One of the earliest tips I used in 2021, after the dreadful cold and wet weather in May, was to sow my climbing beans in toilet roll inners. Climbing beans are more vigorous and, of course, taller than dwarf French beans. It was my first time growing French climbers from seed (I don’t like runner beans). And it was so much easier to simply plant the seedlings in the prepped vegetable bed in their inners. Those that weren’t dug in deep were just as successful as the deep planted ones and I wonder whether the card collars helped prevent a slug attack while the seedlings were establishing themselves. What a great suggestion! Thank you lotters.
From early June onwards I followed suggestions that regular watering would help prevent blossom end rot for my tomatoes. Every morning I gave each tomato tub 1 litre of water. In addition each tub had a weekly tormorite feed. And I removed the lower tomato leaves to help prevent blight. Next year I will set up a self-watering system for when we are on our holidays.
In July, when my first dwarf French beans developed, I had a bowl of cold water and a pan of boiling water on the hob ready before I picked them. As lotters have suggested: top and tail as you pick then plunge beans into cold water to wash them before blanching in boiling water for a couple of minutes. Their colour (and flavour) is indeed enhanced.
In the flower garden I have regularly picked sweet peas. Especially from August. Until then their stems were short. They are now beautiful long-stemmed cut flowers in a mixture of pink, magenta, purple and lavender. And they just keep on giving.
During the mini heat wave I put a parasol over my tumbling compost maker. I read the advice from one lotter that on very hot days dry compost can ignite. I didn’t take the temperature inside the cauldron but I’m sure it was breaking down the peelings and grass with a vengeance! It was baking out there. 84 deg F in the shade!
Now it’s almost September and my chrysanthemums have black fly which I will spray with soapy water before I plant them. They are from our local nursery and I’ll grow them well away from the veggie plot. Thanks for the advice, lotters.
In a few weeks time, before the frosts arrive, and when we move into autumn proper with cooler evening temperatures and dark nights, I will replenish my raised beds. I like the idea of the no-dig method, as suggested by many lotters. I have sciatica and am waiting for a knee op. If I can avoid aggravating those conditions and still get a good crop I can be pleased with my efforts. And my raised beds have produced four huge cabbages (the rest were eaten) and a pound of dwarf French beans every time I pick them. That sounds like success to me!
And in the spaces in the raised beds created by the lifted cabbages I’m growing lettuces and leaves.
Lotters have truly inspired me to try my hand at growing garlic. I had never even thought about it until now. I should have my earliest Wight bulbs arriving in October. I realise it’s a slow journey but I like the idea of ‘plant on shortest day, harvest on longest day.’ Thank you lotters. Great, easy-to-follow advice.
With so much produce I’m struggling to find space to grow late summer plantings. But I have discovered the ‘Luz de Otono’ broad beans. 50 of them are in the greenhouse now, sown in toilet roll inners. I have unused guttering left behind from when we were setting up the greenhouse waterbutts. After drilling holes in the guttering and filling with quality compost I have two long rows of growing space for my autumn-growing broad beans. This is an experiment. I’ve never sown broad beans to pick in December before. And never in old guttering!!! But it gives me growing space while my French beans are still so productive. It would be criminal to lift my climbing beans and take down the wigwams this early.
Another experiment I tried was in the use of tomato gro-bags. I planted one small tomato, about 1.5 feet high, in a tub of used compost. The rest - all about the same height - went into new tomato gro-bags or into large tubs filled with compost from the gro-bags. Do gro-bags contain nutrients? Well, yes, they do.
The tomato plant in spent compost was smaller, a much paler green and far less vigorous than the others in new tomato gro-bags. The spent compost was just not feeding it.
Of course I replanted the ailing, under-nourished tom and fed it tomorite. 2 months later it has caught up and is producing shiny red tomato fruits all of its own.
It just shows that vegetables and plants are like children and pets: look after them, feed them carefully and they will grow strong and productive. ( Unlike my cat who is eleven this week. He isn’t productive but he certainly eats well!!).
Thank you lotters for all your really good advice. And here’s to a new season’s growing success. And I’m truly looking forward to seeing what I can grow and overwinter in my new greenhouse. It has a frost stat heater. If it helps bring on early sweet peas and overwinters my geraniums it will be worth the money. I won’t know until next March, by which time it will be the start of a whole new gardening season.
Happy growing one and all! Always peanut biscuits in the tin!!
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