.

Ordered a bag of nemaslugs,i hope i will not have to see them too soon this year.

Be good and take care.

iancairns · 20-02-2019 10:36am

Hey guys, new follower to this thread and new to gardening more importantly.
I've done as much research as possible with a couple of books. I know this is the time to act.
I'm going to pull the trigger next couple days and buy some raised beds from thegardenshop.ie
My main remaining query is what soil should I be ordering for the beds. Obviously its not 100% top soil.
I'm getting 3 beds so length is 15ft by 3ft width.
What do you recommend I purchase soil wise to fill beds?
Thanks in advance,
Ian

scarepanda · 20-02-2019 11:37am

Thanks a million for the advice rolion!

Will giving it a good manure make up for lack of rotation in the greenhouse? I'll just be growing tomatoes and if I take a notion later on in the season a pepper or chilli plant as well (bought as plants)? I was half thinking of removing the compost that's in there and putting in new compost (this year's stock). There's only two small beds roughly 2.5*3.5ft and 6/8inches deep sitting directly on the ground (not on hard base etc).

The main veg beds outside were only filled last year and as a result theres a bit of settlement going on. I was going to use the old compost to top those up and fertilise a bit closer to planting time with chicken manure pellets.

scarepanda · 20-02-2019 11:46am

I'm a newbie as well - Ive grown stuff on and off for a few years, but last year was my first proper year.

I filled my 18in deep veg beds last year and to make it a bit cheaper (and I don't know if this is right or wrong) I filled the bottom third or so with grass cuttings and whatever was in old pots and buckets that I was getting rid of and random stuff like that. Then I filled them up to 4/5 inches from the top with top soil id bought (I got two trailer loads for â‚¬50 each, don't know the quantity though) and finally I finished them off with a couple bags of compost which brought the finished level to about 2 inches under the top of the bed. I can't say that was the right or wrong thing to do, but everything I grew last year did really well.

Harry Palmr · 20-02-2019 12:13pm

That's about right, as you note you have 18in deep beds which if filled with just soil and compost mix would be needlessly expensive and hard work! The bottom layer can be a pick and mix including ash, mulch, leaves, twigs, branches (which will rot down creating heat and releasing nutrients), stones and small rocks you might dig up or have laying about the place.

scarepanda · 20-02-2019 12:32pm

Yup that's exactly what I did, I was doing a general garden clean up over a few weeks combined with filling the beds so anything that could rot went in. I kept the stones out if the base as I had/have a different job for them.

scarepanda · 16-03-2019 1:43pm

With the weather we have had so far this year, what is everyone doing with regard to when to start sowing their veg?

Harry Palmr · 16-03-2019 2:27pm

Sowing?! Not even thought about it indoors in heated propagators. Thankfully the weather is about to pick up and it COULD be an extended spell of dry increasingly warm temps. Obviously I've just put the mockers on it.

macraignil · 16-03-2019 3:08pm

scarepanda wrote: »

With the weather we have had so far this year, what is everyone doing with regard to when to start sowing their veg?

Thanks for the reminder. Just planted a window box of little gem lettuce to plant out in a few weeks. Should be good for marking out the rows of beetroot I'm going to plant then. These will be the main vegetables I'll go for this year but will check in a few weeks if some of my old seed packets might be used up before they go to waste. Might buy some runner beans to grow in the summer as well as have not tried these in a few years.

recedite · 16-03-2019 3:23pm

rolion wrote: »

Pipes used for under and geo thermal control of soil and for temperature in summer.

I still think those are the periscopes of Russian nuclear submarines.
You should try putting some copper sulphate on them, to make them go away.

Graces7 · 19-03-2019 12:59pm

scarepanda wrote: »

With the weather we have had so far this year, what is everyone doing with regard to when to start sowing their veg?

Indoors in trays; peas and broad beans doing well. The trays are in a large clear plastic crate and out lidless in the day.

madmaggie · 21-03-2019 1:04am

I have tomato plants coming on in the greenhouse, they were started in the heated propagator. I sowed some scallions and lettuce in the soil in the greenhouse, they should be edible before it's time to plant the tomatoes. Also a few annuals sown in the propagator. Garden News magazine has a free packet of seeds on the cover every week. I sowed carrots and parsnips under cloches today, in a raised bed.

Wearandtear · 21-03-2019 9:46pm

The mister has cleared out some of our veg beds, we're going to build a new one for spuds this year to start a proper rotation system. I finally treated myself to a (very basic) propagator after the wintery March from last year, so hoping to get some seeds planted amárach!

On my wishlist this year are tomatoes, red onions, shallots, pumpkins, beets, celeriac, and carrots! First time for the latter two so we'll see how that goes.

Oh and got a dwarf cherry tree for the greenhouse! And a dwarf pear tree for the elements. Two of our blueberry plants are already flowering, they're relatively young but should see more berries this year. Yay! 'Tis the season.

madmaggie · 22-03-2019 1:55am

Wearandtear, there are carrot fly resistant varieties of seeds out there now. Otherwise put up a barrier of fleece around them. I grow them in a raised bed, which helps a bit.

recedite · 22-03-2019 5:30pm

Wearandtear wrote: »

Oh and got a dwarf cherry tree for the greenhouse!

You may put that outside

scarepanda · 22-03-2019 5:40pm

I just got my onions, red and white and shallots sowed. Going to get the sweetcorn, leeks and tomatoes started later on this evening or tomorrow in the propagator. And I'm also going to sow some sunflower seeds with the little one, in pots in the windowsill.

Wearandtear · 22-03-2019 7:03pm

madmaggie wrote: »

Wearandtear, there are carrot fly resistant varieties of seeds out there now. Otherwise put up a barrier of fleece around them. I grow them in a raised bed, which helps a bit.

Oh, thanks, I didn't know that there are resistant strains. I have seeds to try out, "Amsterdam" variety, but depending on how this first attempt goes I'll keep those strains in mind for next year. I've actually bought some netting material which is supposed to keep them out, so fingers crossed! They'll be in a raised bed too.

Wearandtear · 22-03-2019 7:06pm

recedite wrote: »

You may put that outside

Do you think so? I do have a sunny space outside available, but I always worry it'll be too cold for them. I was going to see how they get on this year "inside" and learn as I go I suppose.

recedite · 22-03-2019 8:11pm

Wearandtear wrote: »

Do you think so? I do have a sunny space outside available, but I always worry it'll be too cold for them. I was going to see how they get on this year "inside" and learn as I go I suppose.

Cherries are hardy. You wouldn't normally plant a tree in a greenhouse, even a "dwarf" tree. Take up too much space.
If its in a pot, set it free, outside.

Wearandtear · 22-03-2019 8:25pm

recedite wrote: »

Cherries are hardy. You wouldn't normally plant a tree in a greenhouse, even a "dwarf" tree. Take up too much space.
If its in a pot, set it free, outside.

It's in a pot alright! I have seen people growing them in (admittedly larger) polytunnels. Which is why I'd popped it in the greenhouse. It's a manageable size now, but I did figure I'd have to consider expanding the accommodation in a year or two.

scarepanda · 30-03-2019 11:32am

The onions that i sowed last week have started rooting, although they are slower than I would have expected to start shooting, but then they were sowed a month earlier than last year. The sunflower seeds on the window sill are starting to come up. The sweetcorn in the heated propagator are flying it! And the leeks and tomatoes under the grow light are starting to sprout now. They are slower than I remember them being last year for some reason. They have been sowed a month earlier, but are in the kitchen in the same spot and under the same lights.

Vegetables 2019 - GIY "how-to"

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