Advice for a hopeless gardener

[jansman]

Feeling a bit irritated and impatient :

After listening to everyone's 'Don't Sow Yet' advice, I now see lots of facebook and forum posts of people harvesting their veggies. Dang it. I want carrots and peas and I want them for tonights tea!

So. Who's going to admit to stitching me up and having a bountiful crop while lauging at my 4 inch tall tomato plants.

It’s literally the first few days of June. Time yet. Lots of time. The old days gardening finished by end of September. Now I still get greenhouse tomatoes and outdoor runner beans after the clocks change.
Early June is still regarded as The Hungry Gap.

[jennyjj01]

Feeling a bit irritated and impatient :

After listening to everyone's 'Don't Sow Yet' advice, I now see lots of facebook and forum posts of people harvesting their veggies. Dang it. I want carrots and peas and I want them for tonights tea!

It’s literally the first few days of June. Time yet. Lots of time. The old days gardening finished by end of September. Now I still get greenhouse tomatoes and outdoor runner beans after the clocks change.
Early June is still regarded as The Hungry Gap.

Lol......
Hungry gap! Yes. I had to BUY spuds and tomatoes this week. With all the effort I put in ( over two hours a week, some weeks ) , i expected to be harvesting all year round by now. And not just bloomin' weeds.
I'll give those veggies another couple of days to show themselves and if they don't they'll get evicted and I'll build a housing estate or caravan park on my field

Not counting my chickens, but I already bought hessian sacks for my produce.

On a more serious note, for a moment....
.... Is it just me that is seeing super slow growth in tomatoes. I've really tried this year, but seeing disappointment. Last year, they were over a foot high and starting to have side shoots and flowers form, but now they just look like super healthy dwarves. No sign of side shoots or flowers yet.

I am overjoyed that my weed sharing strawb patch has some little green fruits. If critters take as much as one nibble, I swear I'll put bear traps down and Jurassic park scale electric fences.

Note for Jansman. My tree onions are doing their thing and developing a few small bulblets that look like the ones on t'internet. One onion did something very strange, which I might need to show a photo of..... It pushed out a loop like a sort of hernia where the stalk was growing and sprouting out downwards from half way up the stalk. I'll post a photo, but it looks really weird.

[jansman]

Feeling a bit irritated and impatient :

After listening to everyone's 'Don't Sow Yet' advice, I now see lots of facebook and forum posts of people harvesting their veggies. Dang it. I want carrots and peas and I want them for tonights tea!

It’s literally the first few days of June. Time yet. Lots of time. The old days gardening finished by end of September. Now I still get greenhouse tomatoes and outdoor runner beans after the clocks change.
Early June is still regarded as The Hungry Gap.

Lol......
Hungry gap! Yes. I had to BUY spuds and tomatoes this week. With all the effort I put in ( over two hours a week, some weeks ) , i expected to be harvesting all year round by now. And not just bloomin' weeds.
I'll give those veggies another couple of days to show themselves and if they don't they'll get evicted and I'll build a housing estate or caravan park on my field

Not counting my chickens, but I already bought hessian sacks for my produce.

On a more serious note, for a moment....
.... Is it just me that is seeing super slow growth in tomatoes. I've really tried this year, but seeing disappointment. Last year, they were over a foot high and starting to have side shoots and flowers form, but now they just look like super healthy dwarves. No sign of side shoots or flowers yet.

I am overjoyed that my weed sharing strawb patch has some little green fruits. If critters take as much as one nibble, I swear I'll put bear traps down and Jurassic park scale electric fences

My toms started quickly then slowed. That’s gardening.

[GillyBee]

It has been quite a cool spring. Not as bad a some years but it has definitely slowed things uo a bit. They should catch up soon.

[jennyjj01]

Just checked in on the lottie. A bit of weed murdering and watering. God, it needed watering! as it's been a scorching few days and looks to continue hot and dry...
... checked the (Cheap) rat trap. It had been triggered but looks like it had slowed on the makeshift tunnel and so it caught nothing. Oh hum! I wonder if that will change rat behaviour?

Because the trap had maybe bent a bit, it was more hair trigger and I had a close call as it snapped shut in my hand. The sharp edge of the spring slashed my hand, in passing, and made for a right bloody mess. Thank goodness I hadn't bought a Fenn which might have had my hand off.

So advice to self. BE BI006y CAREFUL with traps.

I washed and treated it immediately, being aware of the diseases that rat pee carries. Not that I think there's been rat pee on it.

Checked the strawbs. Some are going pink. As yet, uneaten by critters.
Beetroots are just germinating in their holes in cardboard.
Carrot patch looks very forelorne with weeds competing.
Some taters are flowering, which means something? Runner beans are prospering but something's done for my peas and courgettes. Several spuds and a courgette are prospering in my tardis composters. Yayyy!
My peas in buckets look ok and are now climbing their canes. I stuck 4 peas to a 2 gallon bucket.

MUST get the watering right over the coming hot week.

Don't try this at home.
https://youtu.be/FzrLy3kJkkc?t=144

[jennyjj01]

I've been given some bell pepper plants and I seek advice, because I never succeeded with them before....
About 15 really healthy looking plants, but crowded into a couple of 6 inch pots Plants are about 6 inches tall and I feel they need massively thinning and repotting.

15 is too many for me, so I think I'll keep 5 and gift the rest.

Is 6 inch high about par for this far into the season?

Would a two gallon bucket each be enough? Filled with general purpose compost. Or a mix of soil and compost?

I suppose they must stay under glass? How often should I water them or feed them?

Will the fruits grow to the same size as supermarket ones or will UK weather subdue them?

Any tips for maximising yield?

[jansman]

I've been given some bell pepper plants and I seek advice, because I never succeeded with them before....
About 15 really healthy looking plants, but crowded into a couple of 6 inch pots Plants are about 6 inches tall and I feel they need massively thinning and repotting.

15 is too many for me, so I think I'll keep 5 and gift the rest.

Is 6 inch high about par for this far into the season?

Would a two gallon bucket each be enough? Filled with general purpose compost. Or a mix of soil and compost?

I suppose they must stay under glass? How often should I water them or feed them?

Will the fruits grow to the same size as supermarket ones or will UK weather subdue them?

Any tips for maximising yield?

Put them in now. No time to transplant them,and put them all in for the ones you will lose. All 15.
I gently water toms and peppers everyday. Don’t drown em. As for feed,when the first flowers set,once a week.

[jennyjj01]

I've been given some bell pepper plants and I seek advice, because I never succeeded with them before....
About 15 really healthy looking plants, but crowded into a couple of 6 inch pots Plants are about 6 inches tall and I feel they need massively thinning and repotting.

15 is too many for me, so I think I'll keep 5 and gift the rest.

Is 6 inch high about par for this far into the season?

Would a two gallon bucket each be enough? Filled with general purpose compost. Or a mix of soil and compost?

I suppose they must stay under glass? How often should I water them or feed them?

Will the fruits grow to the same size as supermarket ones or will UK weather subdue them?

Any tips for maximising yield?

Put them in now. No time to transplant them,and put them all in for the ones you will lose. All 15.
I gently water toms and peppers everyday. Don’t drown em. As for feed,when the first flowers set,once a week.

cheers. I'll just plonk them into two big trugs as they are. Let them fight it out

[Arzosah]

I have a new form of "hopeless gardener" for you

I overwater plants in the house, and I don't plant them out soon enough. There, I've said it. This is a *house* problem, because it creates fruit flies, who are now drifting all over the house, in tiny numbers, true, but they're there.

Um, I need to plant things out, don't I. And take the risk of the foxes rolling on them or eating them (I've seen them "mouthing" lots of plants).

Okay. I actually don't need advice, but this is to make myself do what I know needs to be done I'll come back with feedback when I've done it. Don't throw me out

[jansman]

I have a new form of "hopeless gardener" for you

I overwater plants in the house, and I don't plant them out soon enough. There, I've said it. This is a *house* problem, because it creates fruit flies, who are now drifting all over the house, in tiny numbers, true, but they're there.

Um, I need to plant things out, don't I. And take the risk of the foxes rolling on them or eating them (I've seen them "mouthing" lots of plants).

Okay. I actually don't need advice, but this is to make myself do what I know needs to be done I'll come back with feedback when I've done it. Don't throw me out

Well done.