Advice for a hopeless gardener

[jennyjj01]

You're making me laugh, Jenny, and luckily I'm sure that's the result you're going for - I'm hoping that when I get my books back in my bookcase, I'll still have time to sow stuff - for sure, I won't have *space* to sow stuff until then. Last year, not only did I bury things too deep, I drowned them immediately after I planted them it was very sad

You got me!
Fact is, there is so much 5h1t going on, it's a bit of distracting light relief for me to make an arse of myself as I learn to grow or kill my vegetable based lunch. I sincerely hope that by being so open in my ignorance, that I can encourage a few other newbies to not feel embarrassed and to give it a go. Anyone else laughing is a bonus. I have no shame.

I'm still struggling with the concept of such short growing and harvesting seasons.Maybe 4 months in which to harvest what survives of my crops, and stupid vegetables that have to grow to two years old. How did our ancestors do it?

ps. Blagged another two pallets today while out shopping for carpet. More planters on the assembly line.

[Arzosah]

You're right about the distraction, while actually learning and practising skills.

Excellent about the pallets

[diamond lil]

I spent 30 years on a moor in Scotland and I grew a fair bit of veg over that time. Didn't start until April at the earliest, but the long light summer nights made up for the late state. Follow Nature, not the internet - because you always get people on the internet who live in far warmer gentler weather zones

[jansman]

The growing season is not short.It’s the growing season. I have a Polish neighbour,who loves the growing climate here,as he told me,” Where I am from,there are two seasons - Winter and August” Now that’s short! He is a superb gardener, and I have learnt a lot from him. He is very skilled at preserving his crops too,but as he also told me,” You don’t produce food ,you don’t eat so well back home”.

Gardening is a very learned skill, and there is always something new to learn.That never stops. Probably the biggest learning curve has been the change in climate over the last 20 ish years. I am sure other gardeners will agree. The basics never change ,seed sowing,transplanting etc. Climate change though,makes the accepted wisdom of my father and grandfathers generation obsolete to a degree. The older gardening manuals talk about March being the busiest month. Not any more. I have only just sown a few bits and pieces,and the busy time will be late April,early May. I am working WITH Mother Nature as she presents herself NOW - not as She used to be.

Go with the flow…

[GillyBee]

A traditional farmers trick was apparently to sit on the bare soil with a bare bottom If it was too uncomfortable then it was too cold for the seeds! I dont think I would get anything sown before June with that rule!

I struggle with many vegetables. Tomatoes are OK - I learned to start them indoors on a windowsill late March as a kid and still stick to that unless I am being clever. My problem is getting my seedling to survive long enough outdoors to get a crop. This year I WILL beat the hungry slugs that eat all my food while it is still tiny. STuff that does not go out until it is quite big usually does better.

Jenny: Are you in a warm bit of the country? Tomato babies like most seeds will refuse to germinate if they are too cold and seedlings will sulk and refuse to grow (or even die). For tomatoes, runner beans and courgettes I work on at least 16C but preferably 20C to get them to germinate and no colder than 12C to grow - preferably 16C.
I would be surprised iif your cloche is hitting those temperatures yet so your Crimson Crush may need to come indoors a few more weeks. Onions, carrots and peas are a lot tougher and will grow in anything warmer than about 5C although they will go faster with more warmth and light.

[jennyjj01]

A traditional farmers trick was apparently to sit on the bare soil with a bare bottom

You're trying to fool me into trying that

Jenny: Are you in a warm bit of the country? Tomato babies like most seeds will refuse to germinate if they are too cold and seedlings will sulk and refuse to grow (or even die). For tomatoes, runner beans and courgettes I work on at least 16C but preferably 20C to get them to germinate and no colder than 12C to grow - preferably 16C.

NorthWest and a but cool. Not much sunlight reaching my small growing area because of inconvenient shadows.
I did buy a soil thermometer and really ought to use it more. I'm trying most of my germination in the window. but don't get hardly any direct sun into that, or any window. House is just the wrong way round and in the shadow of other houses.

I would be surprised iif your cloche is hitting those temperatures yet so your Crimson Crush may need to come indoors a few more weeks. Onions, carrots and peas are a lot tougher and will grow in anything warmer than about 5C although they will go faster with more warmth and light.

The tomato seedlings seem to have just gone dormant, neither dying nor growing. I'll either bring them in or put my heated propagator under them.

[jansman]

A traditional farmers trick was apparently to sit on the bare soil with a bare bottom

You're trying to fool me into trying that

Jenny: Are you in a warm bit of the country? Tomato babies like most seeds will refuse to germinate if they are too cold and seedlings will sulk and refuse to grow (or even die). For tomatoes, runner beans and courgettes I work on at least 16C but preferably 20C to get them to germinate and no colder than 12C to grow - preferably 16C.

NorthWest and a but cool. Not much sunlight reaching my small growing area because of inconvenient shadows.
I did buy a soil thermometer and really ought to use it more. I'm trying most of my germination in the window. but don't get hardly any direct sun into that, or any window. House is just the wrong way round and in the shadow of other houses.

I would be surprised iif your cloche is hitting those temperatures yet so your Crimson Crush may need to come indoors a few more weeks. Onions, carrots and peas are a lot tougher and will grow in anything warmer than about 5C although they will go faster with more warmth and light.

The tomato seedlings seem to have just gone dormant, neither dying nor growing. I'll either bring them in or put my heated propagator under them.

You can’t stop and start toms. They need a constant growing temperature. Which is why mine have only just germinated.

[GillyBee]

I'm not making it up! Honest! See this from Vickery's Folk Flora about Barley and also the Farmers Weekly link.
https://tinyurl.com/yua27ws7
https://www.fwi.co.uk/farm-life/loving- ... f-my-heart

[jennyjj01]

I'm not making it up! Honest! See this from Vickery's Folk Flora about Barley and also the Farmers Weekly link.
https://tinyurl.com/yua27ws7
https://www.fwi.co.uk/farm-life/loving- ... f-my-heart

LOL. From the second one...#

"My personal theory, however, is that the discovery was an accidental one; someone fell over without any clothes on while they were potato planting and liked the sensation. Being a potato grower is a lonely life and you take your thrills where you can find them."

I think I'll just use my thermometer..... And for the soil in my cloche, my digital temperature logger.

[jennyjj01]

My babies say "Hi.... HELPPPPPP! Mummies trying to murder us. Send help. Please!"

All of my early batch of tomato seedlings perished I so thought that 5 or 6 of them were recovering well, but they just flopped and shrivelled up.
NONE of their new brothers and sisters, or carrot cousins, have even broken through the surface yet. And don't get me started on the onion seeds which have not shown up after 3 weeks. I have a few spring onion seedlings that popped through, but I'm concerned about those poor souls as well, as they just don't seem to want to stay upright. Over watered?

Which raises my question du jour:---

With seedlings in cardboard and loo roll pots, how the heck do i get the watering right. I've gone for a thorough daily 'misting' but I don't know if it's the cardboard drawing the water away and evaporating it, but the compost sure does seen to dry out quick.

I'm not at all confident about any of these seedlings.

Have some in the kitchen window and most in the polythene cloche. Soil temp in the windowsill is about 19C Cloche soil about 15C but more up and down.

How's your seedlings Jansman?

[footnote Moisture meters ordered from amazon/ One with PH measuring]